Moshe “Bogie” Yaalon has served in the Knesset between 2009 and 2016 and

has provided a lifetime of public service for the State of Israel. Originally from northern

Israel, Yaalon moved to Kibbutz Grofit as a teenager before enlisting in the IDF as a

paratrooper in 1968. He went on to serve in numerous key positions, such as

commanding Israel’s most distinguished special forces unit Sayeret Matkal.

He continued to climb in rank, and from 2002 until 2005, he served as Israel’s chief

of general staff (head of the IDF) during the harrowing days of the war against

Palestinian terror, also known as the "second intifada."

In 2008, Yaalon announced his entrance into Israeli politics as a member of the

Likud party and then in 2009 was appointed as minister for strategic affairs and vice

prime minister. In 2013 he was appointed as defense minister, a position from which

he resigned this past May. Yaalon and his wife are members of Kibbutz Grofit but

spend most of their time living in Modiin. Yaalon has three children and eight

grandchildren.