Air Force General Command chief Brig. Gen. Hagai Topolansky replaced Maj. Gen. Orna Barbivai on Tuesday as head of the IDF's Personnel Directorate. Barbivai, who is retiring, made history by becoming the first, and so far only, woman in the IDF to reach the rank of major-general. Four women in the IDF currently hold the next-highest rank, brigadier-general. "Orna is the first female major-general, but surely not the last," IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz said Tuesday, following the changing of the guard ceremony. "Her abilities brought her to this, not her femininity. She has done a wonderful job for 34 years."
Credit: Moshe Ben Simhon
