Moshe Dayan Essay, Research Paper

Moshe DayanIsraeli general and statesman. For 25 years, he figured prominently in all of Israel’s wars and more than anyone else personified his country’s determination to survive. He was born on a kibbutz (cooperative farm) near Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee) on May 20, 1915. At the age of 14 he joined the Haganah (Jewish militia), which defended Jewish settlements from Arab attacks, and later received special antiguerrilla training from the British. When the British outlawed the Haganah in 1939, Dayan was arrested. Released in 1941, he served with the Allied forces that liberated Lebanon and Syria from the Vichy French. During this campaign he lost his left eye and adopted the black eye patch that became his distinguishing feature. During Israel’s war of independence (1948-49) Dayan was a commander on the Jerusalem front. He became chief of Israel’s general staff in 1953 and as such supervised the Sinai campaign of 1956. Leaving the army in 1958, he was elected to the Israeli Parliament in 1959 and served (1959-64) as minister of agriculture in the government of David Ben-Gurion.By popular demand, Dayan was made defense minister just before the Six-Day War of 1967, which greatly enhanced his reputation. He was, however, blamed for Israel’s unpreparedness in the Yom Kippur War of 1973, and he subsequently resigned (1974). Named foreign minister in Menachem Begin’s government in 1977, he played an important role in negotiating the peace treaty with Egypt signed in 1979. Later that year he resigned in protest against Begin’s policies concerning the disputed West Bank territory. Moshe Dayan made great contributions to the state of Israel. On May 18, 1948, Major Dayan, during Israel’s War of Independence, successfully defended a Jordan Valley sector against a much larger Syrian Army. On October 29, 1956 General Dayan led his well-trained mechanized infantry and armored columns into the Sinai peninsula and quickly routed four Egyptian divisions. By the conclusion of the war in 1949, Dayan was a Major General in charge of the Israeli Army’s Southern command in Beersheba. In 1953 Dayan became the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Force. He undertook a major overhaul of the IDF. Dayan was recalled to active duty as Israel’s Minister of Defense to supervise the Six-Day war, which was initiated with a bold pre-emptive air strike that destroyed the Egyptian air force while it sat on the ground.

Dayan s contribution to the IDF was so important because He dramatically increased the number of infantry and armored elements. He instituted rigorous training programs and formed an elite airborne unit. Dayan is the individual given most of the credit for making the IDF into a first-rate fighting force. If Dayan weren t here to give us this contribution Israel would have probably perished in war.I think that Moshe Dayan can compare to Moshe Hatzadik. I feel that this is a good comparison because he accomplished so mush in his lifetime for Israel and couldn t have done it without the help of hashem. If I had the chance to change something differently I would not have changed anything. I think he was a great warrior and nobody can compare to his talent, ability, and smartness.My personal thoughts regarding Moshe Dayan is that Dayan’s military education came not from the academies or service school but from the kibbutz and the battlefield. Under the charismatic and talented Dayan, the State of Israel fielded one of the best and most efficient fighting forces in the 20th century.I understand now about Israel that I didn t understand before this report what Chaim Weitzman said On October 16, 1981, Israel’s greatest warrior died in Tel Aviv at age 66.