Benny Gantz, the Israel Defense Forces’ 20th chief of general staff, is the founder and current head of the Hosen L’Yisrael, or Israel Resilience, party.
Gantz was born in 1959 in Kfar Ahim, a moshav in south-central Israel. He was drafted into the Israeli military in 1977, where he served in the Paratroopers Brigade. In 1979, Gantz graduated Bahad 1, the military’s Officers School, and returned to the Paratroopers Brigade, where he served as a platoon, company, and battalion commander.
Gantz went on to occupy several commanding posts, including of the Israel Air Force’s elite Shaldag unit, the Paratroopers brigade, the Judea and Samaria Division and of the Northern Command.
During his service, Gantz obtained a Bachelor’s degree in History from Tel Aviv University, a Master’s degree in Political Science from University of Haifa, and a second Master’s degree in National Resources Management from the National Defense University in the United States.
Gantz was named the IDF chief of general staff in 2011, replacing Gabi Ashkenazi, a post in which he served until 2015. During his tenure, Gantz promoted Orna Barbivai to major-general, making her the first woman in the military’s general staff. During his term Gantz also commanded the military during the 2014 Gaza war.
Since retiring from the military, Gantz co-founded a social movement called Pnima.
In 2018, Gantz announced that he would run in the Knesset general election, establishing Hosen L’Yisrael. In his first and only public remarks, Gantz criticized the controversial Nation-State Law, vowing to amend it to emphasize equality and the special connection between Israel and its Druze minority.
Besieged by his Iran-hacked phone furor, the former army commander is banking on the still-murky submarine scandal to refocus attention on his rival’s corruption - and to stop his own slide in the polls
Contrary to past statements, Benny Gantz is heard in recording saying he would also form a coalition with ultra-Orthodox parties if need be
From being weighed down by several millstones on his Kahol Lavan ticket to running against the master strategist, here are the eight problems dogging Gantz and Kahol Lavan
The phone hacking affair doesn't necessarily makes Gantz vulnerable, but it does serve Netanyahu, who wants to create the impression that Iran has control over his rival
How was Gantz's phone hacked? Which U.S. official is visiting Israel this week? And what did Netanyahu try to prove by using a quote from Haaretz?
Even if Iran really turns out to be responsible, it does not amount to more than an embarrassment, Tamir Pardo says
Shin Bet informed former prime minister of breach several months ago, Channel 12 reports
Amos Gilad reports that Netanyahu gave Germany approval to sell advanced submarines to Egypt in what Kahol Lavan chairman calls 'the most serious corruption affair in the country’s security history'
From speculation over who hacked the Kahol Lavan leader’s private phone to who is spreading rumors about its contents, six key questions that could determine who wins next month’s election
Someone 'with access to sensitive security information and an interest in harming' party leader Benny Gantz very well may be behind the leak, Kahol Lavan claims
Kahol Lavan members attack Netanyahu for misuse of classified materials
The Benny Gantz Iran-hacked phone scandal marks a new low for Netanyahu and a dangerous descent for the election campaign as a whole
Likud and Netanyahu have been trying to tarnish Benny Gantz in a variety of ways, including the spreading of false information. The use of material hacked by an enemy state would be a serious escalation
Is Netanyahu really worried about (former) defense officials being hacked, or is he only interested in reaping political capital?
The rise of Moshe Feiglin's extremist, albeit pro-pot party overshadowed an otherwise dull week of campaigning, featuring Bibi's battles with supermodels
The former army chief's potentially careless behavior may have cost him the election
In special press conference, main Netanyahu rival calls the story 'a political spin,' said no compromising data was found in phone ■ Likud petitions election committee not to allow live broadcast for fear of electioneering
For Kahol Lavan to form a coalition, it would need a lead of five to six Knesset seats over Netanyahu's Likud. As it stands, the slate maintains a lead of only three seats
For Netanyahu, the fear of the Arabs is a political tool, which he has no problem using. But how can Gantz keep quiet?
'Gantz or shvantz,' scoundrel in Hebrew slang, is the appropriate slogan in response to the 'Bibi or Tibi' debased election campaign
Former army chief Gantz's party confirms he was warned by Shin Bet of the Iranian breach, which raises concerns over interference in Israel's upcoming election
Kibbutz Be’eri has always been a left-wing stronghold, with Zionist Union capturing two-thirds of the vote here in 2015. They don’t seem prepared to change the habits of a lifetime, voicing suspicion of blue-eyed boy Benny Gantz and his new Kahol Lavan party
Main Netanyahu contender says his role as army chief during 2014 Gaza war guaranteed relative calm along border for years
In latest round of tit-for-tat recriminations between the two, Bennett calls out the Kahol Lavan leader for knowingly endangering Israeli soldiers for the sake of 'fake morality' during the 2014 Gaza war
Rise of far-rightist moves others to join cannabis bandwagon ■ Netanyahu says Likud would hold on to education portfolio, sought after by the Union of Right-Wing Parties
Gantz vows to restore full U.S. support of Israel ahead of conference by pro-Israel Jewish lobby that is expected to be fraught with tensions
After slew of critical statements against his alliance with Yesh Atid, Gantz says that 'Begin was a patriot,' but under Netanyahu he would have been considered anti-Israel
Exclusive survey finds that Gantz-Lapid alliance Kahol Lavan would get 31 Knesset seats if elections were held today, casting doubt on centrist union's hopes to head new government ■ Feiglin's Zehut party passes electoral threshold, becoming tie breaker.
Both chaired firms that collapsed, but that has no bearing on their ability to lead Israel
For the sake of transparency, Arabs and Jewish democrats must demonstrate maturity and announce that they will forge an alliance, to be called 'the alliance of the coerced,' against Netanyahu