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  • התחבר
  • הרשם
  • תקופה
    • Prehistory3000000 לפנה"ס - 5001 לפנה"ס
    • Antiquity5000 לפנה"ס - 399 לספירה
    • Middle Ages400 לספירה - 1500 לספירה
    • Age of Reason1500 לספירה - 1879 לספירה
    • Modern Times1880 לספירה - 1980 לספירה
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
    • English subscription
  • News
  • Past Issues
  • Reviews
    • Book Reviews
  • en
  • he
  • -3000000
  • -2900000
  • -2800000
  • -2700000
  • -2600000
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Prehistory
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Prehistory
  • -800000
  • -700000
  • -600000
    • 500000 לפנה"ס :

      Flints Galore
  • -500000
    • 500000 לפנה"ס :

      Flints Galore
  • -400000
  • -300000
  • -200000
  • -100000
    • 60000 לפנה"ס :

      Not Just Cave Dwellers
    • 50000 לפנה"ס :

      Man Is Born
    • 7000 לפנה"ס :

      Masking Death Prehistoric City
    • 3000 לפנה"ס :

      What would you like, Egyptian or Philistine ?
    • 2000 לפנה"ס :

      4,000 Year Old Jerusalem Tomb: a Treasure Trove of Decapitated Toads
    • 1150 לפנה"ס :

      Where did the Philistines come from?
    • 1100 לפנה"ס :

      Is This Ziklag?
    • 800 לפנה"ס :

      Horses in the rain Ruin of Samaria!
    • 750 לפנה"ס :

      Which Isaiah?
    • 590 לפנה"ס :

      Stamped by the Mayor
    • 586 לפנה"ס :

      Signs of Destruction
    • 516 לפנה"ס :

      Who are You, Samaritans?
    • 480 לפנה"ס :

      Esther – the Persian Version
    • 460 לפנה"ס :

      Nehemiah on the Wall
    • 200 לפנה"ס :

      Forgotten Archive
    • 167 לפנה"ס :

      A Brief History of the Hasmoneans
    • 160 לפנה"ס :

      Fighting for Heart and Soul The Youngest Maccabee
    • 150 לפנה"ס :

      Telltale Tremor
    • 141 לפנה"ס :

      Cast a Giant Shadow
    • 110 לפנה"ס :

      A Dig Full of Holes
    • 100 לפנה"ס :

      אוצר ממצולות ים Anonymous Hasmonean
    • 20 לפנה"ס :

      Mystery of Caesarea’s Disappearing Port Jerusalem Potters
    • 18 לפנה"ס :

      Paving the Past
    • 0 לפנה"ס :

      Nabateans in the Bible Lords of the Desert Pilgrim City
  • 0
  • 100000
  • 200000
Prehistory
  • -5000
  • -4980
  • -4960
  • -4940
  • -4920
  • -4900
  • -4880
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  • -4840
  • -4820
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Antiquity
  • -4780
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  • -4740
  • -4720
  • -4700
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  • -4640
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Antiquity
  • -4560
  • -4540
  • -4520
  • -4500
  • -4480
  • -4460
  • -4440
  • -4420
  • -4400
  • -4380
  • -4360
Antiquity
  • -4340
  • -4320
  • -4300
  • -4280
  • -4260
  • -4240
  • -4220
  • -4200
  • -4180
  • -4160
  • -4140
Antiquity
  • -4120
  • -4100
  • -4080
  • -4060
  • -4040
  • -4020
  • -4000
  • -3980
  • -3960
  • -3940
  • -3920
Antiquity
  • -3900
  • -3880
  • -3860
  • -3840
  • -3820
  • -3800
  • -3780
  • -3760
  • -3740
  • -3720
  • -3700
Antiquity
  • -3680
  • -3660
  • -3640
  • -3620
  • -3600
  • -3580
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  • -3540
  • -3520
  • -3500
  • -3480
Antiquity
  • -3460
  • -3440
  • -3420
  • -3400
  • -3380
  • -3360
  • -3340
  • -3320
  • -3300
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Antiquity
  • -3240
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  • -3200
  • -3180
  • -3160
  • -3140
  • -3120
  • -3100
  • -3080
  • -3060
  • -3040
Antiquity
  • -3020
    • 3000 לפנה"ס :

