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