Ramatkal (IDF Chief of Staff)

The **Chief of the General Staff**, also known as the Commander-in-Chief of the IDF (***R**osh Ha**M**a**t**eh Ha**Kl**ali—*abbreviated ***Ramatkal***—רמטכ"ל‎), is the supreme commander and head of the Israeli Defense Forces.

At any given time, the Chief of the General Staff is the only active officer holding the IDF's highest rank, *rav aluf* (רַב־אַלּוּף‎), which is usually translated into English as lieutenant general, a three-star rank. The only exception to this rule occurred during the Yom Kippur War, when former Chief of the General Staff Haim Bar-Lev, who was a cabinet member at the outbreak of and during the war, was brought out of retirement and installed as chief of Southern Command. For a brief period, he and Chief of the General Staff David Elazar were both in active service with the rank of *rav aluf*.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) is an integrated force, its ranks are the same in all services. It has a slightly compacted rank structure; for instance, the Chief of the General Staff is seemingly only equivalent to a lieutenant general (NATO OF-8) in other militaries. *Rav aluf* means 'chief-general', which would be equal to a field marshal or five star general in other armies and equivalent to OF-10.

## **Legal position**

The position of *ramatkal* is defined in the *Basic Law: The Military* (1976), clause three:

* The supreme command rank in the military is that of the Chief of the General Staff
* The Chief of the General Staff is to be placed under the authority of the government and subordinate to the Defense Minister
* The Chief of the General Staff is to be appointed by the government, according to the recommendation of the Defense Minister

The Chief of the General Staff is formally appointed once every 6 Months, with the government often extending the term to 9 Months, and in some occasions, even a year (at least according to the 2020 Reforms).

## **Significance**

Given the importance of the IDF in Israeli society, the Chief of the General Staff is an important public figure in Israel. On appointment of a new Chief of the General Staff, mass-circulation papers such as Yediot Aharonot and Israel Hayom customarily provide their readers with large-scale portrait photos of the new Chief. Former Chiefs of the General Staff often parlay the prominence of their position into political life, and sometimes the business world. Two Chiefs of the General Staff (Yitzhak Rabin and Ehud Barak) have become Prime Ministers of Israel and eleven others (Yigael Yadin, Moshe Dayan, Tzvi Tzur, Haim Bar-Lev, Mordechai Gur, Rafael Eitan, Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, Shaul Mofaz, Moshe Ya'alon, Gabi Ashkenazi, and Benny Gantz) have served in the *Knesset*. Of these, only Tzur did not get appointed to the Cabinet.

Six former Chiefs of the General Staff (Dayan, Rabin, Barak, Mofaz, Ya'alon, and Gantz) held the position of Defense Minister, widely considered to be one of the most powerful ministerial posts in the country and the immediate civilian superior of the Chief of the General Staff. Moshe Dayan served also as Foreign Minister. Soon after his discharge, Dan Halutz became the CEO of a prestigious car importer. Ehud Barak took a hiatus from politics twice after defeats for re-election and pursued successful international business ventures.