Израиль армиясының 22-ші Бас штаб бастығы Авив Кохави

22nd Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces

Aviv Kohavi (; born 23 April 1964) was the 22nd Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, having taken the oath of office on January 15, 2019. Before becoming Lieutenant General (Rav Aluf), he was commander of the Gaza Division, commander of the Northern Command, commander of the Paratroopers Brigade and Military Intelligence Director.

Kohavi was one of three children born to Shaul and Riva Kohavi. His father was a shop owner and his mother was a physical education teacher. He grew up in Kiryat Bialik in the Haifa District, and was a member of the HaMahanot HaOlim Labour Zionist youth movement. He studied at the Habonim school and ORT Kiryat Bialik school. Kohavi has a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University and a master's degree in international relations from Johns Hopkins University.

Kohavi was drafted into the IDF in 1982. He volunteered as a paratrooper in the Paratroopers Brigade and was placed in the 890th Battalion. He served as a soldier and a squad leader. In 1985 he became an infantry officer after completing Officer Candidate School and returned to the Paratroopers Brigade as a platoon leader. During his career Kohavi led the Brigade's Anti tank company. Between 1993 and 1994, he led the 101st "Peten" (Elapidae) paratroop battalion in counter guerrilla operations in South Lebanon. Afterwards he commanded a Regional Brigade in South Lebanon and a reserve Paratrooper Brigade. Later he commanded the training base of the brigade, was deputy commander of the brigade and commander of the reservist paratrooper 551 brigade.

In 2001, he was appointed commander of the Paratroopers Brigade, a position he held until 2003. Together with a group of other commanders from the field units, including Moshe Tamir, Yair Golan, Gal Hirsch and Noam Tibon, he was one of the pushers to act against the sources of Palestinian militancy during the Second Intifada in the kasbahs and refugee camps, despite being crowded and complicated urban areas, and despite the hesitations of the IDF senior command. He successfully led the brigade in a takeover of the Balata refugee camp in Nablus in February 2002. He then led the brigade in Operation Defensive Shield, and in other operations throughout the West Bank against Palestinian militant infrastructure, among them, the conquest of Bethlehem and the imposition of a siege on the Church of the Nativity, in which fifty armed wanted men fortified themselves, held about 200 hostages and waged gun battles against the IDF. In 2002 during the Second Intifada while on the battlefield, Kohavi developed the use of a 5 kg hammer to break down walls and cross through homes in refugee camps to prevent his soldiers from being shot by snipers. This tactic has been copied by other armies, including the United States military.

In 2003, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and appointed commander of the 98th Paratroopers Division, and served until November 2004. On November 30, 2004, he was appointed commander of the Gaza Division, and led the division in operations against Qassam rocket launches and Palestinian militants infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, During his service as division commander, two significant events occurred: the disengagement plan in September 2005 and the abduction of Gilad Shalit in June 2006. During his tenure, he took part in the planning of Operation Pillar of Defense, Operation Full Disclosure, Operation Brother's Keeper and Operation Protective Edge. In November 2014 he was appointed as the commander of the Northern Command. In November 2019 Kohavi commanded the IDF in Operation Black Belt, when it fought against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), following the targeted killing of senior PIJ commander Baha Abu al Ata in Gaza. He also led Israel's military during Operation Guardian of the Walls in May 2021. Later in May, Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced that he will request from the government to approve extending his tenure as IDF Chief of Staff by an additional year. In July, the government approved the extension of term. In August 2022, Kohavi led Israeli forces during Operation Breaking Dawn. On January 16, 2023, Kohavi handed over his role to Herzi Halevi and officially finished his active military service.

Kohavi is vegetarian, is married and is the father of three daughters. He lives in Adi in northern Israel. Kohavi's brother is Dr. Zohar Kohavi, Head of Research at the left wing "think tank" Zulat for Equality and Human Rights Institute.