Ministry of Defense (Israel)


The Ministry of Defense 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.
The Ministry of Defense oversees most of the Israeli security forces, including the Israel Defense Forces, Israel Military Industries, and Israel Aerospace Industries.
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 Defense

The Defense Minister of Israel 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. Avigdor Lieberman of Yisrael Beiteinu was sworn in on 31 March 2016 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; seven of the sixteen Defense Ministers to date were also serving Prime Ministers. Five of them 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.

List of ministers

Deputy ministers

Directors General

#Director GeneralTerm startTerm end
1Levi Eshkol19481948
2Eliezer Peri19481949
3Pinchas Sapir19491951
4Ze'ev Schind19511952
5Shimon Peres 19521953
–Shimon Peres19531959
6Asher Ben-Natan 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 Eshel2020present

Structure