      What would you like, Egyptian or Philistine ?
  • -3000
    • 3000 לפנה"ס :

      What would you like, Egyptian or Philistine ?
  • -2980
  • -2960
  • -2940
  • -2920
  • -2900
  • -2880
  • -2860
  • -2840
  • -2820
Antiquity
  • -2800
  • -2780
  • -2760
  • -2740
  • -2720
  • -2700
  • -2680
  • -2660
  • -2640
  • -2620
  • -2600
Antiquity
  • -2580
  • -2560
  • -2540
  • -2520
  • -2500
  • -2480
  • -2460
  • -2440
  • -2420
  • -2400
  • -2380
Antiquity
  • -2360
  • -2340
  • -2320
  • -2300
  • -2280
  • -2260
  • -2240
  • -2220
  • -2200
  • -2180
  • -2160
Antiquity
  • -2140
  • -2120
  • -2100
  • -2080
  • -2060
  • -2040
  • -2020
    • 2000 לפנה"ס :

      4,000 Year Old Jerusalem Tomb: a Treasure Trove of Decapitated Toads
  • -2000
    • 2000 לפנה"ס :

      4,000 Year Old Jerusalem Tomb: a Treasure Trove of Decapitated Toads
  • -1980
  • -1960
  • -1940
Antiquity
  • -1920
  • -1900
  • -1880
  • -1860
  • -1840
  • -1820
  • -1800
  • -1780
  • -1760
  • -1740
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Antiquity
  • -1700
  • -1680
  • -1660
  • -1640
  • -1620
  • -1600
  • -1580
  • -1560
  • -1540
  • -1520
  • -1500
Antiquity
  • -1480
  • -1460
  • -1440
  • -1420
  • -1400
  • -1380
  • -1360
  • -1340
  • -1320
  • -1300
  • -1280
Antiquity
  • -1260
  • -1240
  • -1220
  • -1200
  • -1180
  • -1160
    • 1150 לפנה"ס :

      Where did the Philistines come from?
  • -1140
  • -1120
    • 1100 לפנה"ס :

      Is This Ziklag?
  • -1100
    • 1100 לפנה"ס :

      Is This Ziklag?
  • -1080
  • -1060
Antiquity
  • -1040
  • -1020
  • -1000
  • -980
  • -960
  • -940
  • -920
  • -900
  • -880
  • -860
  • -840
Antiquity
  • -820
    • 800 לפנה"ס :

      Horses in the rain Ruin of Samaria!
  • -800
    • 800 לפנה"ס :

      Horses in the rain Ruin of Samaria!
  • -780
  • -760
    • 750 לפנה"ס :

      Which Isaiah?
  • -740
  • -720
  • -700
  • -680
  • -660
  • -640
  • -620
Antiquity
  • -600
    • 590 לפנה"ס :

      Stamped by the Mayor
    • 586 לפנה"ס :

      Signs of Destruction
  • -580
  • -560
  • -540
  • -520
    • 516 לפנה"ס :

      Who are You, Samaritans?
  • -500
    • 480 לפנה"ס :

      Esther – the Persian Version
  • -480
    • 480 לפנה"ס :

      Esther – the Persian Version
    • 460 לפנה"ס :

      Nehemiah on the Wall
  • -460
    • 460 לפנה"ס :

      Nehemiah on the Wall
  • -440
  • -420
  • -400
Antiquity
  • -380
  • -360
  • -340
  • -320
  • -300
  • -280
  • -260
  • -240
  • -220
    • 200 לפנה"ס :

      Forgotten Archive
  • -200
    • 200 לפנה"ס :

      Forgotten Archive
  • -180
    • 167 לפנה"ס :

      A Brief History of the Hasmoneans
    • 160 לפנה"ס :

      Fighting for Heart and Soul The Youngest Maccabee
Antiquity
  • -160
    • 160 לפנה"ס :

      Fighting for Heart and Soul The Youngest Maccabee
    • 150 לפנה"ס :

