Moshe Ya'alon | |
|---|---|
| משה יעלון | |
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| Ministerial roles | |
| 2009–2013 | Vice Prime Minister |
| 2009–2013 | Minister of Strategic Affairs |
| 2013–2016 | Minister of Defense |
| Faction represented in theKnesset | |
| 2009–2016 | Likud |
| 2019–2020 | Blue and White |
| 2020–2021 | Telem |
| Military roles | |
| 1995–1998 | Head ofAman |
| 1998–2000 | Head ofCentral Command |
| 1999–2002 | DeputyChief of the General Staff |
| 2002–2005 | Chief of the General Staff |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1950-06-24)24 June 1950 (age 75) |
| Awards | Legion of Merit |
| Nickname | Bogie |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Israel |
| Branch/service |  Israel Defense Forces |
| Years of service | 1968–2005 |
| Rank |  Rav Aluf |
| Commands | |
| Battles/wars | |
Moshe "Bogie"Ya'alon (Hebrew:משה יעלון; bornMoshe Smilansky; 24 June 1950) is a retired Israeli politician and formerChief of the General Staff of theIsrael Defense Forces. He served as Israel'sDefense Minister underBenjamin Netanyahu from 2013 to 2016.[1]
He was elected in theApril 2019 Israeli election as part of theBlue and White list, and served in theKnesset as a member of the faction until joining theYesh Atid-Telem created following the2020 election.[2] Ya'alon retired from politics in the lead up to the2021 election after testing the waters by splitting hisTelem party from Yesh Atid.
Ya'alon was born Moshe Smilansky, the son of David Smilansky and Batya Silber. His father, a factory worker, had moved toMandatory Palestine with his parents fromSoviet Ukraine in 1925, and was a veteran of theHaganah andJewish Brigade. His mother was aHolocaust survivor fromGalicia who had fought against the Nazis withpartisans duringWorld War II. She came to Palestine in 1946.[3][4] Ya'alon grew up inKiryat Haim, a working-class suburb ofHaifa. He was active in theLabor Zionist youth movement "HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed" and joined aNahal group named Ya'alon, a name he later adopted.[5] He later moved to kibbutzGrofit, in theArava region nearEilat, where he worked in the cowshed and as a tractor operator.[6]
In 1968, Ya'alon was conscripted into theIsrael Defense Forces, and volunteered as a paratrooper in theParatroopers Brigade. He served as a soldier and asquad leader in the brigade's 50 battalion and fought in theWar of Attrition. He was discharged in 1971.[7]
In 1973, he was called up as a reservist during theYom Kippur War. On 15 October 1973, his unit, the55th Paratroopers Brigade, became the first IDF unit to cross theSuez Canal into mainlandEgypt. He continued fighting as part of the Israeli drive into the Egyptian mainland; he participated in the encirclement of the Egyptian Third Army. Following the war, he rejoined the IDF as a career soldier, and became an infantry officer after completingOfficer Candidate School. He then returned to the Paratroopers Brigade as aplatoon leader. Later on he served as acompany commander in the brigade's 50 battalion and led the brigade'sReconnaissance company in several special operations and duringOperation Litani.[3]
During the1982 Lebanon War, Ya'alon joined theSayeret Matkal commando unit as a commander. He then rejoined the Paratroopers Brigade and was appointed as the commander of its 890 "Efe" (Echis) paratroop battalion. During this time, he was wounded in the leg while leading a pursuit ofHezbollah fighters in Lebanon.[3]
Ya'alon took asabbatical to the United Kingdom to study at the British Army'sCamberley Staff College. Upon his return to Israel, he was promoted to the rank of colonel and appointed commander of Sayeret Matkal. Ya'alon led it to many notable achievements, for which the unit received four recommendations of honor. After his tenure as commander was finished, Ya'alon studied at theUniversity of Haifa, obtaining aBA in Political Science, and took anArmored Corps course. In 1990, Ya'alon was appointed commander of the Paratroopers Brigade,[8] and two years later, became commander of the Judea and Samaria Division. On 10 December 1992, Ya'alon killed a militant from theIslamic Jihad Movement in Palestine with a hand grenade after the militant had shot dead aYamam operative attempting to arrest him.[9] In 1993, he was appointed commander of an IDF training base, and commander of an armored division. In 1995, Ya'alon was promoted to major general and appointed head ofMilitary Intelligence. In 1998, he was appointed commanding officer ofIsrael's Central Command. He was serving in this position when theSecond Intifada was launched in September 2000.
