Moshe (Bogie) Ya’alon served in the Knesset between 2009 and

2016 and has dedicated a lifetime of public service to the State of

Israel. Originally from northern Israel, Ya’alon moved to Kibbutz Grofit

as a teenager before enlisting to 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 and

the paratroopers brigade. Continuing to rise through the ranks, from

2002 until 2005, he served as Israel’s Chief of General Staff

(commander 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. In 2009, he was appointed as Minister for Strategic Affairs and as Vice Prime Minister. In 2013, he was appointed Minister of Defense, a position from which he resigned in May, 2016. Ya’alon founded Telem, the National Statesmanship Party, in January 2019.

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Among its founders, Yaalon and his wife remain members of Kibbutz Grofit and reside in Modiin. Yaalon has three children and eight grandchildren.