Grandma's army

  The long arm of the US State Department, as well as the British Foreign Office had finally reached Czechoslovakia. For three months, the pilots from the base in Czechoslovakia had flown ninety-five round trips to Israel, delivering 300 tons of desperately needed weapons and ammunition. They had hauled 25 Messerschmitts, together with the fighters’ spare parts, armament, mechanics, and most of the pilots. Now it was all over. They were given only one day to get out of the country. Since the end of May, 1948, the Negev had been occupied by the Egyptian army. Behind the Egyptian line was a complex of Israeli settlements and a badly depleted brigade of the IDF. Every attempt to resupply and relieve the cut-off units by truck conveys had failed. When the truce was over, the battle-fatigued fighters in the Negev would be crushed. The only solution was if the isolated Negev settlements could be resupplied by air. Working day and night an improvised runway was carved out, in the in...

When the Jews began returning to the Holy land - years before nationhood - they were imbued with a pioneering spirit. David ben-Gurion defined pioneering as the refusal to submit to reality. There is no other People in the world where, throughout their history,   the refusal to submit to reality is a fundamental, ongoing phenomenon.  Things did not begin with the Zionist movement, and the Zionist enterprise did not begin with the first Zionist Congress. These   early pioneers wanted to change their destiny with their own hands and to build a new life for themselves and their people.   In those days, with no financial or other resources, one of the most efficient way for economic sustainability meant living in farming communities. Kibbutz (communal agricultural settlement) ideology was established and developed during the pre-state and early years of Israel’s statehood.  During the initial years and for many years after, the Kibbutzim assumed prominen...