Ministry of Defense (Israel)

The Ministry of Defense (Hebrew: מִשְׂרַד הַבִּטָּחוֹן, romanized: Misrad HaBitahon, lit. 'Ministry of Security', acronym: Hebrew: משהב"ט) 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 Defense Minister of Israel, and its offices are located in HaKirya, Tel Aviv.

Ministry of Defense
משרד הביטחון

Ministry of Defense headquarters
Agency overview
Formed1948
JurisdictionGovernment of Israel
HeadquartersMatcal Tower, HaKirya, Tel Aviv
32°4′30.97″N 34°47′24.55″E
Annual budget56 billion New Shekel
Minister responsible
Websitewww.mod.gov.il
Minister of Defence flag

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

The ministry 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 Defense

The Defense 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. Benny Gantz of Blue and White was sworn in on 17 May 2020 as Israel's new Minister of Defense.

Due to the great importance of the defense portfolio, prime ministers have often held the position in addition to their prime ministerial duties; eight of the twenty Defense Ministers to date were also serving Prime Ministers. Six of them (Moshe Dayan, Yitzhak Rabin, Ehud Barak, Shaul Mofaz, Moshe Ya'alon and Benny Gantz) are also former Chiefs of Staff 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.

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List of ministers
No. Portrait Name
(birth–death)		 Term of office Party Cabinet Ref.
Took office Left office Time in office
1 David Ben-Gurion
(1886–1973)		 14 May 1948 26 January 1954 5 years, 257 days Mapai Provisional government
Ben-Gurion I– II–III–IV
2 Pinhas Lavon
(1904–1976)		 26 January 1954 21 February 1955 1 year, 26 days Mapai Sharett I
(1) David Ben-Gurion
(1886–1973)		 21 February 1955 26 June 1963 8 years, 125 days Mapai Sharett I–II
Ben-Gurion V–VI–VII–VIII
3 Levi Eshkol
(1895–1969)		 26 June 1963 5 June 1967 3 years, 344 days Mapai
Alignment		 Eshkol I–II–III
4 Moshe Dayan
(1915–1981)		 5 June 1967 3 June 1974 6 years, 363 days Rafi
Labor Party
Alignment		 Eshkol III
Meir I–II–III
5 Shimon Peres
(1923–2016)		 3 June 1974 20 June 1977 3 years, 17 days Alignment Rabin I
6 Ezer Weizman
(1924–2005)		 20 June 1977 28 May 1980 2 years, 343 days Likud Begin I
7 Menachem Begin
(1913–1992)		 28 May 1980 5 August 1981 1 year, 69 days Likud Begin I
8 Ariel Sharon
(1928–2014)		 5 August 1981 14 February 1983 1 year, 193 days Likud Begin II
– Menachem Begin
(1913–1992)
Acting		 14 February 1983 23 February 1983 9 days Likud Begin II
9 Moshe Arens
(1925–2019)		 23 February 1983 13 September 1984 1 year, 203 days Likud Begin II
Shamir I
10 Yitzhak Rabin
(1922–1995)		 13 September 1984 15 March 1990 5 years, 183 days Alignment Peres I
Shamir II–III
– Yitzhak Shamir
(1915–2012)
Acting		 15 March 1990 11 June 1990 88 days Likud Shamir III
(9) Moshe Arens
(1925–2019)		 11 June 1990 13 July 1992 2 years, 32 days Likud Shamir IV
(10) Yitzhak Rabin
(1922–1995)		 13 July 1992 4 November 1995 † 3 years, 114 days Labor Party Rabin II
(5) Shimon Peres
(1923–2016)		 4 November 1995 18 June 1996 227 days Labor Party Rabin II
Peres II
11 Yitzhak Mordechai
(born 1944)		 18 June 1996 25 January 1999 2 years, 221 days Likud Netanyahu I
(9) Moshe Arens
(1925–2019)		 27 January 1999 6 July 1999 160 days Likud Netanyahu I
12 Ehud Barak
(born 1942)		 6 July 1999 7 March 2001 1 year, 244 days One Israel Barak
13 Binyamin Ben-Eliezer
(1936–2016)		 7 March 2001 2 November 2002 1 year, 240 days Labor Party Sharon I
14 Shaul Mofaz
(born 1948)		 4 November 2002 4 May 2006 3 years, 181 days Likud Sharon I–II
15 Amir Peretz
(born 1952)		 4 May 2006 18 June 2007 1 year, 45 days Labor Party Olmert
(12) Ehud Barak
(born 1942)		 18 June 2007 18 March 2013 5 years, 273 days Labor Party
Independence		 Olmert
Netanyahu II
16 Moshe Ya'alon
(born 1950)		 18 March 2013 22 May 2016 3 years, 65 days Likud Netanyahu III–IV
– Benjamin Netanyahu
(born 1949)
Acting		 22 May 2016 30 May 2016 8 days Likud Netanyahu IV
17 Avigdor Lieberman
(born 1958)		 30 May 2016 18 November 2018 2 years, 172 days Yisrael Beiteinu Netanyahu IV [3]
18 Benjamin Netanyahu
(born 1949)		 18 November 2018 8 November 2019 355 days Likud Netanyahu IV [3][4]
[5]
19 Naftali Bennett
(born 1972)		 8 November 2019 17 May 2020 191 days New Right Netanyahu IV
20 Benny Gantz
(born 1959)		 17 May 2020 29 December 2022 2 years, 226 days Blue and White Netanyahu–Gantz
Bennett–Lapid
21 Yoav Galant
(born 1958)		 29 December 2022 Incumbent 98 days Likud Netanyahu V [6]

