Benny Gantz

Benjamin "Benny" Gantz (; born 9 June 1959) is an Israeli politician and general. In March 2020, Gantz was elected Speaker of the Knesset. He was the 20th Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces from 14 February 2011 to 16 February 2015. In May 2020, he became the Alternate Prime Minister of Israel.

Gantz was set to become Prime Minister on 17 November 2021, however after a coalition government was formed in June 2021, Naftali Bennett became prime minister with Yair Lapid as the alternate.

Since 13 June 2021, Gantz has been both justice minister and deputy prime minister in the Bennett-Lapid Government.

Early life
Gantz was born in Kfar Ahim, Israel, in 1959. His mother Malka was a Holocaust survivor. His father was arrested by the British authorities for trying to enter Palestine illegally. His parents were among the founders of Moshav Kfar Ahim, a cooperative agricultural community in south-central Israel. 

He has a bachelor's degree in history from Tel Aviv University, a master's degree in political science from the University of Haifa, and an additional master's degree in National Resources Management from the National Defense University in the United States.

Chief of the General Staff
On 13 February 2011, the Israeli government unanimously approved Gantz to be the next IDF chief of staff. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated in the weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem that Gantz was an "excellent officer and experienced commander, and had rich operational and logistical experience, with all the attributes needed to be a successful army commander".

In his first year as Chief of the General Staff, Gantz appointed the IDF's first-ever female major-general, Orna Barbivai. 

In July 2011, Gantz appointed a special committee to talk about a controversy that had started after a concerning mention of the word Elohim, "God", in the military Yizkor prayer. The committee determined that a passage should read Yizkor 'Am Yisrael, "May the Nation of Israel remember", and not Yizkor Elohim, "May God remember". Gantz supported the committee's ruling.

Gantz commanded the IDF when it fought against Palestinian factions in Gaza and Operation Protective Edge.

Business career
Gantz was the chairman of the Fifth Dimension which specialized in tracking via smartphone spyware. The company closed due to financial reasons.

Party founder
In December 2018, he created a new political party named Israel Resilience (Hosen L'Yisrael). The party later merged with Telem and Yesh Atid to form Kachol Lavan.

2020 election
On 20 April 2020, Gantz and Benjamin Netanyahu announced an agreement on a unity government had been reached following the 2020 legislative election. The deal would involve both parties splitting power and Gantz and Netanyahu taking turns being prime minister. The deal says Gantz will be Vice Prime Minister until October 2021, by then he will become Prime Minister.

Knesset speaker
On 26 March 2020, Gantz was elected as Knesset speaker, replacing Likud's Yuli-Yoel Edelstein who resigned. He vowed that he would not serve under 'corrupt leader' who faces criminal charges.

Netanyahu-Gantz Government
On 17 May 2020, Gantz became Defense Minister and also Vice Prime Minister in the Netanyahu-Gantz Government.

Personal life
Gantz is married to Revital, with whom he has four children. He lives in Rosh HaAyin.

References

Other websites
 
 Bio at Knesset Website

1959 births
Living people
Government ministers of Israel
Haifa University alumni
Israeli generals
Israeli opposition leaders
Israeli political leaders
Jewish Israeli politicians
Jewish military people
Knesset speakers
Members of Knesset
Tel Aviv University alumni