Moshe Dayan Research

“Moshe Dayan was an Israeli military warrior who became a crusader for peace. He was skilled in both battle and diplomacy. He played a key role in four wars, but also helped negotiate the historic Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty.”

“Moshe Dayan was a Soldier and statesman who led Israel to dramatic victories over its Arab neighbours and became a symbol of security to his countrymen.”

Moshe Dayan was born in a kibbutz, in a town called Deganya Alef (Alef is the name for the letter A in Hebrew) in Palestine, then still part of the Ottoman Empire May 20th, 1915. His parents were Shmuel and Devorah, and he was the first child born in the newly-established community. When he was only 14 he joined the Haganah. (The Haganah (In Hebrew: "Defense") was a Zionist military organization in Palestine). He was very influenced by military techniques and teachings officer Orde Wingate gave Moshe. Afterwards he went to Bulgaria where he graduated from the military academy.

This is a picture of Moshe’s Birthplace.

He was once arrested by the British, (when the Haganah was declared illegal), but released after two years when the British cooperated with them during World War II. While he was serving on the Australian 7th Infantry Division, Dayan lost his left eye and began wearing the eyepatch that became his trademark, and later Dayan received the “Distinguished Service Order”, one of the highest military honors.

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Dayan occupied various positions of importance, first as the commander of many military units on the central front. Later he was he became the prime minister’s protégé, together with Shimon Peres (the future Prime Minister).

After the 1948 war, Dayan’s ranking rose very fast. From 1955 to 1958 he was the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Force, where he commanded the Israeli forces during the “Suez Crisis”.

“ In 1959, Dayan joined MAPAI, the leftist party in Israeli politics. Until 1964 he served as the minister of agriculture in Israel, and in 1967, Eshkol (current prime minister) decided to give him the position of Minister of Defense.”2

General Moshe Dayan (center), Chief of Staff General Yitschak Rabin (right) and General Uzi Narkiss (left), enter Old Jerusalem in 1967

Dayan was still the secretary of defense when the “Yom Kippur War” catastrophically began on October 6, 1973. He was in charge for military planning, and at first didn’t opt for a mobilization of the army, he said that he didn’t want Israel to appear as the aggressor, and that Israel could win the war even after an Arab attack.