Deputy ministers
# Minister Party Governments Term start Term end
1Shimon PeresMapai9, 10, 11, 1221 December 195925 May 1965
2Zvi DinsteinAlignment1317 January 19665 June 1967
3Mordechai TziporiLikud18, 1928 June 197710 October 1983
4Michael DekelLikud21, 223 December 198521 November 1988
5Ovadia EliLikud248 July 199113 July 1992
6Mordechai GurLabor Party254 August 199216 July 1995
7Ori OrrLabor Party2627 November 199518 June 1996
8Silvan ShalomLikud279 July 19976 July 1999
9Efraim SnehOne Israel285 August 19997 March 2001
10Dalia Rabin-PelossofLabor Party297 March 20011 August 2002
11Weizman ShiryLabor Party2912 August 20022 November 2002
12Ze'ev BoimLikud
Kadima		305 March 200318 January 2006
–Efraim SnehLabor Party3130 October 200618 June 2007
13Matan VilnaiLabor Party31, 322 July 200718 January 2011
14Danny DanonLikud3318 March 201315 July 2014
15Eli Ben-DahanThe Jewish Home3419 May 20153 October 2019[7]
16Alon SchusterBlue and White 36 28 June 2021 29 December 2022

Directors General
Ministry Of Defense
# Director General Term start Term end
1Levi Eshkol19481948
2Eliezer Peri19481949
3Pinchas Sapir19491951
4Ze'ev Schind19511952
5Shimon Peres (acting)19521953
–Shimon Peres19531959
6Asher Ben-Natan (acting)19591960
–Asher Ben-Natan19601965
7Moshe Kasti19651970
8Yeshayahu Lavie19701972
9Yitzhak Ironi19721975
10Pinhas Zusman19751978
11Yosef Ma'ayan19781981
12Avraham Ben Yosef19811982
13Aharon Bet-Halachmi19821983
14Menachem Maron19831986
15David Ivry19861996
16Ilan Biran19961999
17Amos Yaron19992005
18Jacob Toren20052006
19Gabi Ashkenazi20062007
20Pinchas Buchris20072010
21Ehud Shani20102013
22Dan Harel20132016
23Udi Adam20162020
24Amir Eshel20202023
25Eyal Zamir2023present

Structure
Ministry of Defense building, HaKirya, Tel Aviv.

Notes
  1. Israel Ministry of Defense (in Hebrew)
  2. In Israel, although the "Security Minister" (שר הביטחון) title is translated in English as "Defense Minister," in Hebrew, the Defense Ministers of other countries are more often referred to as "Defense Minister" (Hebrew: שר ההגנה, Sar HaHagana).
  3. Raoul Wootliff (18 November 2018). "After Jewish Home anger, Netanyahu says he'll reappoint deputy defense minister". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  4. "Israel's Netanyahu will take over defence job for now after minister resigns -spokesman - Channel NewsAsia". Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  5. "Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu takes over defence job as coalition falters". The Straits Times. 16 November 2018.
  6. "Netanyahu Fires Defense Minister Gallant for Calling to Stop Judicial Overhaul". Haaretz. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  7. "Current Knesset Members". knesset.gov.il. Retrieved 12 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. האגף לייצוא ביטחוני (סיבט)
  9. "SIBAT- International Defense Cooperation". english.mod.gov.il.
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