November 27, 2025

The Rank of Major General was Conferred Upon Attorney Itai Ofir

Attorney Itai Ofir was promoted today (Thursday) to the rank of Major General in a ceremony held at “Rabin” Base (the Kirya) led by the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Eyal Zamir, with the participation of the Minister of Defense, Israel Katz, and in the presence of members of the General Staff Forum, commanders, and the Major General’s family. With the conferral of the rank, the Major General entered his position as the Military Advocate General.

From the remarks of the Minister of Defense, Israel Katz: “This is a time in which the IDF stands before major operational challenges - but also before moral and public challenges.

A deep crisis of trust, which began on October 7th and which intensified following the incident of the leaked recording from Sde Teiman - one of the most severe blood libels ever directed against IDF soldiers, and one of the most serious scandals in the history of the nation, which gravely harmed the system and, above all, the trust that the public places in the IDF.”

“The IDF, as the people’s army, requires the trust of the people, and by that same measure, the Military Advocate General’s Corps requires the trust of the public.

We will confront the crisis if we correct the serious mistakes that were made; we will confront it if we learn the necessary lessons and implement them - and strengthen the public trust that is so essential for the Military Advocate General’s Corps, but even more essential for the IDF as a whole.

Itai, I am certain that you will turn this major crisis into an opportunity and will do everything required to bring about the rehabilitation and reorganization of the Military Advocate General’s Corps.”

“Your overarching mission - yours and that of the entire Military Advocate General’s Corps - is clear:
the defense of IDF soldiers who are fighting bravely against our enemies under difficult and complex conditions for the security of the State of Israel, and who are pursued around the world by those who seek to harm us.
I believe and am certain that you will lead the Military Advocate General’s Corps with humility and integrity onto the right path, and toward the proper and worthy directions for fulfilling its important missions - for the sake of the IDF soldiers and commanders.”

From the remarks of the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Eyal Zamir:

“The Military Advocate General’s Corps is an inseparable part of the IDF and is a critical component of its operational strength. Behind every significant operational move carried out by IDF troops — even at this very moment — there also stands a stable and professional legal backbone, ready to ensure our legitimacy and the justice of our actions. When the IDF operates with all its strength, it does so with the clear understanding that it relies on a solid legal foundation and on a moral anchor that cannot be challenged by those who seek to harm us. All of this is carried out together with our commitment to the full protection of our soldiers’ lives and to ensuring legal defense in the face of a hostile world.

Within this, I am outlining for you the required direction. The direction is diversification - alongside excellent and high-quality attorneys within the Military Advocate General’s Corps, it is necessary to integrate combat officers as well. In doing so, the connection with the operational units will be strengthened - a vital connection in a military engaged in combat which protects its troops.”

“Itai, I am fully confident that you will know how to lead the Military Advocate General’s Corps from the front, at those critical junctions where our commanders and soldiers stand; to look together with them at the challenges, to be a firm professional backbone for them, and to ensure that there is also a legal protective force for the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces.

We do not have the privilege of asking for the public’s trust in advance. We must rebuild it, step by step, with professionalism, with transparency to the greatest extent possible, and with consistency. To you, the soldiers of the Military Advocate General’s Corps and its commanders sitting here, I wish to express appreciation and also to ask for the full partnership of all of you in the corrective and growth processes that the system requires - this is the path, this is the shared mission of us all.”

From the remarks of the Military Advocate General, MG Itai Ofir:
“I stand here because we have only one state - the hope and prayer of all generations - which we must guard with utmost vigilance. Because the IDF and the security establishment are our shield, in a reality of a continuous existential threat, many arenas and many challenges.

Because the strength and resilience of the IDF, and its ability to fulfill its purpose and its missions, stem first and foremost from a great spirit unlike any other. A spirit that beats within its men and women, and from its ability to be not only the best military, but also the most moral and principled.

And finally — because a military in a Jewish and democratic state, certainly a military engaged in the longest and most complex war it has known, always operates within a tangled and multi-layered reality. It is a reality in which the rule of law, the protection of the law and of the values embodied within it, must be part of its source of strength and they are an asset to it, not a burden.
With combined efforts, we will work to make what is good even better, to examine and correct what requires correction, and to bring the unit to new achievements and new heights. All of this, in order to enable the IDF, its leadership, and the commanders and soldiers who serve in it - to fulfill its purpose, to carry out its responsibilities, and to succeed in its missions.
I promise that I will strive with all my might to be a faithful public servant, and to do what is right, just, and good. I will carry with me, in my mind and in my heart always, the IDF’s women and men, its soldiers and its commanders.”