Who is Herzi Halevi, the chief of staff of the Israel Defence Forces?

EVEN BEFORE Hamas, the militant group that runs Gaza, attacked Israel on October 7th, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi was in a difficult position. In January 2023, when he became chief of general staff of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), the most senior position in Israel’s army, the officer and reserve corps were rent by divisions over proposed reforms to the country’s Supreme Court. Some reservists threatened not to serve if the divisive prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, and his far-right coalition passed laws weakening the powers of the court. It was one of the army’s most turbulent periods in recent times.