MACHAL Mitnadvei Hutz LaAretz and Aliyah Bet

The establishment of the Jewish state of Israel in the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-49 happened with the assistance of the MACHAL, war veterans from around the world giving military assistance, and Aliyah Bet, the illegal immigration of thousands of Jewish refugees from Europe to Israel. These organizations provided the necessary logistical and personnel support to win the war.

The MACHAL, the acronym for “mitnadvei hutz laAretz” or "volunteers from abroad", consisted of about 3500 men and women from over 40 countries from a variety of social and religious backgrounds who volunteered to fight for Israel in the Arab-Israeli War of 1948. Many of these volunteers came from Canada and the United States and provided service in all aspects of military operations; the majority however, applied their experience in the air. The American and Canadian contingent of MACHAL formed the core of the Israeli Air Force. These volunteers not only brought their fighting and technical experience and expertise to pilot and maintain the aircraft, but also their connections to suppliers of planes, parts, munitions. The volunteers also trained others to pilot and maintain the aircraft essential to keeping the Air Force aloft. Other volunteers from Canada and the United States applied assisted in other areas, such as, artillery, intelligence gathering, logistics, medicine, naval operations, tactical planning, and numerous other military specialties gained from their experiences in World War II; experiences that the Palestinian Jews did not have.

...