      Telltale Tremor
    • 141 לפנה"ס :

      Cast a Giant Shadow
  • -140
  • -120
    • 110 לפנה"ס :

      A Dig Full of Holes
    • 100 לפנה"ס :

      אוצר ממצולות ים Anonymous Hasmonean
  • -100
    • 100 לפנה"ס :

      אוצר ממצולות ים Anonymous Hasmonean
  • -80
  • -60
  • -40
    • 20 לפנה"ס :

      Mystery of Caesarea’s Disappearing Port Jerusalem Potters
  • -20
    • 20 לפנה"ס :

      Mystery of Caesarea’s Disappearing Port Jerusalem Potters
    • 18 לפנה"ס :

      Paving the Past
    • 0 לפנה"ס :

      Nabateans in the Bible Lords of the Desert Pilgrim City
  • 0
  • 20
    • 40 לספירה :

      Wanton Destruction on a Calamitous Scale Golden Nostalgia
  • 40
    • 40 לספירה :

      Wanton Destruction on a Calamitous Scale Golden Nostalgia
    • 44 לספירה :

      King’s Canopy in Shilo
Antiquity
  • 60
    • 62 לספירה :

      The Pilgrims’ Progress
    • 66 לספירה :

      Don’t Call Me Joseph
    • 67 לספירה :

      Romans on the Roofs of Gamla
  • 80
  • 100
  • 120
    • 130 לספירה :

      Backs to the Western Wall
  • 140
  • 160
  • 180
    • 200 לספירה :

      Bathing Rabbis
  • 200
    • 200 לספירה :

      Bathing Rabbis
  • 220
  • 240
    • 250 לספירה :

      Trio in Togas
  • 260
Antiquity
  • 280
    • 300 לספירה :

      Washed Out by the Rain
  • 300
    • 300 לספירה :

      Washed Out by the Rain
  • 320
  • 340
    • 350 לספירה :

      זה השער
  • 360
  • 380
    • 400 לספירה :

      Blessed Wine
  • 400
    • 400 לספירה :

      Blessed Wine
  • 420
  • 440
  • 460
  • 480
    • 500 לספירה :

      Shofar – Blasting Away Pilgrims’ Riches Playing with Water? Byzantine Cistern in Jerusalem Playground
Antiquity
  • 400
    • 400 לספירה :

      Blessed Wine
  • 410
  • 420
  • 430
  • 440
  • 450
  • 460
  • 470
  • 480
  • 490
    • 500 לספירה :

      Shofar – Blasting Away Pilgrims’ Riches Playing with Water? Byzantine Cistern in Jerusalem Playground
  • 500
    • 500 לספירה :

      Shofar – Blasting Away Pilgrims’ Riches Playing with Water? Byzantine Cistern in Jerusalem Playground
Middle Ages
  • 510
  • 520
  • 530
    • 539 לספירה :

      Georgians in Ashdod
  • 540
  • 550
  • 560
  • 570
  • 580
  • 590
  • 600
  • 610
Middle Ages
  • 620
    • 630 לספירה :

      The Fire of Faith
  • 630
    • 630 לספירה :

      The Fire of Faith
  • 640
  • 650
  • 660
  • 670
  • 680
  • 690
  • 700
  • 710
    • 717 לספירה :

      What’s a Jewish Menorah doing on early Islamic coins and vessels ?
  • 720
Middle Ages
  • 730
  • 740
  • 750
  • 760
  • 770
  • 780
  • 790
    • 800 לספירה :

      Whose Head is it Anyway?
  • 800
    • 800 לספירה :

      Whose Head is it Anyway?
  • 810
  • 820
  • 830
Middle Ages
  • 840
  • 850
  • 860
  • 870
  • 880
  • 890
  • 900
  • 910
  • 920
  • 930
  • 940
    • 950 לספירה :

      Cave of Revenge
Middle Ages
  • 950
    • 950 לספירה :

      Cave of Revenge
  • 960
  • 970
  • 980
  • 990
  • 1000
  • 1010
  • 1020
  • 1030
  • 1040
  • 1050
Middle Ages
  • 1060
  • 1070
  • 1080
  • 1090
    • 1096 לספירה :

