Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said, at the funeral of former minister and ambassador Moshe Arens, "The State of Israel today is parting from a great leader and I am parting today from a mentor and a beloved friend - my soul was connected to his."
Netanyahu noted, "A few weeks ago I visited Misha in his home. I shook his hand warmly as we did a thousand times in the past. There was always something deep and sublime in this handshake, because Misha was one of the last to shake the hand of Betar leader Ze'ev Jabotinsky before his death. As a 15-year-old at the time with a hand in a cast. Jabotinsky asked him what had happened to you. Misha did not forget this and understood that he must hold his Zionist heritage in his hand. Jabotinsky's legacy was a strong commitment to fortifying the power of the State of Israel."