Ministry of Defense (Israel)

The Ministry Of Defence

Israel

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The Ministry of Defence (Hebrew: מִשְׂרַד הַבִּטָּחוֹן‎‎, Misrad HaBitahon) of the government of Israel, is the governmental department responsible for defending the State of Israel from internal and external military threats. Its political head is the Defence Minister, and its offices are located in HaKirya, Tel Aviv.

The Ministry of Defence oversees most of the Israeli security forces, including the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), IMI, the Israel Military Industries, IAI, Israel Aircraft Industries.^[1]

The MOD was established when the British Mandate of Palestine ended, and the British Army departed Palestine and the State of Israel was formed. This ended the rag-tag militia units during British rule and gave way to the formal defense of the Jewish state.

Minister of Defence

The Defence Minister of Israel (Hebrew: שַׂר הַבִּטָּחוֹן‎‎, Sar HaBitahon, lit. Minister of Security)^[2] heads the ministry. The post is considered to be the second most important position in the Israeli cabinet, and usually has a Deputy Minister. The Defense Minister is also a permanent member of the Security Cabinet. The current Defense Minister is Ehud Barak, leader of Independence.

Due to the great importance of the defense portfolio, prime ministers have often held the position in addition to their prime ministerial duties; seven of the sixteen Defense Ministers to date were also serving Prime Ministers. Four of them (Moshe Dayan, Yitzhak Rabin, Ehud Barak and Shaul Mofaz) are also former Chief of Staffs of the Israel Defense Forces.

Amongst the duties of the post, Defense Ministers can request administrative detention. Because of the intensive work and the tension between the political echelon to the military echelon, frequently disagreements and difference of opinion are created between the Defense Minister and the Chief of Staff.

List of ministers^[3]

Name	Party	Governments	Dates in Office
David Ben-Gurion 1	Mapai	Provisional, 1, 2, 3, 4	May 14, 1948 – January 26, 1954
Pinhas Lavon	Mapai	5	January 26, 1954 – February 21, 1955
David Ben-Gurion 1	Mapai	5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10	February 21, 1955 – June 26, 1963
Levi Eshkol 1	Mapai, Alignment	11, 12, 13	June 26, 1963 – June 5, 1967
Moshe Dayan	Alignment, Rafi, Labor Party	13, 14, 15, 16	June 5, 1967 – June 3, 1974
Shimon Peres	Alignment	17	June 3, 1974 – June 20, 1977
Ezer Weizman	Likud	18	June 20, 1977 – May 28, 1980
Menachem Begin 1	Likud	18	May 28, 1980 – August 5, 1981
Ariel Sharon	Likud	19	August 5, 1981 – February 14, 1983
Menachem Begin 1	Likud	19	February 14, 1983 – February 23, 1983
Moshe Arens	Likud	19, 20	February 23, 1983 – September 13, 1984
Yitzhak Rabin	Alignment	21, 22, 23	September 13, 1984 – March 15, 1990
Moshe Arens 2	Likud	24	June 11, 1990 – July 13, 1992
Yitzhak Rabin 1	Labor Party	25	July 13, 1992 – November 4, 1995
Shimon Peres 1	Labor Party	25, 26	November 4, 1995 – June 18, 1996
Yitzhak Mordechai	Likud	27	June 18, 1996 – January 25, 1999
Moshe Arens	Likud	27	January 27, 1999 – July 6, 1999
Ehud Barak 1	One Israel	28	July 6, 1999 – March 7, 2001
Binyamin Ben-Eliezer	Labor Party	29	March 7, 2001 – November 2, 2002
Shaul Mofaz 2	Likud	29, 30	November 4, 2002 – May 4, 2006
Amir Peretz	Labor Party	31	May 4, 2006 – June 18, 2007
Ehud Barak 3	Labor Party, Independence	31, 32	June 18, 2007 –

¹ Also Prime Minister.

² Not a Knesset member at the time.

³ Barak was not a Knesset member at the time of appointment, but was elected in 2009.

Deputy Ministers

Minister	Party	Governments	Dates in Office
Shimon Peres	Mapai	9, 10, 11, 12	December 21, 1959 (1959-12-21) – May 25, 1965 (1965-05-25)
Zvi Dinstein	Alignment	13	January 17, 1966 (1966-01-17) – June 5, 1967 (1967-06-05)
Mordechai Tzipori	Likud	18, 19	June 28, 1977 (1977-06-28) – October 10, 1983 (1983-10-10)
Michael Dekel	Likud	21, 22	December 3, 1985 (1985-12-03) – November 21, 1988 (1988-11-21)
Ovadia Eli	Likud	24	July 8, 1991 (1991-07-08) – July 13, 1992 (1992-07-13)
Mordechai Gur	Labor Party	25	August 4, 1992 (1992-08-04) – July 16, 1995 (1995-07-16)
Uri Or	Labor Party	26	November 27, 1995 (1995-11-27) – June 18, 1996 (1996-06-18)
Silvan Shalom	Likud	27	July 9, 1997 (1997-07-09) – July 6, 1999 (1999-07-06)
Efraim Sneh	One Israel	28	August 5, 1999 (1999-08-05) – March 7, 2001 (2001-03-07)
Dalia Rabin-Pelossof	Labor Party	29	March 7, 2001 (2001-03-07) – August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01)
Weizman Shiry	Labor Party	29	December 3, 1985 (1985-12-03) – November 21, 1988 (1988-11-21)
Ze'ev Boim	Likud, Kadima	30	March 5, 2003 (2003-03-05) – January 18, 2006 (2006-01-18)
Efraim Sneh	Labor Party	31	October 30, 2006 (2006-10-30) – June 18, 2007 (2007-06-18)
Matan Vilnai	Labor Party	31, 32	July 2, 2007 (2007-07-02) – January 18, 2011 (2011-01-18)

Notes

1. ^ Israel Ministry of Defense (Hebrew)
2. ^ In Israel, although the "Security Minister" (שר הביטחון) title is translated in English as "Defence Minister," in Hebrew, the Defense Ministers of other countries are more often referred to as "Defense Minister" (Hebrew: שר ההגנה‎, Sar HaHagana).
3. ^ All Ministers in the Ministry of Defense Knesset website

External links

	Military history portal
	Israel portal

• Israel Ministry of Defense
• Israel Defense Forces