Ex-Army Radio head Benayahu takes over as IDF Spokesman

By YAAKOV KATZ
Brig.-Gen. Avi Benayahu took up his new post as IDF Spokesman on Thursday, replacing Brig.-Gen. Miri Regev, who has held the post for the past two years. Benayahu, a former reporter and head of Army Radio, was also media adviser for a number of defense ministers, including Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin and Yitzhak Mordechai. Benayahu will be faced with a number of major challenges, first and foremost that of assisting IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi in rehabilitating the IDF's image both in Israel and abroad. A number of positions in the IDF Spokesperson's Office are vacant and will need to be filled in the coming weeks. The office also suffers from a shortage in personnel and resources in the face of the growing number of media outlets, both local and international, that cover Israel. Regev, who was spokesperson during the disengagement from Gaza and the Second Lebanon War, has submitted her candidacy to replace Benayahu as head of Army Radio.