Benny Gantz facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Benny Gantz
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בֵּנִי גַּנְץ
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Gantz in 2024
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| 1st Alternate Prime Minister of Israel | |
| In office 17 May 2020 – 13 June 2021 |
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| President | Reuven Rivlin |
| Prime Minister | Benjamin Netanyahu |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Yair Lapid |
| Ministerial roles | |
| 2020–2022 | Minister of Defense |
| 2021 | Minister of Justice |
| 2021–2022 | Deputy Prime Minister |
| 2023–2024 | Minister without portfolio |
| 2023–2024 | Member of the war cabinet |
| Faction represented in the Knesset | |
| 2019–2022 | Blue and White |
| 2022– | National Unity |
| Military roles | |
| 2011–2015 | Chief of the General Staff |
| Other roles | |
| 2020 | Speaker of the Knesset |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Benjamin Gantz
9 June 1959 Kfar Ahim, Israel |
| Political party | Israel Resilience (since 2018) |
| Spouse | Revital |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | Tel Aviv University University of Haifa National Defense University |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Israel |
| Branch/service | Israeli Armed Forces |
| Years of service | 1977–2015 |
| Rank | Rav Aluf |
| Unit | Paratroopers Brigade |
| Commands |
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| Battles/wars |
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| Awards | Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States) |
Benjamin Gantz (born June 9, 1959) is an Israeli politician and a retired army general. He has held several important roles in the Israeli government. From 2023 to 2024, he was a minister without a specific department. Before that, he served as the Minister of Defense from 2020 to 2022 and as Deputy Prime Minister from 2021 to 2022. He was also the Alternate Prime Minister from 2020 to 2021.
Before entering politics, Gantz was the 20th Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which is Israel's military. He held this top military position from 2011 to 2015. In December 2018, he started his political career by forming a new party called Israel Resilience. This party later joined with others to create the Blue and White alliance. In 2022, Gantz became the leader of the National Unity party.
Gantz also served as the 17th Speaker of the Knesset, which is Israel's parliament, for a short period in 2020. In April 2020, he agreed to join a special "unity government" with then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. As part of this agreement, Gantz became the Alternate Prime Minister and Minister of Defense. However, this government did not last, leading to new elections. As Defense Minister, Gantz was in charge during Operation Guardian of the Walls in Gaza in 2021. He continued as Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in the next government until December 2022.
In October 2023, after the start of the Gaza war, Gantz's National Unity party joined a special "war cabinet" with the ruling party. He was appointed a minister without a specific department in this emergency government. He left the war cabinet in June 2024.
Contents
Early Life and Background
Benjamin Gantz was born in Kfar Ahim, Israel, in 1959. His parents were among the first people to settle in this farming community. He was their only child.
His mother, Malka, was a Holocaust survivor from Hungary. She survived the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. His father, Nahum Gantz, was from Romania and also survived concentration camps like Auschwitz. He later moved to Palestine (which became Israel) and was involved in local politics.
Gantz grew up in Kfar Ahim and attended high school and a boarding school.
Education and Family
Gantz studied at several universities. He earned a bachelor's degree in history from Tel Aviv University. He also has two master's degrees: one in political science from the University of Haifa and another in National Resources Management from the National Defense University in the United States.
Benny Gantz is married to Revital, and they have four children. They live in the city of Rosh HaAyin.
Military Career
Gantz joined the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in 1977. He volunteered to be a paratrooper, which is a soldier trained to jump from airplanes. One of his first tasks was to help with security when Egyptian President Anwar Sadat visited Israel in 1977. As a paratrooper, he took part in military operations in Lebanon in 1978.
After becoming an officer in 1979, he continued to serve in the Paratroopers Brigade. He also trained with the U.S. Army Special Forces and fought in the 1982 Lebanon War.
Later, he led a paratrooper battalion in operations in southern Lebanon. In 1991, he commanded a special unit during Operation Solomon. This was a mission to airlift 14,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He also held senior command roles during the Second Intifada and the 2006 Lebanon War.
Throughout his military career, Gantz commanded various units. These included the Shaldag Unit in the Israeli Air Force and the 35th Paratroopers Brigade. He also served as Israel's military representative in the United States from 2005 to 2009.
Chief of Staff
In February 2011, Benny Gantz was chosen to be the 20th Chief of the General Staff of the IDF. This is the highest position in the Israeli military. The Israeli government approved his appointment unanimously. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Gantz as an "excellent officer and experienced commander."
Gantz officially became the Chief of Staff on February 14, 2011. He served for four years, which is longer than the usual three years. During his time as Chief of Staff, he made history by appointing the IDF's first female major-general, Orna Barbivai.
