Ram Rothberg

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Ram Rothberg
רם רוטברג
Eliezer Marom
Succeeded byEli Sharvit
Personal details
Born (1964-02-05) February 5, 1964 (age 60)
Commander of Flotilla 13
Battles/wars

Israel Navy.[2]

Service history

Rothberg commanded the

Karin A arms smuggling ship in January 2002.[4]

He later served as the Chief of Naval Intelligence during the

C-802 anti-ship missile fired by Hezbollah hit the warship, whose crew was apparently unaware that the Lebanese group possessed such weapons. The strike left four sailors dead and the ship temporarily disabled. Rothberg was criticized over his contribution to the failure, but later was promoted to the position of commander of the Navy's Haifa base.[4]

Afterwards, Rothberg served in the

Commander of the Israeli Navy

On 4 August 2011, Israeli Defense Minister

Israel Navy,[3][4][5][6] after being nominated by IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz. He is to be promoted in rank to Major General (Aluf). He replaced Vice-Admiral Eliezer Marom, who retired after serving in the IDF for 37 years.[6] He was not the front runner for the post and the appointment was received with surprise by military officials.[4]
On 10 October 2011, in a ceremony held at the Haifa naval base, Rothberg entered his role as commander of the Israel Navy.[2]

In 2012, Rothberg was investigated for an

April Fool's Day joke. Shortly before April Fool's Day, Rothberg ordered senior commanders to prepare for a complex, 10-day exercise in Italy with the US and Italian navies. Intending to keep the joke among senior officers, he ordered the news be kept at the senior command level, but the information leaked to lower officers, who worked throughout the night to prepare. Three missile ships and their crews were readied at Haifa naval base and officers worked to chart a course to Italy. Sailors' parents also rushed to the base to give them supplies and money. By the time Rothberg admitted that it was a joke, the three warships were ready to set sail, and crews were standing at attention on deck.[7][8]

Rothberg personally led operation Full Disclosure of March 2014 from INS Hanit.[9]

On 27 September 2016, Rothberg ended his role as a commander of the Israel Navy.

References

  1. ^ "החלפת פיקוד חיל הים" [Exchange of Navy Command] (Press release) (in Hebrew). Israeli Navy. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  2. ^
    IDF Spokesperson
    . 10 October 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  3. ^
    IDF Spokesperson
    . 4 August 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  4. ^
    Ynetnews
    . Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  5. ^ a b Katz, Yaakov (4 August 2011). "Barak appoints Ram Rothberg as next head of Israel Navy". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  6. ^
    IDF Spokesperson
    . 7 August 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  7. ^ Zitun, Yoav (April 2012). "Naval commander's April Fools' stunt leaves him with egg on face". Ynetnews.
  8. ^ "Army pours cold water on Navy chief's April Fool's Day prank". The Times of Israel.
  9. ^ Yehoshua, Yossi (March 6, 2014). בראש הכוח עמדה אח"י חנית שנפגעה בלבנון. Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved September 27, 2014.