War of Independence

Holocaust Survivor Remembers Fallen Survivor-Soldiers

In this moving video from Yad Vashem (02:18), Holocaust survivor Yehuda Szternfeld briefly tells his own story and introduces the initiative he launched to commemorate “The Last Descendants” – survivors who lost

The Last Descendants: The Stories of Mordechai David Gantz & Shalom Tepper

This page on the IDF website introduces the concept of “The Last Descendants” – survivors who immigrated to Palestine alone after losing their entire families in the Holocaust, only to

The Story of Esther Dreisinger Koifman (1923-1948)

This page tells the story of Esther Dreisinger Koifman (1923-1948), a Polish Holocaust survivor who lost who entire family in the Holocaust and immigrated to Palestine as part of the

Israel: The Birth of a Nation (Documentary)

Produced by the History Channel, this comprehensive documentary (1.5 hours) chronicles the establishment of the State of Israel by British historian, Sir Martin Gilbert. Using archive film, photographs and interviews,

King Abdullah I of Jordan: As the Arabs See the Jews (1947)

This link provides the full text of an article written by King Abdullah I of Jordan in The American Magazine in November, 1947, six months before the declaration of the

Haim Hefer: Yes, It’s Possible

This song was originally written as a poem by iconic Israeli poet, Haim Hefer, who served in the Palmach during the War of Independence, during the first truce of the

Statement by the Arab League upon the Declaration of the State of Israel (May 15, 1948)

This post presents the text of the cablegram sent from the Secretary General of the Arab League to the Secretary General of the United Nations following the Declaration of the

Why the Arabs were Defeated in 1948

Published in Al Jazeera, a state-funded Qatari news network, this article explores the different explanations offered by historians for the Arab defeat in the Israeli-Arab War of 1948, known by Israel

The 1948 War Through Arab Eyes

Written by Salman Masalha, a Druze Israeli poet and writer, this article reveals the rhetoric published in Arab newspapers prior to the Arab-Israeli War of 1948, known by Israel as the

Natan Alterman: Elifelet

Performed here by the IDF for Memorial Day, this song, written as a poem by Natan Alterman in 1959 and put to music by Sasha Argov, tells the story of