With just over a year left in his term as IDF chief of staff, Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi still has many goals left to achieve.
He began his term when Israel’s usual foes – Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad – were top priorities. And throughout his tenure, no matter the surrounding difficulties, Israel’s war-between-wars campaign against Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah has seen action on a weekly basis.
He has also commanded one of the world’s most lethal armies in the war against the global coronavirus pandemic.
But despite all the intensive operations carried out by the IDF against Israel’s enemies, be it Iran, Hezbollah or Palestinian terrorist groups, there has been no clear victory – if any at all.
Iran is still on track to getting a nuclear weapon in two months, according to Defense Minister Benny Gantz. Hezbollah is still entrenching itself in Syria and continues to threaten Israel; just two weeks ago it fired a barrage of 20 missiles toward northern Israel. Hamas is still pushing Israel into a corner where it just might enter into yet another round of fighting just three months after Operation Guardian of the Walls.
Iran’s ongoing nuclear project has led the IDF to accelerate its operational plans should it need to attack Tehran, Kohavi said, while senior brass have said the best way forward with Gaza is to ride the waves of conflict as long as Israel’s deterrence remains.
Those are two not-so-great options for two of the IDF’s main challenges.
Meanwhile, the coronavirus crisis remains a quiet yet tough enemy. Despite being the first military in the world to fully vaccinate its service members and have no sick troops, there were at least 2,212 people sick with the virus in the IDF at last count.
When Kohavi took over as the top military officer from Gadi Eisenkot in 2019, he vowed to make the IDF “deadly and efficient” and formulated his Momentum multiyear plan and Victory concept to bring the military to the next level to be able to contend with future threats on the battlefield and ever-changing enemies.
But two years of political stalemates and the lack of a budget made it almost impossible to implement much of his Momentum multiyear plan. The lack of a budget has had a significant effect on what Kohavi has wanted to do with the IDF and for the thousands of soldiers who serve the country.
WHENEVER YOU speak with the chief of staff, it’s apparent that the welfare of soldiers is one of his top concerns. That troops are still with a salary and pension plan that has remained unchanged for several years is something that was a personal hit for him.
At the beginning of the month, the government finally approved a new defense budget (as part of the state budget), giving the IDF NIS 58 billion for 2022.
That budget will enable Israel to ensure its defensive superiority in the face of growing threats and allow Kohavi to finally and fully implement his Momentum multiyear program. It will give a green light to the IDF to purchase more munitions and equipment and complete a program to reinforce civilian homes along the border with Lebanon.
Though the budget has given him a significant amount of funds, it does not provide the military with enough to raise the meager salary that combat troops receive.
Kohavi has tried over the past two years to push forward a holistic package that would boost soldiers’ salaries. Only following a ruling by the Supreme Court was the military able to increase the pension for officers and retired personnel.
But the troops working around the clock and those on the front lines in combat positions have been left behind and are still not being compensated fairly.
Though Kohavi is supposed to be apolitical, it is clear that the political environment has angered him since his hands were tied and he was unable to move his plans forward. But with a new government and budget set for the next year, Kohavi might finally be able to finish the work he set out to do when he first began.
He’s battled Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and more since he enlisted in the Paratroopers Brigade in 1982.
Those who know Kohavi say he is a perfectionist, a reformer and an officer who thinks outside the box. During the next year and a half of his term, he needs to think outside the box and perfect answers to the IDF’s main concerns. He cannot allow the IDF to “ride the waves” of conflict.
Kohavi will also need to battle the Finance Ministry to make sure the salaries of conscripts, especially combat troops, are raised to a livable amount. If not, he risks losing – even more – the public’s motivation to serve in the IDF.