Israeli Alternate Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Benjamin Gantz

Secdef To

Department of Defense Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Jonathan R. Hoffman provided the following readout:

Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark T. Esper conducted a phone call with Israeli Alternate Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Benjamin Gantz today to congratulate Gantz on his leadership role in the newly formed Israeli government.  

The two discussed both governments’ efforts to address the novel coronavirus and the need to deter adversaries that may seek to exploit global attention to the pandemic.  They reviewed shared interests on regional security concerns, with an emphasis on the necessity to halt the Iranian threat, as well as opportunities to build a more stable and prosperous Middle East.

Minister Gantz highlighted the strategic and steadfast defense relationship between the two nations, pledged to strengthen the U.S.-Israel defense partnership and lauded the countries’ ironclad military-to-military cooperation, which he has supported through his previous service as Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and Defense Attache to the United States.  Minister Gantz expressed appreciation for the U.S. commitment to Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge (QME) and intent to consolidate Israel’s defense modernization and procurement plans over the coming weeks. 

20th Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces

Benjamin (Benny) Gantz was born in 1959 to Malka, a survivor of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, and Nahum Gantz. After World War II, his parents came to Israel on a ship of illegal immigrants and were among the founders of Kfar Ahim in the south of Israel. He was raised in the cooperative agricultural community alongside his three sisters.

As a youth, Gantz attended the Or Etzion religious high school in Merkaz Shapira, and he later attended the boarding school at the HaKfar HaYarok youth village.

At age 18 Gantz enlisted in the Paratroopers Brigade and served in the Airborne Nahal battalion. He was sent to officers’ training course, which began his 38 years of service as an IDF commander. Ten years after his enlistment, at just 28 years of age, Gantz was appointed commander of the 890th battalion of the Paratroopers Brigade.

At age 30, he was given command of the Shaldag Unit; in this position, he led the historic Operation Solomon—the airlift of Ethiopian Jews to Israel. His next position took him back to the Paratroopers Brigade, this time as brigade commander.

In 2000, the government decided to withdraw from Lebanon. Gantz, who was serving as commander of the Lebanon Liaison Unit, was in effect the last IDF officer to exit Lebanon. A year later he was promoted to Major General and was appointed Commander of the IDF Ground Forces. Subsequently, he was appointed GOC Northern Command.

In 2007, Gantz was appointed military attache to the United States. Two years later, he returned to Israel as Deputy Chief of General Staff.

In 2011, he was appointed the 20th Chief of General Staff of IDF. During his term as Chief of General Staff, Gantz commanded Operation Pillar of Defense, which opened with the assassination of mass murderer Ahmed Jabar. In July 2014, he commanded Operation Protective Edge, during which the offensive tunnels from the Gaza Strip were destroyed.

In late 2014, after 38 years in the IDF, Gantz completed his military service.

Following his release, Gantz was involved in social activities and participated in various projects: he served as chairman the Public Advisory Board of NATAL Israel and as chairman of Yad David Ben-Gurion; he initiated and led the MadaNegev program, which exposes the children of Yeruham to the fields of science and technology, so that the program’s graduates can enter the fields of robotics, technology, and innovation. 

In 2019, Benjamin Gantz founded the Israel Resilience Party (Hosen L’Yisrael), which he would head in the upcoming elections to the Twenty-First Knesset. The party then joined forces with Telem and Yesh Atid to found the Blue and White parliamentary group (Kahol Lavan). Gantz was appointed group chairman.

Gantz lives in Rosh HaAyin with his wife Revital, who runs the Nitzan Association’s Parent Training Center, and his four children: Nadav, Noga, Nir and Noam.