Moshe Arens, Ex-Israel Defense Minister, Dies At 92
Moshe Arens (left) Image by Wikimedia Commons/Getty Images
Former Defense Minister Moshe Arens, one of Likud’s veteran members, died on Monday in his sleep at his home in Savyon, near Tel Aviv, at the age of 93.
Arens was esteemed by many as the “gentleman” of Israeli politics and was one of the leading representatives of national, liberal and democratic Zionism.
Arens is also seen as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political patron. He is regarded as the one who first brought the prime minister into the world of politics by having Netanyahu named to the Israeli embassy in Washington while serving as ambassador there.
“The man is very talented. His talent would have emerged in any event,” he said of Netanayhu.
Netanyahu expressed his mourning in a tweet in Hebrew on Monday, in which he referred to Arens by his nickname, Misha, “my teacher.”
לפני כמה שבועות ביקרתי את מישה בביתו. הוא היה צלול כתמיד, חד כתער, מופלא בהדרו ובאצילות נפשו, דמות מופת. לא היה פטריוט גדול ממנו.
תרומתו העצומה של משה ארנס לעמנו ולמדינתנו תיזכר לעד.
היה שלום מישה, נעמת לי מאוד.
אהבתיך כאהבת בן את אביו.— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) January 7, 2019
Did you know that only 2% of Forward readers donate to support our nonprofit newsroom? That 2% make it possible for millions to read the Forward without a paywall or subscription — removing any barriers to the full and fair Jewish story.
But while the Forward is free to read, it isn’t free to produce. Big stories — like deep dives into the antisemitism data, political scoops or reporting trips to college campuses — take months of research and fact-checking. All while we keep you informed of what you need to know each day.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward Publisher & CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
