Personal Profile About Gadi Eisenkot
Gadi Eisenkot is an Israeli retired lieutenant general and politician. He served as the 21st Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces from 2015 to 2019. He spent 41 years in the IDF. He joined the National Unity party in 2022 and served in the war cabinet after 7 October 2023. He founded the Yashar party in 2025. He leads Yashar in the race against Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Gadi Eisenkot biography shows that Eisenkot enlisted in the Golani Brigade in 1978. He rose from rifleman to brigade commander. He served as military secretary to two prime ministers. He commanded the Northern Command. He studied at Tel Aviv University and the University of Haifa. His parents, Meir and Esther Eisenkot, were immigrants.
Gadi Eisenkot Religion
Gadi Eisenkot religion is Judaism. He grew up in a traditional Jewish family (Mizrahi community) in Tiberias and Eilat. His parents came to Israel from Morocco. His mother once joked that she had hoped he would become a rabbi. Eisenkot supports military service exemptions for up to three percent of Haredi men who study at yeshivas.
Gadi Eisenkot Son
Gadi Eisenkot son is Master Sergeant (reserve) Gal Meir Eisenkot, his youngest child. Gal died in Gaza on 7 December 2023 at age 25. Gal studied bioinformatics at Tel Aviv University. The funeral took place on 8 December 2023 at the Herzliya cemetery. Eisenkot has five children: Guy, Rotem, Yael, Vered and Gal.
Gadi Eisenkot Age
Gadi Eisenkot age is 66 Years old. He was born on 19 May 1960, in Tiberias, in northern Israel. His family moved to Eilat, at the southern tip of Israel, when he was one year old. He became chief of the general staff at age 54 in 2015. He retired from the army at age 58 in 2019.
Gadi Eisenkot Wife
Gadi Eisenkot wife is Hannah Eisenkot, who also goes by Hana. She comes from an American Jewish family. She met Eisenkot at a sailing club when they were in high school. They married in 1984. The couple lives in Herzliya. Hannah went with him to vote in Herzliya on 27 October 2026.