Katz, in addition to rejecting outright the promotion of Giltman, has frozen all senior appointments in the IDF amid a fight over probes into the military\u2019s failures surrounding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack. The defense minister has been fighting a months-long, escalating campaign against Zamir, which has centered on senior appointments and drawn accusations from some military officials that Katz is trying to politicize the army, as well as claims that he is trying to pin all the blame for October 7 on the army and absolve the government of responsibility.<\/p>\n
In a message to officers in the 162nd Division, where Giltman has served for more than 700 days in reserves, he wrote that he will remain in his current reservist role.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe entire General Staff Forum expressed full support for my candidacy, but unfortunately, Minister Katz decided to disqualify the appointment. This is a political decision, not a professional one, and that is how it should be regarded,\u201d Giltman said in the message, published in full by Army Radio.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI have never called for refusal to serve or for non-volunteering, and I denounce such calls. Throughout my adult life, from my regular service to my reserve duty, I have served the state with pride,\u201d Giltman wrote, alluding to Katz\u2019s accusation that he had advocated refusal.<\/p>\n \t The defense minister has described Giltman as one of the \u201cleaders\u201d of Brothers in Arms, as images circulated of the reservist officer wearing a t-shirt from the organization. Giltman has said he wasn\u2019t involved in Brothers in Arms, but rather a different reservist protest group, which never advocated any form of refusal, and that the photo is from a one-time press conference in which all reservist protest groups participated.<\/p>\n \u201cIn light of the uproar, and out of a desire to keep the IDF clean [of politics], I agreed to withdraw my candidacy for the position in question, but I\u2019m not going anywhere,\u201d Giltman wrote to the officers.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter much thought, I have decided to continue serving as the division chief of staff. It is important to me to remain above politics. We have a heavy responsibility on our shoulders, and this country has only one army,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Katz reiterates he won\u2019t approve Zamir\u2019s latest promotions<\/p>\n Katz reiterated on Saturday that he would not approve Zamir\u2019s latest promotions, in a lengthy statement slamming the military chief on several topics.<\/p>\n He had already said he was freezing senior appointments in the IDF for 30 days, until the defense establishment comptroller conducts a re-investigation of the military\u2019s review of its earlier internal probes into the failures surrounding the October 7 attack.<\/p>\n The external review, conducted by Maj. Gen. (res.) Sami Turgeman and other former senior officers, found that some of the initial probes were inadequate, and also pointed to several topics that were not investigated at all.<\/p>\n \t Zamir has since instructed various IDF units to complete their investigations, and he has also appointed officers to investigate topics that were not previously probed, chief among them the military\u2019s failed handling of intelligence reports that outlined Hamas\u2019s intent to launch a wide-scale attack against Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cI expected the chief of staff to act according to the committee\u2019s recommendations and complete and deepen the investigations, but I was surprised when he summoned officers and imposed various sanctions on them without updating me on such a significant step and without consultation,\u201d Katz said, referring to Zamir\u2019s decision to dismiss several officers from the military over their failures on October 7.<\/p>\n \u201cSince I am the authority who, by law, approves the appointment of senior IDF officers from the rank of colonel and above, I tasked the defense establishment comptroller \u2014 the most qualified professional body \u2014 with completing the investigations and presenting findings that would allow me to consider my position on senior appointments,\u201d Katz said.<\/p>\n \u201cI also asked the chief of staff to wait 30 days on the appointments so that I would have the required information and we could act according to the procedure we formulated, which includes prior consultations,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, the chief of staff did not comply with my request and held the appointments discussion,\u201d he said, referring to Zamir\u2019s announcement on Thursday.<\/p>\n Katz added that \u201cit is important to emphasize that regarding the IDF\u2019s operational activity in the various arenas, I maintain direct and continuous contact with the chief of staff and the IDF brass, as well as numerous joint discussions chaired by the prime minister, and none of this is affected.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tThen-Israel\u2019s defense attach\u00e9 to Russia, Col. German Giltman, on February 26, 2020. (Israel Defense Forces)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-06-20-at-12.26.45-1024x640-1-640x400.jpeg\")
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\n\t\tDefense Minister Israel Katz (left) and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, June 2025. (Ariel Harmoni \/ Defense Ministry)<\/p>\n
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