      Heroes on the Walls of Haifa
    • 1099 לספירה :

      Heroes on the Walls of Haifa
  • 1100
  • 1110
  • 1120
  • 1130
  • 1140
  • 1150
  • 1160
Middle Ages
  • 1170
  • 1180
    • 1187 לספירה :

      Locking Horns at the Battle of Hattin
  • 1190
  • 1200
  • 1210
  • 1220
  • 1230
  • 1240
  • 1250
  • 1260
  • 1270
    • 1280 לספירה :

      Z-rated: For Forties Plus
Middle Ages
  • 1280
    • 1280 לספירה :

      Z-rated: For Forties Plus
    • 1286 לספירה :

      Mystery of the Zohar Zohar Unzipped
  • 1290
    • 1300 לספירה :

      Ancient Ring in the Flowerbed
  • 1300
    • 1300 לספירה :

      Ancient Ring in the Flowerbed
  • 1310
  • 1320
  • 1330
  • 1340
  • 1350
  • 1360
  • 1370
  • 1380
Middle Ages
  • 1390
  • 1400
  • 1410
  • 1420
  • 1430
  • 1440
  • 1450
  • 1460
  • 1470
    • 1475 לספירה :

      A Widow in Print
  • 1480
  • 1490
    • 1496 לספירה :

      Once Bitten, Twice Shy – Portuguese Jewry
Middle Ages
  • 1500
    • 1501 לספירה :

      Portuguese Messiah at the Stake
  • 1510
  • 1520
    • 1526 לספירה :

      Who Was David Ha-Reuveni?
  • 1530
  • 1540
  • 1550
  • 1560
  • 1570
  • 1580
  • 1590
  • 1600
Age of Reason
  • 1610
  • 1620
    • 1630 לספירה :

      The Price of Dissent
  • 1630
    • 1630 לספירה :

      The Price of Dissent
  • 1640
  • 1650
  • 1660
    • 1667 לספירה :

      Was ‘The Jewish Bride’ Really Jewish? Messianic Mania
  • 1670
    • 1675 לספירה :

      Topsy Turvy
  • 1680
  • 1690
    • 1700 לספירה :

      Newton’s Fourth Law In the Service of the Czar Haman’s Pockets Trying to Belong
  • 1700
    • 1700 לספירה :

      Newton’s Fourth Law In the Service of the Czar Haman’s Pockets Trying to Belong
  • 1710
Age of Reason
  • 1720
  • 1730
  • 1740
  • 1750
  • 1760
  • 1770
  • 1780
  • 1790
  • 1800
    • 1806 לספירה :

      Napoleon’s Jewish Court
  • 1810
    • 1812 לספירה :

      Red Rose of Petra
  • 1820
    • 1827 לספירה :

      A Soul Divided
Age of Reason
  • 1830
    • 1832 לספירה :

      Blackface Minstrel Shows
    • 1840 לספירה :

      With Thanks from Damascus
  • 1840
    • 1840 לספירה :

      With Thanks from Damascus
    • 1842 לספירה :

      Charlotte Rothschild – First Jewish Female Artist
    • 1845 לספירה :

      The Angry Convert
    • 1848 לספירה :

      Jewish? French? Italian!
    • 1850 לספירה :

      Matza – More Than Just Crumbs
  • 1850
    • 1850 לספירה :

      Matza – More Than Just Crumbs
    • 1852 לספירה :

      Mum’s the Word Mum’s the Word
    • 1860 לספירה :

      Written Off
  • 1860
    • 1860 לספירה :

      Written Off
    • 1868 לספירה :

      Hungarian Schism
    • 1870 לספירה :

      A Man unto Himself The Kaiser’s Cap
  • 1870
    • 1870 לספירה :

      A Man unto Himself The Kaiser’s Cap
    • 1875 לספירה :

      The Many Faces of Maurycy Gottlieb Shtreimel Variations: The History of a Hat
    • 1877 לספירה :

      Off the Boat
    • 1880 לספירה :

