Aluf Ram Rothberg ( he, רם רוטברג; born February 5, 1964) is an
admiral in the
Israel Defense Forces who was the head of the
Israel Navy.
Service history
Rothberg commanded the
Flotilla 13
Shayetet 13 ( he, שייטת 13, lit. ''Flotilla 13'') is a unit of the Israeli Navy and one of the primary sayeret ''(reconnaissance)'' units of the Israel Defense Forces. Shayetet 13 specializes in sea-to-land incursions, counter-terrorism, ...
special forces unit from 2001 to 2004
and presided over some of its most notable operations, such as the raid on the
Karin A arms smuggling ship in January 2002.
He later served as the Chief of Naval Intelligence during the
Second Lebanon War and was reprimanded by then-
Chief of Staff Dan Halutz for the 14 July 2006
attack
Attack may refer to:
Warfare and combat
* Offensive (military)
* Charge (warfare)
* Attack (fencing)
* Strike (attack)
* Attack (computing)
* Attack aircraft
Books and publishing
* ''The Attack'' (novel), a book
* '' Attack No. 1'', comic an ...
on the Israeli corvette
INS ''Hanit''. An
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...
ian-supplied
C-802
The YJ-83 (; NATO reporting name: CSS-N-8 Saccade) is a Chinese subsonic anti-ship cruise missile. It is manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Third Academy.Gromley et al.: page 101
Description
The YJ-83 use ...
anti-ship missile fired by
Hezbollah hit the warship, whose crew was apparently unaware that the
Lebanese
Lebanese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Lebanese Republic
* Lebanese people
The Lebanese people ( ar, الشعب اللبناني / ALA-LC: ', ) are the people inhabiting or originating from Lebanon. The term may al ...
group possessed such weapons. The strike left four sailors dead and the ship temporarily disabled. Rothberg was criticized over his contribution to the failure, but later was promoted to the position of commander of the Navy's
Haifa
Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropoli ...
base.
Afterwards, Rothberg served in the
Israeli National Security Council.
Commander of the Israeli Navy
On 4 August 2011, Israeli Defense Minister
Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak ( he-a, אֵהוּד בָּרָק, Ehud_barak.ogg, link=yes, born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli general and politician who served as the tenth prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until Ja ...
approved his appointment as the next head of the
Israel Navy,
after being nominated by IDF Chief of Staff
Benny Gantz. He is to be promoted in rank to Major General (
Aluf). He replaced Vice-Admiral
Eliezer Marom, who retired after serving in the IDF for 37 years.
He was not the front runner for the post and the appointment was received with surprise by military officials.
On 10 October 2011, in a ceremony held at the Haifa naval base, Rothberg entered his role as commander of the Israel Navy.
In 2012, Rothberg was investigated for an
April Fool's Day joke. Shortly before April Fool's Day, Rothberg ordered senior commanders to prepare for a complex, 10-day exercise in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
with the US and Italian navies. Intending to keep the joke among senior officers, he ordered the news be kept at the senior command level, but the information leaked to lower officers, who worked throughout the night to prepare. Three missile ships and their crews were readied at Haifa naval base and officers worked to chart a course to Italy. Sailors' parents also rushed to the base to give them supplies and money. By the time Rothberg admitted that it was a joke, the three warships were ready to set sail, and crews were standing at attention on deck.
Rothberg personally led
operation ''Full Disclosure'' of March 2014 from INS ''Hanit''.
On 27 September 2016, Rothberg ended his role as a commander of the Israel Navy.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rothberg, Ram
Living people
Israeli Navy generals
Israeli Jews
1964 births