A Rosen
Kindergarten teacher Updated Sat

Why was the Israeli army strong enough to win the 1948 war (United
States, 20th century, Britain, Middle East, Israel, history)?
Apart from Divine Intervention. Three practical reasons why Israel won
the war: preparation, motivation and a shoutout to our friends in
Czechoslovakia.

Preparation. Arab hostilities to Jews had been building up for decades.
That combined with the refugee crisis among Jews in Europe and the Arab
world meant that the writing on the wall was plain to see. War was
unavoidable. Ben Gurion’s key quality was pragmatism and he embodied the
phrase “a time for peace and a time for war.”

With war on the horizon, from 1945 on the yishuv (Jewish political
organization in the Mandate for Palestine) started intensive
preparations. They set up secret weapons factories and hundreds of
hidden arms caches which are still being discovered today. They sought
alliances with Druze and with Bedouin tribes. Men and women across
Israel trained intensively for a war that could determine the continuity
of Jewish peoplehood.

Like the proverbial grasshopper and ant, the Arabs In Palestine didn't
take the same steps to prepare. They were equally determined to win and
to create their river to sea Arab state. But they didn't think
preparation was necessary because, whereas the yishiv had to go it
alone, Palestinian Arabs had the backing of the Arab League, a dozen
countries and millions of soldiers at their disposal.

Ultimately when it came down to it, the invading Arab armies, though
they vastly outnumbered and outgunned Zionist paramilitaries, didn't
have the Home Turf advantage. They didn't have the motivation, the
unity, not the knowledge of the lay of the land. Reliance on foreign
armies cost Arabs the war.

Motivation: both sides wanted to win. Like really really wanted to win.
But only one side felt they had no choice but to win.

Early on in this war, mass hysteria gripped the country and hundreds of
thousands of arabs fled. They weren't wrong to be afriad. As a result of
the war, 1% of Jews and 1% of Arabs in the country were killed.

So why didn't Jews flee en masse. Sure they were scared. This was the
calling card for the Arab Liberation Army. Quite clear what the intent
would be if they won.

Here's the thing though. The war took place in 1948, not 2021. It was
after one of the most demoralising and deadly events of Jewish history
that had seen the majority of Jewish communities destroyed. If Palestine
wasn't an option, where could they go.

Europe? Not a chance.
Arab states? Iraq and Yemen had already attacked their Jewish
communities and other countries were turning more unfriendly by the day.
The United States: The communities there in the 1940s were not empowered
and anti-Semitism was at high levels. Besides the US wasn’t interested
in absorbing thousands of Jews.

They were a people with their backs against the wall. And fought like it.

By contrast, the Palestinians Arabs thought they had friendly Arab
countries to run to. They were later betrayed by these countries in the
end though.

During the 1948 war both sides used pyschological warfare to break the
enemy’s morale. When Jews used it against the Arabs, they fled. When
Arabs used it against Jews, it made them more likely to stand and fight,
by making them afraid to lose.

Those two factors had a major impact in helping Israel win a very uneven
war. And shoutout to American pilots who commandeered airplanes to
support the nascent state. And to Czechslovakia for being the only
country to defy the UN arms embargo and arm Israel. The Arab states
weren’t under embargo, so Israel was fighting with her hands tied behind
her back.

How Four Israeli Fighter Pilots Stopped A Massive Arab Invasion In 1948
Four Israeli pilots with minimal training and primitive planes may have
saved Israel from defeat by in 1948.
https://www.businessinsider.com/four-israeli-aircraft-stopped-a-huge-arab-army-in-1948-2014-5

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13 comments from
Stas Khirman
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Stas Khirman
· Fri
IMHO Czechslovakia involvement was not based on pure friendship and
certainly not on Stalin’s order.

they sold arms to everyone who was willing to pay - including Syrian
based Arab Liberation Army.

Zionists just paid more.

also due to left-leaning orientation prefer to buy bad plains from Czech
instead of much better from Mexico

A Rosen
· Sat
They still helped out Israel and deserve Israeli gratitude

Although I have heard a few Czechs spin it as being an ideaological
choice. They had been sold out to Germany in Munich pact and then sold
to USSR after the war by the great powers so they didn't have much
respect for the international community and their “arms embargo". But
that might be revisionist

Not to mention since their independence from USSR Czech Republic has had
pretty good relations with Israel.

Stas Khirman
· Sat
It maybe a reason as well. Beside a pure desire to get some hard currency

Bob Clark
· Sat
1966 was also a great victory, such a small Country facing annihilation
by Arab nations.

Israel worked for 6 days, and, on the 7th could rest.

Truly remarkable, written with respect. ( I remember those days) edit:
memory not so good after all!! Revise to 1967, the 6 day war.

Robert Leo
· 9h ago
Lots of veterans from WW2 made a big difference, Lu Lenard in the
article was a US pilot in the pacific war.

The Arab soldiers were brave but their military was mediocre and
unprofessional.

GreyWolves
· Sat
Israel wants to occupy the region for the sake of the religion it
believes in, the Arabs are resisting this occupation, but there is no
unity in the Arabs. The ones who support Israel are the USA, France and
England, If Israel does not get support from these countries, Hamas can
destroy Israel.
We saved some of the Jews from the persecution of the Nazis, most
Israelis do not know this well, you do not thank the Turks and you
support the pkk/pyd….