      Fastest Jew in the West
  • 1880
    • 1880 לספירה :

      Fastest Jew in the West
    • 1881 לספירה :

      The Jewish Girl who Set the Wild West Ablaze
    • 1883 לספירה :

      Kafka – Too Short A Story
    • 1884 לספירה :

      The Original Zionist Congress
    • 1887 לספירה :

      Marc Chagall – the Surrealist Jew
    • 1889 לספירה :

      New York – A Community in Flux
    • 1890 לספירה :

      PIONEER POET
  • 1890
    • 1890 לספירה :

      PIONEER POET
    • 1892 לספירה :

      When Shakespeare Spoke Yiddish
    • 1894 לספירה :

      Herzl’s Psychodrama Egypt’s Jewish Molière
    • 1895 לספירה :

      Zionist with Cello
    • 1897 לספירה :

      The Jewish Father of French Impressionism The Congress that Founded the Jewish State
    • 1900 לספירה :

      Healing Minds with Sigmund Freud
  • 1900
    • 1900 לספירה :

      Healing Minds with Sigmund Freud
    • 1906 לספירה :

      The Saga of a Budapest Family Sukka
    • 1908 לספירה :

      The Jewish American Secret Police
  • 1910
    • 1913 לספירה :

      Planting Seedlings Mark Gertler – Nothing but Art
    • 1914 לספירה :

      Did Jew Know? Tomorrow’s War Ticket to Riches
    • 1915 לספירה :

      Albert Einstein’s Quantum Leap Forgotten Jews of Bisan
    • 1916 לספירה :

      Amedeo Modigliani – Jewish Expressionism
    • 1917 לספירה :

      The Gateway The Viscount of Megiddo Return of the Spies Guard Down Long Before Balfour
    • 1918 לספירה :

      Luboml City Post Dying in Vain
    • 1920 לספירה :

      Isidor Kaufmann – Jewish Ritual Beauty My Son, the Gangster The Fourth Commandment and the Eighteenth Amendment
  • 1920
    • 1920 לספירה :

      Isidor Kaufmann – Jewish Ritual Beauty My Son, the Gangster The Fourth Commandment and the Eighteenth Amendment
    • 1921 לספירה :

      Make Art, Not War
    • 1924 לספירה :

      God Save the Dutch Queen
    • 1927 לספירה :

      Painter of Jerusalem Breaking the Sound Barrier No Business Like Show Business
    • 1929 לספירה :

      Painting Propaganda
    • 1930 לספירה :

      The Wedding That Wasn’t
  • 1930
    • 1930 לספירה :

      The Wedding That Wasn’t
    • 1933 לספירה :

      Haifa and Salonika – the Jewish Ports
    • 1935 לספירה :

      Gefilte Jazz
    • 1936 לספירה :

      Megilla with a Secular Twist
    • 1940 לספירה :

      A Beautiful Mind 9 Things You Didn’t Know About Hedy Lamarr
Age of Reason
  • 1880
    • 1880 לספירה :

      Fastest Jew in the West
    • 1881 לספירה :

      The Jewish Girl who Set the Wild West Ablaze
    • 1883 לספירה :

      Kafka – Too Short A Story
    • 1884 לספירה :

      The Original Zionist Congress
    • 1887 לספירה :

      Marc Chagall – the Surrealist Jew
    • 1889 לספירה :

      New York – A Community in Flux
    • 1890 לספירה :

      PIONEER POET
  • 1890
    • 1890 לספירה :

      PIONEER POET
    • 1892 לספירה :

      When Shakespeare Spoke Yiddish
    • 1894 לספירה :

      Herzl’s Psychodrama Egypt’s Jewish Molière
    • 1895 לספירה :

      Zionist with Cello
    • 1897 לספירה :

      The Jewish Father of French Impressionism The Congress that Founded the Jewish State
    • 1900 לספירה :

      Healing Minds with Sigmund Freud
  • 1900
    • 1900 לספירה :

      Healing Minds with Sigmund Freud
    • 1906 לספירה :

      The Saga of a Budapest Family Sukka
    • 1908 לספירה :

