Moshe Ya'alon

Moshe Ya'alon was born in 1950 in Kiryat Chaim

Ya'alon was born Moshe Smilansky in 1950 and grew up in Kiryat Haim in Haifa. His father came from Ukraine and served in the Haganah and the Jewish Brigade, and his mother was a Holocaust survivor from Galicia. He joined a youth movement group named Ya'alon, took its name, and later worked in the cowshed at kibbutz Grofit.

He joined the IDF in 1968 as a paratrooper and fought in the Yom Kippur War as a reservist. He became a career officer and commanded Sayeret Matkal, the Paratroopers Brigade and the Judea and Samaria Division. He later headed Military Intelligence and Central Command, and studied political science at the University of Haifa.

He was Chief of the General Staff from 2002 to 2005, a period focused on the Second Intifada. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz decided not to extend his term, partly amid Ya'alon's objection to the Gaza disengagement plan.

He joined Likud in 2008, entered the Knesset in 2009 and served as Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Strategic Affairs. He became Minister of Defense in 2013 and resigned in 2016 over disagreements with Netanyahu.

In 2019 he founded Telem, which joined the Blue and White list, and in 2020 he formed Yesh Atid-Telem with Yair Lapid. He retired from politics before the 2021 election.