Ya'alon was appointedChief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on 9 July 2002, and served in that position until 1 June 2005. The major focus throughout his tenure as chief of the general staff was the army's effort to quell theSecond Intifada. Under his watch, the IDF conductedOperation Defensive Shield.
In February 2005, Defense MinisterShaul Mofaz decided not to extend Ya'alon's service as chief of the general staff for another year. This marked the climax of tensions between Mofaz and Ya'alon, which had arisen partly through Ya'alon's objection to theGaza disengagement plan. On 1 June 2005, Ya'alon retired from the army, andDan Halutz, his successor as chief of the general staff, oversaw the disengagement.
In December 2005, relatives of the victims of the1996 shelling of Qana filed a suit against Ya'alon in Washington, D.C., for his alleged role in their deaths.[10] In late 2006, while Ya'alon was inNew Zealand on a private fund-raising trip for theJewish National Fund,AucklandDistrict Court judgeAvinash Deobhakta issued a warrant for his arrest for allegedwar crimes arising from his role in the 2002 assassination ofHamas commanderSalah Shehade, who was killed in atargeted assassination, when an Israeli warplane bombed his home inGaza City. About 14 Palestinian civilians were also killed in the airstrike.[11] Deobhakta stated that New Zealand had an obligation to prosecute him under theGeneva Convention.Attorney-GeneralMichael Cullen ordered a stay in the warrant after advice from the Crown Law office that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute, and the warrant was cancelled after Ya'alon left New Zealand.[11][12][13]
He was appointedMinister of Defense on 17 March 2013.[14] During his tenure, the IDF conductedOperation Protective Edge. He resigned on 20 May 2016, citing "difficult disagreements on moral and professional matters" with prime minister Netanyahu and warning that "extreme and dangerous elements have taken over Israel and the Likud Party".[15]
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Ya'alon backed theOslo Accords, but later he "admitted his mistake."[16] On 17 November 2008, Ya'alon announced that he was joiningLikud and that he would participate in the primaries which would determine the Likud candidates for the2009 elections.[17] He won eighth place on the party's list,[18] and entered the Knesset as Likud won 27 seats. Upon the formation of theNetanyahu government, he was appointedVice Prime Minister (alongsideSilvan Shalom) andMinister of Strategic Affairs. In March 2013, he replacedEhud Barak asDefense Minister.[14]
In January 2015, the leader ofLehava anti-assimilation group,Ben-Zion Gopstein, voiced harsh criticism against Ya'alon after Channel 2 reported that he was expected to categorize Lehava as a terrorist organization. Ya'alon ordered theShin Bet and the Defense Ministry to assemble evidence required for the classification. Lehava promotes the ideology of the lateJewish Defense League leaderMeir Kahane. Three members of Lehava were arrested and indicted in 2014 for committing arson and spray-painting anti-Arab graffiti at the Max RayneHand in Hand (Yad B'Yad) Bilingual School in Jerusalem and Lehava's leader Ben Zion Gopstein along with other group members were arrested shortly thereafter for incitement.[19] The arson incident received international attention.[20] Gopstein said "I suggest that [Ya'alon] aim to outlaw the Islamist Movement and then preoccupy itself with an anti-assimilation group... Instead of taking care of an enemy of Israel, the defense minister is trying to win over votes from the Left [by] taking on Lehava. The group acts to save the daughters of Israel [Jewish women] and deserves the Israel Prize."[21]
In February 2015 Ya'alon took a political stand on gay marriage. In a speech he promised to help promote LGBT rights in Israel, and in particular noted he would support the establishment of civil marriage laws in Israel that would allow same-sex couples to be recognized as a family unit.[22]
Following the 2016 shooting by an Israeli soldier of a wounded Palestinian assailant, Ya'alon said that the soldier's action "completely contradicts IDF values and its battle ethics; even in a moment of great anger we must not permit such unbridled and uncontrolled behavior."[23] This statement was viewed by many Israelis as prejudging the case.[24]
Ya'alon formedTelem on 2 January 2019.[25]
On January 29, 2019, Ya'alon announced a political alliance withBenny Gantz, a former chief of the general staff.[26] Ya'alon was in the number two position on Gantz'sIsrael Resilience Party list. Ya'alon reiterated his opposition to a "two states for two peoples" solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.[27] On 21 February 2019, the Israel Resilience Party and Telem merged withYesh Atid. Ya'alon became the number three candidate on the united list, known as the "Blue and White" party.[2] Following the party's split after the2020 Israeli legislative election, Ya'alon's party aligned withYair Lapid to form theYesh Atid-Telem alliance and became second in the list.
