The Israeli Army’s Overseas Volunteers in the War of 1948

Abstract

This study investigates how the Zionist movement and Israel managed to enlist approximately 26,700 troops from abroad. They belonged to two groups: the first, called “overseas conscripts” (Gahal) and numbering more than 22.000, were Jews in Eastern Europe who had survived the Holocaust. The second group, called “overseas volunteers” (Mahal) and numbering around 4,000, came primarily from the United States, South Africa, Britain, Canada, and some other states. This article examines the critically important role played by the "Gahal" soldiers and "Mahal" volunteers in the 1948 war, boosting the Israeli army’s numbers and significantly increasing its qualitative power. They provided the army with the experts, consultants, and professional soldiers whom it desperately needed, which had a major impact on the course and outcomes of the war.