Mahal (Israel)

Mahal (מח"ל, an acronym for Mitnadvei Hutz LaAretz (מתנדבי חוץ לארץ), lit. Volunteers from outside the Land [of Israel]) were both Jewish and non-Jewish volunteers who went to Israel to fight in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War including Aliyah Bet. About 4,000 volunteers from all over the world came to fight on the Israeli side.

Origins, numbers, and Aliyah Bet


The Machalniks were mostly World War II veterans from American and British armed forces. Allied armies were reduced considerably after the end of the war and many soldiers were demobilised; moreover, the service experience became mundane and did not suit some servicemen, particularly pilots. In various circumstances they were invited, or heard of the Jewish state's struggle for independence and volunteered. There were Jews and Christians, both ideological supporters of Zionism and mercenaries.

The Ha'apala movement, also called "Aliyah Bet", which attempted to evade the 1939 and 1948 British naval blockade restricting Jewish immigration to Palestine, was assisted by 236 Machal former servicemen of the Allied navies as crews of ten clandestine Jewish refugee ships, out of sixty-six participating vessels.

The 1948 Arab-Israeli War saw approximately 3,500 foreign volunteers from 58 countries among the Jewish forces, out of an estimated 29,677–108,300 total (it grew considerably in size due to increasing levels of militarisation). A total of 123 Mahalniks were killed in battle (119 men and 4 women).

One of the most senior Machal personnel was Mickey Marcus, a Jewish United States Army colonel who assisted Israeli forces during the war and became Israel's first Brigadier General. Marcus's wartime experience was vital in breaking the 1948 Siege of Jerusalem. Other important Mahalniks were Canadian officer Ben Dunkelman and U.S. pilot Milton Rubenfeld.

Another personality involved in the recruitment of USA volunteers was Major Wellesley Aron, MBE, an English-born Palestinian Jew who had commanded a unit in the British Army during World War II. In 1947, while on a lecture tour of the USA, he was requested by the Haganah to organize the recruitment of men with "knowhow" who could help in defending the newly established state.

Israeli Air Force
The largest presence of Machal was felt in the Israeli Air Force (IAF), making up nearly two-thirds of its personnel, to the point that English overtook Hebrew as the most common operational IAF service language. Cargo flights flown by Mahal air crews transported weapons and supplies to Palestine from Europe, and thousands of Jewish refugees from Arab countries. During the Egyptian Army siege of the Negev region in 1948, Machal pilots airlifted thousands of tons of supplies to communities behind enemy lines, usually by night landings of large cargo planes and converted airliners on makeshift, unpaved sand runways, hand lit by oil lamps. The national Israeli airline El Al was partially founded by Machal veterans.

The integration of Mahal personnel into the Israel Defense Forces did not proceed without difficulty. Occasional tensions surfaced due to the superior pay and service conditions demanded by and given to the volunteers over resident or native Israeli soldiers, mainly in the air force; some of the volunteers were adventurers with little commitment to Zionism or to a rigid, disciplined hierarchy. This culminated in the disbandment of the Air Transport Division, following an "industrial action" by its Mahal personnel over pay conditions. The division was re-established with Israeli personnel.

Logistic support of the founding of the IAF was provided by various diaspora groups which procured planes in the critical months of 1948-9. One important such activity in Australia led to the export to Israel of six planes, despite the arms blockade enforced only against Israel amongst the combatants.

A few hours before the final cease-fire on 7 January 1949, a flight of four British RAF Spitfires bypassed the southern Israeli border on a reconnaissance flight. They were attacked by a pair of Israeli Air Force Spitfires, resulting in three of the British planes being shot down. The Israeli Spitfires were flown by Mahal volunteers "Slick" Goodlin (USA) and John McElroy (Canada). Both were former US Army Air Forces and Royal Canadian Air Force pilots, veterans of World War II.

After the war
After the end of the war in 1949, the majority of the Mahal returned to their home countries. Some remained to live in Israel; the village of Kfar Daniel near Lod was founded by Mahal veterans from North America and the UK. Then Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion said "the Mahal Forces were the Diaspora's most important contribution to the survival of the State of Israel."

A memorial honouring the Mahal volunteers was erected near Sha'ar HaGai on the road from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. On it is inscribed a verse from : "All those of valour shall pass armed among your brethren, and shall help them."

Non-Israeli service with modern IDF
Overseas residents are able to serve with the modern IDF through various Mahal-IDF-Volunteers. These volunteer programs are for young non-Israeli Jews who are legal residents in Israel (and descendants of a Jewish grandparent) and overseas Israelis who are younger than 24 (men), 21 (women), 36 (physicians). The programs consist typically of 18 months of IDF service (21 months, if IDF-Hebrew study program, or ulpan, is necessary) including extended training for those joining combat units or 1 month of non-combat training. All overseas volunteers serve in regular Israeli military units.

Sar-El is a volunteer program of IDF in non-armed support tasks where also non-Jewish people can serve.

Notable Mahals

 * Paul Kor