Moshe Arens

Moshe Arens studied at California Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and George Washington Educational Campus. The recorded working language is English, French and German. The field of work recorded is politics, diplomacy and aeronautical engineering. Places of work recorded in the authority are Jerusalem and Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. Employment is recorded with University of Haifa and Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. Positions recorded include Minister of Defense of Israel and Minister without portfolio.

• Born — 27 December 1925 • Birthplace — Kaunas, Lithuania • Died — 7 January 2019 • Place of death — Savyon, Israel • Office1 — Ministerial roles • Suboffice1 — Minister of Defense • Subterm1 — 1983–1984 • Suboffice2 — Minister without Portfolio • Subterm2 — 1984–1988 • Suboffice3 — Minister of Foreign Affairs • Subterm3 — 1988–1990 • Suboffice4 — Minister of Defense • Subterm4 — 1990–1992 • Suboffice5 — Minister of Defense • Subterm5 — 1999 • Office6 — Faction represented in the Knesset • Suboffice6 — Likud • Subterm6 — 1973–1992 • Suboffice7 — Likud • Subterm7 — 1999–2003 • Office8 — Diplomatic roles • Suboffice8 — Ambassador to the United States • Subterm8 — 1982–1983

Arens was born in Kaunas, Lithuania, to a Jewish family. His father was an industrialist and his mother was a dentist. When he was a year old, his family moved to Riga, Latvia, where he attended elementary school. In 1939, Arens and his family emigrated to the United States, where his father had business interests. The family settled in New York City, where Arens attended George Washington High School. Arens was a leader in the Betar youth movement, and during World War II served in the United States Army Corps of Engineers as a technical sergeant. He studied mechanical engineering at MIT, graduating with a BSc in 1947. Following the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948, Arens emigrated to Israel and joined the militant group Irgun. He was sent to North Africa, mostly Morocco and Algeria, and Europe to help local Jewish communities establish self-defense groups, returning to Israel in March 1949. He became a founding member of the Herut party and worked as an engineer for an American company designing water systems for Tel Aviv. In 1951, he returned to the U.S. for graduate studies in aeronautical engineering at the California Institute of Technology, where he was a student of Qian Xuesen. He then worked for a time in the aircraft industry.

From 1957 to 1962, Arens was an associate professor of aeronautical engineering at the Technion. He subsequently served as Deputy Director General for Engineering at Israel Aircraft Industries from 1962 to 1971. He oversaw major projects, including the IAI Arava transport plane and IAI Kfir fighter jet development projects, and published articles in academic journals on propulsion and flight mechanics. After retiring from the government, he devoted himself to researching and commemorating the story of the Jewish Military Union (ŻZW), which fought alongside the better known Jewish Combat Organization (ŻOB) in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Arens wrote several articles and a book, Flags over the Warsaw Ghetto, on the revolt. The book has been published in Hebrew, Polish, and English. Arens was chairman of the International Board of Governors of Ariel University Center of Samaria. He was also a columnist for the newspaper Haaretz.

• Illustration — Arens meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger in 1983 After the Yom Kippur War, Arens entered politics and was elected to the Knesset as a member of Likud in the 1973 elections. After being re-elected in 1977, he became chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. He voted against the Camp David Accords and the Egypt–Israel peace treaty. In 1980, Prime Minister Menachem Begin offered Arens the post of Minister of Defense, but he turned it down due to his disagreement over the terms of the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty. Arens did not oppose peace with Egypt, but was opposed to certain aspects of the treaty, and thus did not want to have to oversee Israel's evacuation from the Sinai. He was re-elected in 1981, but resigned from the Knesset on 19 January 1982 when appointed ambassador to the United States. At this point, he brought his young protégé, Benjamin Netanyahu, then 32, to work for him in Washington. He returned to Israel in February 1983 after being appointed Minister of Defense, replacing Ariel Sharon, who had been forced out of office following the Kahan Commission's report on the Sabra and Shatila massacre. He was re-elected in 1984, but was only appointed Minister without Portfolio. After another re-election in 1988 he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs (with Netanyahu his deputy), and in 1990 returned to the Defense portfolio. After Likud lost the 1992 elections, Arens retired from politics. He returned in 1999, however, to challenge Netanyahu for the Likud leadership. Although he won only 18% of the vote, Netanyahu appointed him Minister of Defense, replacing Yitzhak Mordechai, who had left Likud to establish the Centre Party. Although Arens returned to the Knesset after the 1999 elections, Likud lost the elections and he left the cabinet. He lost his seat for the final time in 2003. Arens questioned the wisdom of Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Israeli procurement, given the neglected state of Israeli ground forces. In an article for Fathom Journal, Arens stated that he was an opponent of unilateral withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza, accusing its proponents of suffering from "unilateral withdrawal syndrome".

While living in the United States, Arens married Muriel F. Eisenberg from New York City, and she moved to Israel with him. The couple had four children, two boys and two girls: Yigal, Aliza, Raanan, and Ruth. Arens died on 7 January 2019 at the age of 93. Streets in Ramla, Herzliya and Beit Shemesh are named after him.

Moshe Arens worked in politics, diplomacy and aeronautical engineering. He was employed by University of Haifa and Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. Recorded positions include Minister of Defense of Israel, Minister without portfolio and Knesset member. He worked at Jerusalem and Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.