June 23, 2011
Israel Defense Forces Brig. Gen. Orna Barbivai is formally promoted to major general, making her the first woman to hold the IDF’s second-highest rank. She takes command of the Personnel Directorate, where she has served throughout her military career.
Born in 1962, Barbivai began her military service in 1981. She receives a bachelor’s degree in humanities from Ben-Gurion University and an M.B.A. in business management from the University of Derby in England. She also has three children.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak announced Barbivai’s promotion May 26, 2011. After which, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called her to offer congratulations. He told the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth the same day that there is “extreme importance in integrating women in top positions in the IDF, the defense establishment and the Israeli market in general. … The nomination is a big step for Israeli society and also sends a message to nations worldwide.”
Israeli women face mandatory military service and make up approximately one-third of IDF soldiers. As the first to hold the rank of major general, or aluf in Hebrew, Barbivai is the highest-ranking IDF woman so far. At her swearing-in ceremony, Barbivai says, “I am proud to be the first woman to become a major general and to be part of an organization in which equality is a central principle.”