      The Jewish American Secret Police
  • 1910
    • 1913 לספירה :

      Planting Seedlings Mark Gertler – Nothing but Art
    • 1914 לספירה :

      Did Jew Know? Tomorrow’s War Ticket to Riches
    • 1915 לספירה :

      Albert Einstein’s Quantum Leap Forgotten Jews of Bisan
    • 1916 לספירה :

      Amedeo Modigliani – Jewish Expressionism
    • 1917 לספירה :

      The Gateway The Viscount of Megiddo Return of the Spies Guard Down Long Before Balfour
    • 1918 לספירה :

      Luboml City Post Dying in Vain
    • 1920 לספירה :

      Isidor Kaufmann – Jewish Ritual Beauty My Son, the Gangster The Fourth Commandment and the Eighteenth Amendment
  • 1920
    • 1920 לספירה :

      Isidor Kaufmann – Jewish Ritual Beauty My Son, the Gangster The Fourth Commandment and the Eighteenth Amendment
    • 1921 לספירה :

      Make Art, Not War
    • 1924 לספירה :

      God Save the Dutch Queen
    • 1927 לספירה :

      Painter of Jerusalem Breaking the Sound Barrier No Business Like Show Business
    • 1929 לספירה :

      Painting Propaganda
    • 1930 לספירה :

      The Wedding That Wasn’t
  • 1930
    • 1930 לספירה :

      The Wedding That Wasn’t
    • 1933 לספירה :

      Haifa and Salonika – the Jewish Ports
    • 1935 לספירה :

      Gefilte Jazz
    • 1936 לספירה :

      Megilla with a Secular Twist
    • 1940 לספירה :

      A Beautiful Mind 9 Things You Didn’t Know About Hedy Lamarr
  • 1940
    • 1940 לספירה :

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Modern Times
    בית / Modern Times / The Best Defense

The Best Defense

Has the Old Man Lost His Mind?
A United Army
Eighteen Points
מאת: יגיל הנקין

Ben-Gurion could never have declared a state in May 1948 without first painstakingly transforming Palestine’s ragtag Jewish militias into an army | Yagil Henkin

Has the Old Man Lost His Mind?

What was David Ben-Gurion’s most significant accomplishment? Most people would probably choose the declaration of the State of Israel. In retrospect, however, even more important than creating the state were his efforts to ensure its survival.

As soon as he was assigned the defense portfolio at the Jewish Agency (later to become Israel’s provisional government) in 1947, Ben-Gurion organized his own crash course to bring himself up to date. For several weeks, he met with representatives of each branch of the defense establishment and studied the organizational structure of the security forces –Hagana. He checked out its equipment, commanders, and strategy, the kinds of threats it was prepared to repel, as well as the strength and capabilities of the Arab enemy forces. His conclusions were radical – as was his reaction. He replaced several of the Hagana’s leading figures and, more important, created a significant shift in its thinking. Hagana activists were still gearing up to fight yesterday’s war – an intensified replay of the civil unrest and riots of the Arab Revolt a decade earlier. Ben-Gurion demanded that his troops be prepared to face organized, fully equipped military forces – the armies of the neighboring Arab states, including the Arab Legion stationed in Transjordan – rather than the local rabble and volunteer units his commanders expected. Hearing Ben-Gurion’s insistence on a real army, complete with tanks, planes, cannons, and battleships, many of his colleagues declared the old man out of his mind.

Seeking firsthand information on all branches of the IDF, Ben-Gurion spent a week on an Israeli navy boat in the summer of 1949. Conferring with the ship’s officers at sea Photo: Israel Government Press Office - GPO

Seeking firsthand information on all branches of the IDF, Ben-Gurion spent a week on an Israeli navy boat in the summer of 1949. Conferring with the ship’s officers at sea

Not surprisingly, Ben-Gurion didn’t achieve all his goals before independence. The Hagana was fully restructured only later; during the War of Independence, almost all the prominent commanders were former members of Hagana or Palmah (its standing militia), and only a few had been formally trained by the British army. But Ben-Gurion’s success in shifting attention to the impending military threat proved critical. As a result of his vision, tremendous energies were diverted to acquire planes, tanks, and cannons during the months preceding the declaration of the State of Israel – most of which arrived in the course of the War of Independence. It is appalling to imagine the fate of the Jewish community had its security forces fought that war equipped solely with the two tanks (only one of which worked) and the single fighter plane they’d had when the state was declared. The Arabs had dozens of tanks and aircraft at their disposal, and no lack of ammunition.

