Arens Moshe (1925-2019)

Arens Moshe (Mosche) (27.12.1925, Kaunas, Lithuania – 7.01.2019, Savyon, Israel)

Israeli statesman, scientist (aeronautics expert), and politician.

Moshe Arens was born into an affluent, educated family—his father was an industrialist, and his mother a dentist. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Riga, where he attended the Ezra Hebrew Gymnasium, already demonstrating leadership skills.

A committed Betar member, he led one of its branches and remained loyal to Vladimir Jabotinsky’s ideology throughout his life.

Education and Early Career

August 1939 – Emigrated to the United States with his parents.

Completed secondary education at George Washington High School, New York.

1944–1946 – Served in the U.S. Army.

1947 – Earned a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

1947–1948 – Betar’s representative in the U.S..

1948 – Made aliyah to Israel, participated in the War of Independence, and served under Menachem Begin. Became a member of the Neve Betar settlement.

1951–1954 – Continued studies at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), earning a Master’s degree in 1954.

1954–1957 – Worked on jet engine development at Curtiss-Wright Corporation in the U.S.

1958–1961 – Taught aeronautics at the Technion (Haifa), becoming a professor in 1961.

1962–1972 – Deputy Director-General of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), overseeing major projects, including the Arava and Kfir aircraft.

1971 – Awarded the Israel Defense Prize for contributions to national security.

Political Career

1974 – Elected to the Knesset from the Herut party, serving on the Finance Committee.

1977–1978 – Leader of the Herut party.

1977–1982 – Re-elected to the Knesset with Likud, serving as Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

1982–1983 – Israeli Ambassador to the United States.

1983–1984 – Minister of Defense (after Ariel Sharon’s resignation post-First Lebanon War).

1984–1986 – Minister without portfolio in the National Unity Government.

1987 – Resigned in protest against the cancellation of the Lavi fighter jet project but returned to government in 1988.

1988–1990 – Minister of Foreign Affairs in the National Unity Government.

1990–1992 – Minister of Defense in the Likud-led government.

Despite his pragmatic and independent approach, he adhered to party discipline, even when he personally opposed decisions, such as the Camp David Accords with Egypt and the 1982 Lebanon War.

Later Years

1992 – Retired from politics due to internal Likud conflicts and the party’s election defeat.

1992–1999 – Deputy Director-General of Israel Corporation, one of Israel’s largest industrial firms.

1999–2003 – Returned to the Knesset.

2003 – Permanently retired from politics.

In his later years, Arens was a political columnist for Haaretz and dedicated three years to studying Betar’s role in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, culminating in his influential research “The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: A Reappraisal”.

Publications

Optimum Staging of Cruising Aircraft. Haifa, 1959.

Broken Covenant: American Foreign Policy and the Crisis Between the U.S.A. and Israel. New York, 1995.

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: A Reappraisal Yad Vashem Studies, 2005, No. 33. References Simon M. Moshe Arens: Statesman and Scientist Speaks Out. New York, 1988. Photo descriptions: Moshe Arens – portrait. Moshe Arens with Grigory Krupnikov, Chairman of the Jewish Community of Riga, visiting the Rumbula Holocaust Memorial, 1992.