Moshe Arens

Moshe Arens (Hebrew: משה ארנס; 27 December 1925 – 7 January 2019) was an Israeli aeronautical engineer, defense industry pioneer, and Likud politician who served three non-consecutive terms as Minister of Defense (1983–1984, 1990–1992, and 1995–1999), one term as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1988–1990), and as Israel's ambassador to the United States (1982–1983).

Born in Kaunas, Lithuania, Arens moved with his family to the United States at age three, where he received his education, including a degree in mechanical engineering from MIT and graduate studies at Caltech, before immigrating to Israel in 1948 amid its War of Independence. He initially contributed to Israel's nascent aerospace sector, rising to senior positions at Israel Aircraft Industries and earning the Israel Defense Prize in 1971 for advancements in military technology. Elected to the Knesset in 1973 as a founding member of the Herut movement's liberal wing within Likud, Arens emphasized ideological integrity and professionalism in governance.

Moshe Arens was born Moshe (Misha) Arens on December 27, 1925, in Kaunas (also known as Kovno), Lithuania, then part of the interwar Republic of Lithuania. His family was Jewish, and shortly after his birth, in 1927 when he was nearly two years old, they relocated to Riga, Latvia.

Upon arrival, Arens joined the Irgun (Etzel), a paramilitary group outside the Haganah's unified command structure under the nascent Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The Irgun, rooted in Revisionist ideology, had conducted independent operations against British Mandate authorities and Arab forces prior to statehood, including high-profile actions like the King David Hotel bombing in 1946. Arens participated in combat during the 1948 war, contributing to efforts that secured key positions amid the conflict's fluid front lines, which involved approximately 30,000 Jewish fighters facing combined Arab forces totaling over 40,000 by mid-1948. This service marked his initial military engagement in the region, distinct from the Haganah's more centralized approach, reflecting ideological divides within pre-state Zionist militias that persisted until the Irgun's partial integration into the IDF following the Altalena affair in June 1948.