Ben-Gurion envisioned a modern army equipped with tanks, planes, and battleships as well as rifles and artillery. With the crew of the Dakota, which flew him to Eilat in 1949 David Eldan, GPO

Ben-Gurion envisioned a modern army equipped with tanks, planes, and battleships as well as rifles and artillery. With the crew of the Dakota, which flew him to Eilat in 1949

Thanks to Ben-Gurion’s ongoing efforts, fighter planes and weapons were purchased from Czechoslovakia in 1947–1948, volunteers were recruited from Jewish communities worldwide as of January 1948, and ships loaded with firearms and ammunition sailed from Europe and the United States. Without the resulting shift in the balance of power, giving the IDF an advantage over the Arab forces on nearly all fronts by early 1949, it is doubtful whether the State could have been established at all, let alone been able to defend itself.

A United Army

Ben-Gurion’s military strategy in the War of Independence has generated extensive discussion, eliciting effusive praise from some quarters and the harshest criticism from others. His insistence on forcing a route to Jerusalem resulted in the tragic battles at Latrun; his bold, if not crude attempts to restructure the military led to “the Generals’ Revolt,” in which nearly the entire Hagana command threatened to resign one week before the State of Israel was declared; his central role in the destruction of the Irgun militia’s weapons on the Altalena evokes fistfights to this day; and many still resent his ruthless dissolution of Palmah after the war. Although these incidents are not usually linked, they all ensured the formation of a unified army subordinate to Israel’s political leadership.

Touring the Negev with Yitzhak Rabin – one of many Palmah officers absorbed into the IDF high command – shortly after the War of Independence GPO

Touring the Negev with Yitzhak Rabin – one of many Palmah officers absorbed into the IDF high command – shortly after the War of Independence

Shortly after the State of Israel was established, a group of Palmah intellectuals including Natan (Yonatan) Klein, Haim Gurfinkel (Gouri), and Haim Feiner (Hefer) demanded that Ben-Gurion disband the Irgun and Stern Gang militias, which refused to accept central authority. Responsibility for all military operations, the group argued, should be transferred to Hagana, which was closely aligned with the state leadership. When he felt the time was ripe, Ben-Gurion acted mercilessly. Sinking the Altalena with all the ammunition on board was a price he was prepared to pay, though all the Jewish militias desperately needed weapons, and despite the fact that his decision nearly led to civil war. The Tel Aviv Palmah activists who willingly executed the operation had no idea that to Ben-Gurion’s mind, they posed a similar danger of insubordination.

Ben-Gurion also considered the alliance between Palmah and the National Kibbutz Association, associated as it was with Mapam (the United Workers Party), a significant threat. These concerns, together with his determination to rebuild the IDF as a regular army along the lines of the British model, led him to defiantly dissolve Palmah only months after the State of Israel had been established. Ben-Gurion was well aware of Palmah’s crucial contribution to Israel’s victory in the War of Independence, but he also realized that the organization saw itself as an elite and refused to take orders from above. As poet Natan Alterman wrote in his weekly column in Davar a week before independence, Palmach was an organization “that refused to leave any of the work to ‘outsiders,’… who write their own odes and have already set down their own version of history.” (“The Seventh Column,” Davar, 28 April 1948)

After the War of Independence, despite the fragile peace, Ben-Gurion deemed the IDF too large. His radical restructuring and cutbacks resulted in the resignation of Chief of Staff Yigael Yadin in 1952. Yadin was convinced that Ben-Gurion was weakening the army and endangering Israel. But Ben-Gurion saw the IDF as just one component of Israel’s overall security, and reasoned that allocating an oversized portion of the tiny state’s budget and resources to the military would eventually jeopardize the entire country. Foreseeing little risk of war in the coming years, he preferred the short-term gamble of downsizing the army, allowing him to invest long-term in the new state’s many civilian needs.

