Yair Naveh (; born 5 September 1957) is a major general in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

and a former Deputy Chief of the General Staff. In 1975, he was drafted into the IDF where he served in all positions in the Golani Infantry Brigade from Company Commander to Brigade Commander. He lives in

Zikhron Ya'akov Zikhron Ya'akov () often shortened to just Zikhron, is a local council (Israel), town in northern Israel, south of the city of Haifa, and part of the Haifa District. It is located at the southern end of the Mount Carmel, Carmel mountain range over ...

. Naveh was previously the head of

Israeli Home Front Command The Home Front Command (HFC; , ''Pikud HaOref'', also referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym ''Pakar'') is an Israel Defense Forces military district command responsible for civil protection. It was created in February 1992 in response to ...

until nominated by former prime minister

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon ( ; also known by his diminutive Arik, ; 26 February 192811 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. Born in Kfar Malal in Mandatory Palestin ...

to his post as Central Command chief. It is believed by some Israelis that Sharon nominated Naveh because he is the highest ranked religious officer and that as head of Central Command, he would be forced to carry out the evacuation of West Bank settlements in 2005. Naveh holds a bachelor's degree in history and political science, as well as a master's degree in political science and Middle Eastern studies. In 2006, Naveh predicted that

King Abdullah King Abdullah may refer to: *Abdullah II of Jordan (born 1962), king of Jordan since 1999 ** List of things named after King Abdullah II *Abdullah I of Jordan (1882–1951), king of Transjordan *Abdullah Khan II (1533/4–1598), ruler of the Khanat ...

would fall and that he would be Jordan's last king, drawing an angry reaction from Jordan, for which Israel had to apologize on Naveh's behalf. In 2008, Naveh's name was tied in with the alleged instructions to assassinate commanders in Palestinian militant organizations contrary to a court order. This alleged involvement was revealed through the documents leaked to

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

Uri Blau Uri Blau (; born 1977) is an Israeli investigative journalist who writes for ''Haaretz'' and other publications. His work focuses on military affairs, corruption and "follow the money" investigations. Blau was convicted of possession of classified ...

by Naveh's former secretary,

Anat Kamm Anat Kamm (alternative spelled ''Anat Kam'', ; born in 1987 in Jerusalem) is an Israeli journalist and former whistleblower, who was convicted for espionage resulting in jail time for her role in the Anat Kamm–Uri Blau affair where she leaked m ...

. After his military service, Naveh was appointed as CEO of CityPass, the consortium building the

Jerusalem Light Rail The Jerusalem Light Rail (, ''HaRakevet HaKala Birushalayim'', , ''Qiṭār Al-Quds Al-Khafīf'') is a light rail system in Jerusalem. Currently, the Red Line (Jerusalem Light Rail), Red Line is the only one in operation, the first of several ...

. In October 2010, Defense Minister

Ehud Barak Ehud Barak ( ; born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli former general and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Israeli Labor Party, Labor Party between 1997 and 20 ...

has approved the appointment of Major General Yair Naveh, 53, as IDF deputy chief of staff replacing Maj.-Gen. Benny Gantz. He was recommended for the post by the IDF Chief of Staff, Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi. On 1 February 2011, General Naveh was appointed as the stopgap IDF Chief of Staff, and was expected to succeed outgoing Chief of Staff Gen.

Gabi Ashkenazi Gabriel "Gabi" Ashkenazi (; born 25 February 1954) is an Israeli politician and former military leader. He previously served as the minister of foreign affairs. He was the Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces from 2007 to 2011. ...

on 14 February 2011. Naveh was appointed by Defense Minister Ehud Barak after Gen. Yoav Galant's appointment was withdrawn by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Ultimately,

Benny Gantz Benjamin Gantz ( ; born 9 June 1959) is an Israeli politician and retired army general. He served as a Minister without portfolio#Israel, minister without portfolio from 2023 to 2024, as the Ministry of Defense (Israel), minister of defense bet ...

was confirmed for the job and Naveh remained deputy chief of staff until January 2013. He retired from the military in 2015. The following is a list of positions Major General Yair Naveh has held during his service in the IDF: * 1989: Commander of the Brigade along the border with

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. * 1991: Commander of the Golani Unit. * 1994: Head of Safety Department of the Ground Forces. * 1996: Chief Infantry and Paratroops officer. * 1999: Commander of the Gaza Division. * 2001: Chief of Staff of Army Headquarters. * 2003: Awarded rank of Major General and appointed as GOC Homefront Command. * 2005: Appointed GOC Central Command. * 2010: Appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of IDF.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naveh, Yair Living people Israeli generals University of Haifa alumni Tel Aviv University alumni 1957 births People from Zikhron Ya'akov