Who Will Replace General Gabi Ashkenazi?

Troubles in the Middle East

With the ongoing violent riots in Egypt, the demonstrations in Jordan and the almost takeover of Lebanon by Hezbollah, the last thing Israel needs right now is instability and uncertainty at high command of its defense forces.

However, the facts are that by mid February, unless decided otherwise, General Gabi Ashkenazi will leave his office after decades of a respectful military career and will no longer be the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff.

Ehud Barak, Israeli minister of defense, announced last August that Yoav Galant will replace Ashkenazi and will become the IDF's 20th chief of staff.

Will Galant replace Ashkenazi or is Israel facing another embarrassing moment? It's all in the hands of the Israeli government and the Israeli judicial system.

Who is Yoav Galant?

He was born in 1958, joined the Israeli Navy at 19 and went through one of the hardest naval courses to qualify as a "Seal", the Israeli Navy diving warrior unit.

The young officer was courageous, creative and many Israeli Navy officers knew that it’s only a matter of time before Galant reaches the highest ranks. By 1992 he was already a Navy Captain (Colonel) and became the commander of the Navy Seal Unit.

The ambitious officer wanted much more than that so he left the Navy in the mid 1990s and began his Army career. Galant was Ariel Sharon's military secretary, and twelve years after he left the Navy, he became the commander of the Southern Command.

During this time he commanded the IDF forces in operation "Cast Lead" against Hamas in Gaza.

Unfortunately, Gilad Shalit was kidnapped on Galant's watch by Hamas on June 25th 2006.

A land in controversy

Galant and his family live in one of Israel's most beautiful areas. Moshav Amiqam is a small settlement and is a part of the "Alona" regional council in central Israel. The place is surrounded by orchards, vineyards and evergreen meadows. More or less, it’s paradise.

Galant is currently the subject of a controversy stemming from the disclosure that he has illegally used public lands for his personal use. These alleged illegal uses include paving a road to his home without a permit, building a parking lot, and planting olive trees on 7 acres (28 Dunams) of public land adjacent to his property. The Jerusalem Post noted that the Attorney General forced Galant to relinquish control of the land used to pave the road and parking lot.

Last week Galant gave a statement to the State of Israel Comptroller, rejecting all the accusations. He explained that everything he did was within accordance of the law and all the property he has in possession was legally obtained.

The Comptroller's findings greatly differ. According to court documents the Comptroller declared that Galant lied twice during his statement. The "Hot Potato" is now at the hands of the Attorney General and the politicians.

The other options

If Galant will be legally and morally disqualified for the high post, it’s possible that the government of Israel will extend Ashkenazi's tenure. Other options are General Benny Ganz and the recently retired general Moshe Kaplinsky who is now the CEO of Shai Agassi's "Better Place". One thing is for sure, the current drama in the Israeli news and the negative image of the high ranked officers in the media does not do well for Israel or the Israeli public.