Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

CENTCOM commander visits Israel to strengthen military cooperation

Gen. Michael Eric Kurilla held a strategic meeting with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi.

Michael Eric Kurilla Herzi Halevi
U.S. Central Command Commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla participated in a strategic meeting with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi and other military officials during his visit to Israel, January 2025. Credit: IDF.

Gen. Michael Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), visited Israel this week as the guest of Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi.

According to the IDF, the two military leaders held a strategic meeting to assess regional threats in the Middle East and discuss operational cooperation.

They emphasized strengthening readiness for various scenarios, highlighting the importance of the strong strategic relationship between the two countries’ militaries.

Kurilla has visited Israel multiple times throughout the multi-front war with Iran and its terror proxies, which Hamas in Gaza started with its mass invasion of the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7, 2023, killing over a thousand and kidnapping hundreds more.

See more from JNS Staff
“I was brought in to unite the room in a sense of wonder,” the mentalist Oz Pearlman told JNS prior to the event, which was cut short after an assassination attempt.
“Taxpayer dollars are being wasted in overseas wars and should be redirected to the cost-of-living crisis at home,” a May Day Strong organizer told JNS.
“Having the Southern Poverty Law Center label you, a black woman, as an ‘apologist for white supremacy,’ it sort of makes you like kryptonite for any universities that would be looking to hire you,” Carol Swain told JNS.
“The United States expects all our allies, particularly those who have committed to supporting President Trump’s successful 20-Point Plan, to take decisive action against this meaningless political stunt,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said.
The agency’s Office of the Inspector General said the individuals, including three teachers, were referred to the U.S. State Department for possible debarment from U.S.-funded aid programs.
“A lot of people working without the certainty of pay working, previously, literally without pay. It’s a really big deal,” Rep. Brian Mast told JNS.