In the run up to the2021 Israeli legislative election, Ya'alon's party split fromYesh Atid. After multiple polls showing the party unable to pass the 3.5 percent election threshold[citation needed], Ya'alon decided to quit the race.[28]
In 2023, Ya'alon called the Israeli government a "dictatorship of criminals", due to the national security ministerItamar Ben Gvir calling on the police to "strike protestors" as well asproposed judicial reforms that would give the government more control over judicial appointments.[29]
In 2024, Ya'alon accused the Israeli government of committing ethnic cleansings in the Gaza Strip, and said that the IDF is no longer the most moral army in the world.[30]
On 27 August 2002, Ya'alon toldHaaretz: "The Palestinian threat harbors cancer-like attributes that have to be severed. There are all kinds of solutions to cancer. Some say it's necessary to amputate organs but at the moment I am applying chemotherapy."[31]
In January 2004, Ya'alon publicly stated that the thirteenSayeret Matkal soldiers who refused to serve in theIsraeli-occupied territories were taking the unit's name in vain.[citation needed]
In January 2008, during a discussion atIDC Herzliya, Ya'alon said "There is no way to stabilize the situation all over the world and especially in the Middle East without confrontingIran."[32] According toThe Sydney Morning Herald Ya'alon said: "We have to confront the Iranian revolution immediately. There is no way to stabilize the Middle East today without defeating the Iranian [government]. The Iranian nuclear program must be stopped."
When asked whether "all options" included a military deposition ofMahmoud Ahmadinejad and the rest of Iran's current leadership, Ya'alon toldThe Herald: "We have to consider killing him. All options must be considered."[33]
In August 2009, Ya'alon visited the ruins ofHomesh,[34] a settlement that was destroyed inIsraeli disengagement from Gaza in 2005 and toured Israeli settlements in the north of the West Bank, considered as un-authorized outposts. He said that these communities are all legitimate and should not be called "illegal."[35] In addition, he participated in a convention ofManhigut Yehudit ("Jewish Leadership"), the more right-wing Settlers' segment within theLikud right-wing Party, in which he condemned the disengagement plan, calledPeace Now a "virus"[36][37] and said that "We become accustomed to Arabs being permitted to live everywhere, in theNegev,Galilee,Nablus,Jenin, and [on the other hand] there are areas where Jews are not allowed to live. We caused this." He also stated that, "regarding the issue of the settlements, in my opinion Jews can and should live everywhere in theLand of Israel. Now, ... first of all, every settlement needs to get the approval of the authorities, and what goes up on the spot, in contradiction to these decisions and so on is not legitimate. It's against the law".[37]
Later, after meeting with Netanyahu, Ya'alon retracted parts of his statements and said that he "recognized the importance of democratic discourse and respecting other opinions."[38] Ya'alon explained that, indeed, all Israelis wantpeace, now. He stressed, however, the need to accept the fact that peace will not come immediately, otherwise it "hurts Israel." Ya'alon stated that, in his view, the way of thinking that Israel just needs to give one more piece of land andthen it will have peace is a kind of "virus."[39]
In January 2014, Ya'alon was quoted in an Israeli newspaper calling U.S. Secretary of StateJohn Kerry "obsessive" and "messianic," and claiming that the "only thing that can save us is if Kerry wins theNobel Prize and leaves us alone."[40][41] The remarks attributed to him precipitated a diplomatic row with theU.S. State Department and elicited criticism of members of Israel's government. In October 2014, during a visit to the U.S. Ya'alon met with his counterpart, Defense SecretaryChuck Hagel, but was denied requests to meet with then-Vice PresidentJoe Biden and Kerry.[42] A U.S. official toldThe Jerusalem Post that the snub should come as no surprise.[43]
