Mahal’s legacy

Regarding “From strength to strength” (April 28), at long last, somebody has had the courage to tell the Israeli public the truth about the War of Independence, and Yossi Melman has done an invaluable service to the phenomenal group of people who volunteered in Mahal.

When I ask people what the Hebrew letters for “Mahal” stand for, they say they are the letters used on the voting slips for the Likud Party (if they give an answer at all). Ask just about any Israeli: Who were the people and what groups were instrumental in fighting for Israel’s Independence? Their reply is staggering: The Palmah, the Hagana, the Irgun and the Stern Gang. Nothing is mentioned about Mahal.

With all due respect to their places in history, the four groups they mention were almost entirely foot soldiers, whereas Mahalniks were pilots, tank corpsmen, naval personnel, etc. They started all the branches of the IDF, and as stated by Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, the Mahal forces were the Diaspora’s most important contribution to the survival of the State of Israel. In fact, at the beginning, the language used in the air force was English due to the number of Anglo Saxons serving as pilots and in other roles.

Smoky Simon and his original Mahalniks started something more important, and it continues to this day.

After the declaration of statehood, Mahal was basically discontinued. Then, in 1956, prior to the Sinai Campaign, the South African Zionist Federation restarted it. This continued for nine years, with young South Africans coming to Israel and serving in the Nahal Brigade of the IDF. This group was integrated into the World Mahal Association to the extent that at the Mahal Memorial in the Jerusalem Forest, the Nahal emblem has been added.

In 1967, prior to the Six Day War, Mahal was again reinstated, and today, each year, several hundred youngsters from all over the world come to Israel and volunteer to serve in all branches of the IDF. Thus, in the 50 years since the Six Day War, some 10,000 youngsters have come to serve this way in the IDF. This, to my mind, is the greatest legacy of the original Mahalniks.

If any of your readers are interested in knowing more about Mahal, please go to our website: www.machal.org.il. TZEMACH BLOOMBERG Hod Hasharon

The writer, an oleh from South Africa, served in Mahal in the early 1960s.