The Chief of Staff, Lt. Col. Aviv Kochavi, decided yesterday (Sunday) to appoint the paratroopers’ battalion commander from the Nahal Hilzon disaster, Lt. Col. Yishai Rosilio, as commander of the “Judea” brigade and to elevate him to the rank of colonel. Rosilio was fired and even admitted and convicted of non-compliance with the binding instructions in the army following the death of the late Sergeant Eviatar Yosefi during navigation in the Nahal Hilzon area in January 2019.
Lt. Col. Kochavi also decided to raise Colonel Dr. Hadas Minka Brand to the rank of Brigadier General. This is a precedent-setting move by Chief of Staff Kochavi that was first published in “Israel Today” and provoked great resentment among IDF officers, who wondered why an associate of the chief of staff receives the rank of brigadier general in a position to which officers with the rank of colonel are assigned only.
In addition, the Chief of Staff appointed Colonel Shlomi Ben Mocha, Commander of the Rescue and Training Division at the Home Front Command, as commander of the Alon Command, in parallel with his position and he will be promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. Colonel Uri Dauba will be appointed commander of ‘Otzbat Baram’, Colonel Elad Shoshan will be appointed Operations Officer of the Depth Command and Colonel Yogev Barsheshet will be appointed Deputy Chief of the Civil Administration.
It was also decided that Lt. Col. Itai Matek would be appointed commander of the Etzion Regional Brigade, Lt. Col. Shimon Siso would be appointed commander of the Samaria Regional Brigade, and Lt. Col. Ido Saad would be appointed commander of the Paran Brigade.
In addition, Lt. Col. Ephraim Tehila, an officer with two trophies for his heroism in “Cast Lead” and “Strong Cliff”, will be appointed commander of the “Alexandroni” brigade (3) and will be promoted to the rank of colonel. Additional commanders were also appointed to the IDF Brigades in reserve. All appointments require the approval of the Minister of Defense.