Cabinet approves appointment of successor to Hauser

Maj.-Gen.(res.) Avichai Mandelblit to replace Zvi Hauser as cabinet secretary.

By HERB KEINON
AVICHAI MANDELBLIT (photo credit: IDF Spokesman )
AVICHAI MANDELBLIT
(photo credit: IDF Spokesman )
The cabinet on Monday unanimously approved the appointment of Maj.-Gen.(res.) Avichai Mandelblit as cabinet secretary, replacing Zvi Hauser, who served in that role for the last four years.
Mandelblit is a former IDF military advocate-general, who since retiring from the IDF in 2011 served as a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu thanked Hauser for his years of service, saying Hauser helped him frequently with his “out-of-the-box creative thinking.”
He especially praised Hauser for starting and leading the National Heritage plan, an initiative to renovate more than 150 historic sites in an effort to connect Israelis to their national, cultural and religious history.
“I think that this is a major revolution in reinforcing the common foundations that define the reason why we are here and, of course, ensure the identity of the coming generations with the Zionist and Jewish enterprise,” Netanyahu said.
The cabinet also approved on Monday the appointment of Ehud Netzer as the next director of the Nuclear Research Center-Negev near Dimona. He will replace Maj.-Gen. (res.) Udi Adam, who will retire in the summer after serving in that position for five years.
Netzer holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University, as well as a BA and MA in Mechanical Engineering from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. He is the Israel Atomic Energy Commission director for development and previously held senior positions at Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.