Given the enormous challenge of mass immigrant absorption, Ben-Gurion even diverted army forces to the civilian tasks of education and infrastructure. New chief of staff Mordechai Maklef was instructed to continue the reforms. The result was the basis of the IDF as we know it – a relatively small core of full-time soldiers backed by a much larger reserve force, with an emphasis on intelligence, the air force, and mobile ground forces (infantry and tanks). Moshe Dayan, Maklef’s successor, worked to strengthen morale and operative success, both of which suffered in the early days of the IDF.

Reviewing an honor guard with the chief of staff, 1949 David Eldan, GPO

Reviewing an honor guard with the chief of staff, 1949

Eighteen Points

Ben-Gurion arranged another “seminar” for himself in 1953, this time focusing on the optimal defense strategy for the State of Israel. Between August and October 1953, he visited the various IDF units, attended General Staff meetings, and held numerous discussions on the subject. The resulting “eighteen-point plan” has been the linchpin of Israel’s defense strategies ever since. Though not confined to military issues, this comprehensive document resolved several disputes over the structure of the armed forces. It emphasized the need to formulate long-term plans, increased the number of front-line troops while cutting back on support units, developed a reserve call-up system, increased allocations for equipment and reduced personnel, and transferred responsibility for the IDF’s budget to the Ministry of Defense.

The IDF’s first tanks were two Cromwells and two Shermans stolen from the British army, later joined by some ten obsolete French Hotchkisses. Thirty more Shermans arrived in 1949, purchased in Italy from American army surplus. A few were proudly displayed at a Tel Aviv military parade on Independence Day, 1949 David Eldan, GPO

The IDF’s first tanks were two Cromwells and two Shermans stolen from the British army, later joined by some ten obsolete French Hotchkisses. Thirty more Shermans arrived in 1949, purchased in Italy from American army surplus. A few were proudly displayed at a Tel Aviv military parade on Independence Day, 1949

The plan also included programs designed to turn the IDF into the “melting pot” of Israeli society: seminars emphasizing classic Jewish moral and cultural values; patriotic history courses and field trips; and integration of soldiers from all ethnic backgrounds into heterogeneous units. “A nation cannot fight if it is not united,” announced one of its clauses. The army was to provide employment in areas with heavily immigrant populations, settle immigrants with an eye to reinforcing Jerusalem and its environs as well as the south, and make the Galilee and Nazareth overwhelmingly Jewish. Even further from conventional military priorities were “developing civilian aviation and seamanship” and “youth immigration from North Africa and South America” (Noam Tibbon, “1953: The Year the IDF Was Made,” Ma’arakhot 438 (2011), p. 25 [Hebrew]).

Two soldiers entertain immigrant children at a transit camp in Kisalon, December 1950 David Eldan, GPO

Two soldiers entertain immigrant children at a transit camp in Kisalon, December 1950

In his parting letter to the IDF in December 1953, Ben-Gurion wrote that national security was dependent on ethnic unity, mutual respect, and settlement (ibid., p. 26). Tanks and warplanes were important, but so was social equality. Ben-Gurion’s security policy boiled down to roughly three things: deterrence, alertness, and resolute action – priorities that guide Israel’s defense policies until today. Recent criticism and prolonged General Staff attempts to come up with a new formula ended up just adding the word “defense” to the original list.

Ben-Gurion was largely responsible for Israel’s victory in the War of Independence; his vision defined the IDF’s role within the State of Israel; and his defense policy has remained virtually unchanged for sixty years. The fact that all this was achieved by one person is extraordinary – even if the results were not perfect and the price they exacted was a heavy one. Who but David Ben-Gurion could have done so much?

Modern Times

1948
לספירה

תגים

Aliya absorption, David Ben Gurion, Hagana, IDF, Israel Defense, MOrdechai Maklef, Palmah, planes, Tanks, Yigael Yadin, Yigal Alon, ביטחון, בן גוריון, מדינת ישראל
מאת: יגיל הנקין

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