Moshe Arens is one of the last surviving members of the founding generation of Israelis. He is a political insider who has worked with every Israeli prime minister from Menachem Begin to Benjamin Netanyahu, serving in a variety of important positions, including foreign minister and defense minister. He has also enjoyed an exceptionally close life-long relationship with the United States: he attended high school in New York, served in the U.S. Army during World War II, married an American, and studied at the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology and the California Institute of Technology. In this memoir, Arens recounts his early role in the birth of Israel and the crucial part he played in the development of Israel's aerospace industry. This narrative of his long and distinguished political career, which included service at the very top of Israel's government for the better part of three decades, is also the story of Israel. Arens advocated relentlessly throughout his political career for his vision of an Israel strong enough to withstand all challenges in its volatile neighborhood.

In Defense of Israel vividly captures the manybattles Arens fought in the political arena, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. The latter included his strong opposition to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the West Bank--an action that led to the takeover of Gaza by Hamas. Anyone interested in Israel's place within the contemporary Middle East, including Israel's relationship with the United States, will find this memoir informative, eye-opening, and often provocative.