Gantz led the IDF during military operations against Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip. These operations included Operation Pillar of Defense and Operation Protective Edge.
Political Career
Entering Politics
In December 2018, Gantz announced that he was forming a new political party. On December 27, 2018, he officially launched the Israel Resilience Party. His goal was to run in the upcoming elections.
In his first major political speech in January 2019, Gantz spoke about strengthening Israeli communities in the West Bank. He also stated that Israel would never leave the Golan Heights. He did not fully support or reject a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He said that the Jordan Valley would be Israel's border.
Gantz later formed a political alliance called Blue and White with other parties. This alliance was announced in February 2019.
Forming Governments
In the April 2019 election, Gantz's Blue and White alliance won 35 seats in the Knesset, tying with Netanyahu's party. However, Netanyahu was given the first chance to form a government but failed. This led to new elections in September 2019.
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In the September election, Blue and White won 33 seats, one more than Netanyahu's party. Gantz received more recommendations to form a government, but he also failed to create a stable coalition. This resulted in a third election in March 2020.
The March 2020 election saw Netanyahu's party win more seats. However, Gantz still received enough support to be asked to form a government. During the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel, Gantz changed his mind and agreed to form an emergency unity government with Netanyahu.
On March 26, 2020, Gantz was elected Speaker of the Knesset. This move was supported by Netanyahu's party and caused some changes within the Blue and White alliance. On April 20, Gantz and Netanyahu announced they had reached an agreement for a unity government. They agreed to share power, with Gantz serving as Alternate Prime Minister and Minister of Defense. The new government was sworn in on May 17, 2020.
Minister of Defense
Alternate Prime Minister
In November 2020, Gantz started a military committee to investigate a corruption case involving the purchase of submarines. However, the committee members resigned due to restrictions on their investigation. Gantz later formed another committee to look into how military veterans were treated.
Despite joining the government, Gantz disagreed with Netanyahu's plans for annexation, saying the focus should be on the COVID-19 pandemic. In December 2020, the unity government collapsed, leading to new elections in March 2021.
Gantz also served as the acting Minister of Justice for a period in 2021.
In May 2021, as Defense Minister, Gantz oversaw Operation Guardian of the Walls. This was a military operation in the Gaza Strip involving many air, land, and sea strikes. The operation ended with a ceasefire on May 21.
Deputy Prime Minister
After the 2021 election, Blue and White won 8 seats. Gantz's party joined a new unity government with other parties. Yair Lapid became the Alternate Prime Minister, and Gantz remained the Defense Minister and became a Deputy Prime Minister. This new government was sworn in on June 13, 2021.
In October 2021, Gantz announced that six Palestinian human rights organizations would be labeled as terrorist groups. The Ministry of Defense stated these groups were linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
In November 2021, Gantz became the first Israeli defense minister to visit Morocco. He signed an agreement for security cooperation with the Moroccan government. He also signed a similar defense agreement with Bahrain.
In May 2022, Gantz called for two groups, La Familia and Lehava, to be labeled as terrorist organizations. This was after violence and racist comments against Palestinians during an annual march.
2022 Election and Opposition
After the Knesset was dissolved in June 2022, new elections were called for November 1. In July, Gantz announced an alliance with Gideon Sa'ar's New Hope party. This alliance was later joined by former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot and was renamed the National Unity Party. The alliance won 12 seats in the election.
On December 29, 2022, a new government was formed by Netanyahu's party. Gantz was replaced as Defense Minister and his party moved into the opposition.
Gaza War and Emergency Government
On October 7, 2023, the Gaza war began after an attack by Hamas militants on Israel. The next day, Gantz announced he was willing to temporarily join Netanyahu's government to form a special "war cabinet." On October 11, Gantz and Netanyahu agreed on the new cabinet. Gantz joined the war cabinet as a minister without a specific department. This agreement was approved by the Knesset on October 12.
In March 2024, the New Hope party left the National Unity alliance and the emergency government. On June 9, Gantz resigned from the war cabinet. He had previously stated he would resign if the cabinet could not agree on plans for returning hostages, ending Hamas's rule, and other goals.
In February 2025, Gantz supported a proposal by US President Donald Trump regarding the Gaza Strip. He stated that Israel could benefit from helping those who wished to leave the area.
Gallery
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Gantz with fellow Blue and White alliance partners [L to R]: Moshe Yaalon, Gantz, Yair Lapid, and Gabi Ashkenazi.
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Gantz with United States President Donald Trump in January 2020
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Gantz with United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in May 2020
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Gantz meeting with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Israel in April 2021
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Awards and Decorations
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See also
In Spanish: Benny Gantz para niños