In October 2014, Ya'alon supported a plan that would effectively ban Palestinian workers from buses used by Jewish settlers. Ya'alon said that his plan was based on security needs. The IDF said that there was no security issue with integrated buses given that all West Bank Palestinian workers go through security checkpoints.[44] When Ya'alon's move was criticized as being a form of apartheid,Yehuda Weinstein, Israel's Attorney General, demanded that Ya'alon explain his rationale.[45]
In late 2014 at a meeting with Jewish settlers on the West Bank who questioned Israel's apparent delay in settler construction, Ya'alon said that settlement construction represented the greatest growth in Israel and with regard to any apparent slowdown, he declared, "It's temporary. There is a certain administration now in the United StatesObama administration, which is leading this policy. This administration will not stay forever and I hope it's temporary." He commented that it is important for Israel not to antagonize the U.S. at the moment, because American support is needed in countering diplomatic undertakings at the U.N. that he claimed were "anti-Israel." "The publication of construction plans, even in Jerusalem, draws a response from various bodies, including our friends, that attack us," he said. But he noted that he very much wanted to approve construction plans.[46] Ya'alon's remarks about not antagonizing the U.S. came at a time when an opinion poll showed that the "overwhelming majority" of Israelis believe their country's relationship with the U.S. has been hurt as a result of the poor relationship between Obama and Netanyahu.[47][48] In response to the Ya'alon's remarks, which were broadcast of Israeli Army Radio, a spokesperson for Ya'alon claimed, "this does not diminish in any way the appreciation and esteem Minister Ya'alon has for the contribution of the U.S. and its government to the security of Israel and the fact that the U.S. is Israel's best friend and strategic anchor."[49] Responding to the latest of Ya'alon negative comments about the Obama administration, U.S. State Department spokeswomanJen Psaki said, "This administration's opposition to settlements is fully consistent with the policies of administrations for decades, including of both parties. So the notion that that would change is not borne out by history."[50]
In an interview on November 30, 2024, Ya'alon stated, “We are being dragged into annexation and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip.” When asked to clarify his use of the phrase "ethnic cleansing" and if he believed that was the direction the war was heading, Ya'alon replied, “Why say ‘heading’? What's happening there right now? Beit Lahiya is gone, Beit Hanoun is gone. Operations are underway in Jabalya, essentially clearing the area of Arabs.”[51]
The next day Ya'alon reasserted his comments during multiple interviews. When speaking about the government during an interview, he stated: “At the end of the day, they’re perpetrating war crimes.”[30]
On Mach 9, 2025, Ya'alon said in a radio interview on the Kan Bet channel hosted by Arieh Golan, that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received tens of millions of dollars from Qatar. Following the interview, Netanyahu filed a defamation lawsuit against Ya'alon on March 11, 2025, stating that Ya'alon's claims are false and constitute "Horrific, ugly, malicious and baseless lies". In the lawsuit, Netanyahu is seeking 160,000 NIS in damages.
In response to the lawsuit, Ya'alon posted on his X account that "I hear that Hamas's financier intends to sue me. Bring it on! Maybe this will be an opportunity for him to explain the suitcases of cash sent from Qatar to Hamas. Maybe he can address the fact that three of his closest aides were funded by Qatar".[52]
Ya'alon is married with three children. He and his wife live inModi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut.[citation needed]
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