Moses (Moya) Epstein

Moses (Moya) Epstein was a mechanical engineer, missile developer and senior mentor in Israel’s defense-technology community. For decades he worked at Rafael, where he became a chief missile designer and helped develop systems that strengthened Israel’s independent capacity for research, engineering and defense. He received the Israel Security Prize three times—a rare record that reflects both the importance of particular projects and the sustained breadth of his contribution.

Family, childhood and education

Epstein was born in Tel Aviv on June 5, 1925, the elder of two sons. His parents had immigrated to Mandatory Palestine from Eastern Europe in 1924. His father, Pesach, was a water engineer for the Tel Aviv Municipality; his mother, Dora Zauberman, was a pediatrician at Hadassah Hospital in the city. During his childhood, the painter Mordecai Ardon also lived for a time as a tenant in the family home.

From the age of nine, Epstein studied the violin and joined his school orchestra. He attended the private Shalva School and began studying mechanical engineering at the Technion in 1944. This combination of engineering training, cultural curiosity and wide-ranging ability later contributed to his reputation as both an inventor and a broad-minded professional.

From the early state to missile development

In 1948, during the founding period of the State of Israel, Epstein joined the Science Corps. There he directed the development of a recoilless rifle, one of the early efforts to establish an indigenous Israeli research and development capability for defense needs. He later joined Rafael and devoted his career to missile design and development.

One of his most important achievements was the development of the Luz surface-to-surface missile. The knowledge and experience accumulated through that project helped lay the groundwork for the later Gabriel sea-to-sea missile. Epstein thus contributed to the creation of technological expertise that shaped Israel’s defense industry and its ability to respond to complex operational needs through local innovation.

In the early 1980s, he also took part in developing the Gil and Tamuz advanced anti-tank missiles. These projects illustrate the range of his work. He was not identified with only one system; over many years he contributed to multiple missile programs while also helping train the professionals who would carry the field forward.

Recognition and the work of teaching

Epstein received the Israel Security Prize three times. In 1960, he shared the prize with Yonatan Mass and Yaron Anzelam for the development of Luz. In 1984, he received it with seven other contributors for the development of Tamuz. In 1997, he was honored for his contribution over a generation to missile development and production, through which he left his mark on a wide range of missile systems as both an engineer and a teacher of the next generation.

The wording of the 1997 citation captures an essential part of his legacy. His achievement was not limited to systems that could be measured or displayed; it also lay in accumulating expertise, guiding teams and transmitting knowledge. In a field where continuity depends on developing people as well as technology, his role as a teacher and mentor was part of his service to Israel.

In 2011, the Technion awarded Epstein an honorary doctorate for his contribution as an inventor and a person of wide-ranging ability to the State of Israel and its security. The honor connected the institution where he began his professional education with the practical achievements of his career in defense technology.

Why Moses (Moya) Epstein belongs in Moreshet

Moses Epstein merits inclusion in Moreshet because his life represents an important chapter in the construction of Israel’s scientific, engineering and defense capabilities. His work on Luz, his contribution to the development of Gabriel, and his participation in the Gil and Tamuz programs show how knowledge created in Israel became practical systems of national significance.

His importance extends beyond a list of missiles and awards. Epstein belonged to the generation of engineers who built institutions, professional methods and a culture of technical excellence in a young country, then passed their knowledge to those who followed. His story therefore illuminates both Israeli achievements in science and technology and the human values of mentorship, persistence and public service. Moreshet.com preserves through profiles such as this the memory of people whose sustained professional work shaped the country and its security, often far from the public spotlight.

Epstein died on July 23, 2014. He was survived by his wife, Ruth, and was buried at the Gan Eden cemetery in Kibbutz Ein Carmel. His legacy lives on in the systems to which he contributed, in the knowledge he transmitted and in his place in the history of Israel’s defense industry.