David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister, wanted to build a foundation for the day when Israel would become a state. Ben-Gurion saw the need to establish an office in the U.S. to procure weapons, ammunition and equipment to help the new state defend itself from hostile nations. The Mission has maintained a continuous presence in New York ever since. Its main function is to purchase the full range of equipment required by a modern military in confronting evolving challenges.
The Directors of the Mission to the U.S. from its establishment:
- Teddy Kollek - 1947-1949
- Shimon Peres 1949-1951
- Aharon Remez – 1951-1953
- Nahom Shamir – 1953-1955
- Col. Y. Lahover 1955-1956
- Itzhak Cohen – 1956-1959
- Shmuel Zlinger – 1959-1962
- Yaacov Shapira – 1962-1969
- Shmuel Dror – 1969-1974
- Yossef Chechanover – 1974-1978
- Arie Levi – 1978-1982
- Avraham Ben-Yossef – 1982 – 1988
- Moshe Kochanovsky – 1988-1993
- Avraham Oren – 1993 – 1998
- Haim Adar – 1998- 2003
- Kuti Mor – 2003-2008
- Gad Dovev – 2008 – 2011
- Aharon Marmarosh – 2011 – 2016
- Dubi Brian Lavi– 2016– present
