Moshe Arens

Moshe Arens grew up in the United States after his family left Europe and served in the American Army Corps of Engineers during the Second World War. An engineer trained at MIT and Caltech, he taught at the Technion and directed major aircraft projects at Israel Aerospace Industries, including the Arava and Kfir. He entered the Knesset with Likud and chaired its Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. ^{1, 2}

Arens became ambassador in Washington in 1982 and recruited Benjamin Netanyahu into his diplomatic team. He returned to Israel in February 1983 to replace Ariel Sharon as defense minister after the inquiry into the Sabra and Shatila massacre. He later served as foreign minister and twice more as defense minister. He championed the Lavi aircraft project and military reorganization, and after leaving office wrote extensively, including on the Jewish Military Union's part in the Warsaw ghetto uprising. ^{1, 2}