Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu embarked Sept. 21 for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In an unusual, perhaps even unprecedented move, Netanyahu took Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot as well as military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Herzl Halevi with him.
In general, Israeli prime ministers don’t drag chiefs of staff to such meetings. No one expects Putin to sit with Israeli generals over maps and aerial photos. A prime minister could easily limit himself to bringing along his high-ranking military secretary and the head of Military Intelligence’ Research Division. But Netanyahu set his sights high, and going for broke, took with him the national military commander and the national intelligence expert.