The Ministry of Defense (, acronym: ) of the government of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, 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 HaKirya, or The Kirya (, ), is an area in central Tel Aviv, consisting of an urban military base north of Kaplan Street. HaKirya contains the Tel Aviv District's government center and the major Israel Defense Forces (IDF) base Camp Rabin (, ''Mah ...

, Tel Aviv. The Ministry of Defense oversees most of the Israeli security forces, including the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

(IDF),

Israel Military Industries IMI Systems, previously Israel Military Industries, also referred to as Ta'as (), was an Israeli weapons manufacturer. The company manufactured weapons, munitions and military technology mainly for the Israeli security forces (especially Israel' ...

(IMI), and

Israel Aerospace Industries Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI; ), is Israel's major aerospace and aviation manufacturer, producing aerial and astronautic systems for both military and civilian usage. It has 14,000 employees as of 2021. IAI is state-owned by the government ...

(IAI). The ministry was established when the British Mandate of Palestine ended, and the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

departed

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

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 (, ''Sar HaBitahon'', ''lit.'' Minister of Security) heads the ministry. The post is considered to be the second most important position in the

Israeli cabinet The Cabinet of Israel (; ) is the cabinet which exercises Executive (government), executive authority in the State of Israel. It consists of Minister (government), ministers who are chosen and led by the Prime Minister of Israel, prime ministe ...

, and usually has a deputy minister. The defense minister is also a permanent member of the Security Cabinet. Due to the great importance of the defense portfolio,

prime ministers A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rat ...

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 Moshe Dayan (; May 20, 1915 – October 16, 1981) was an Israeli military leader and politician. As commander of the Jerusalem front in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Chief of General Staff (Israel), Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defe ...

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; , ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977, and from 1992 until Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his ass ...

Ehud Barak Ehud Barak ( ; born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli former general and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Israeli Labor Party, Labor Party between 1997 and 20 ...

Shaul Mofaz Shaul Mofaz (; 4 November 1948) is a retired Israeli military officer and politician. He joined the Israel Defense Forces in 1966 and served in the Paratroopers Brigade. He fought in the Six-Day War, Yom Kippur War, 1982 Lebanon War, and Operati ...

Moshe Ya'alon Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon (; born Moshe Smilansky; 24 June 1950) is an Israeli politician and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, who also served as Israel's Defense Minister under Benjamin Netanyahu from 2013 until his resignation ...

and

Benny Gantz Benjamin Gantz ( ; born 9 June 1959) is an Israeli politician and retired army general. He served as a Minister without portfolio#Israel, minister without portfolio from 2023 to 2024, as the Ministry of Defense (Israel), minister of defense bet ...

) are also former

Chiefs of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the Israel Defense Forces. Amongst the duties of the post, defense ministers can request

administrative detention Administrative detention is arrest and detention of individuals by the state without trial. A number of jurisdictions claim that it is done for security reasons. Many countries claim to use administrative detention as a means to combat terrorism ...

. 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

Structure

Home Front Defense Ministry The Home Front Defense Ministry was a ministry in the Israeli government. The post was created for Matan Vilnai by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on January 19, 2011. At the time, Netanyahu explained his reasoning for the establishment of the ...

, headed by the deputy defense minister * Israeli National Emergency Authority, ''Rahel'' * Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure, ''Maf'at'' *

Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT; ) is a unit in the Israeli Ministry of Defense tasked with overseeing civilian policy in the West Bank, as well as facilitating logistical coordination between Israel and the ...

, ''Matpash'' *

Director of Security of the Defense Establishment Director of Security of the Defense Establishment or just Ministry of Defense Security Authority, Malmab (, ''Ha-Memune al ha-bitahon be-Ma'arechet Ha-Bitahon'') is a department in the Israeli Defense Ministry that responsible for the security of ...

, ''Malmab'' *Defense Establishment Comptroller Unit * Defense Political Branch, ''Abtam'' *

International Defense Cooperation Directorate International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

, ''Sibat'' () *Computer and Management information systems, ''Malam'' – Data Processing Center * Logistics Operations and properties Branch, ''Emun'' *Defense Social branch * Department of Defense Export Control, ''Api'' *Tank program Directorate * Procurement and Production Directorate, ''Manhar'' *Emergency management, ''Melakh'' *Ombudsman for soldiers, ''Nakhal'' *Fund and Unit for Discharged Soldiers *Department of Families and Remembrance *Disabled Rehabilitation Division

Notes

References

External links

Israel Ministry of DefenseAll Ministers in the Ministry of Defense
Knesset {{authority control

Defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

Israeli Security Forces

*Ministry of Defense