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Documenting Israel's 1948 Generation

Video

Eyewitness 1948 is a short film series produced by Toldot Yisrael that tells the stories of Israel’s founding through the eyes of the people who lived it. The Eyewitness 1948 films address the heroism of the era as well as the complex moral dilemmas confronted by a young nation battling for its existence. The films serve as primary-source materials for educational curricula that bring to life the founding of the State of Israel for today’s young Jews. For more short films and interview clips, visit our YouTube channel.

The American Contribution

American Jews played a key, yet unknown role in the founding of the State of Israel. Watch this playlist about Americans that volunteered to help bring Holocaust refugees to Palestine and prepare the country for the War of Independence.

 

Echoes of a Shofar

Six men in their 80s return to the Kotel to "reenact their crime" - blowing shofar in the 1940s when it was illegal under British Mandate law.

November 29, 1947: The Story of a Vote

A vote that lasted a mere three minutes on November 29, 1947 changed the course of Jewish History and brought 20 centuries of Jewish homelessness to an end.

The Volunteers: Answering the Call of History

Did you know Vidal Sassoon left a hairdressing apprenticeship in London to come fight in Israel's War of Independence? The moving stories of Jews from abroad who contributed to the founding of the State of Israel.

A Bravery Fiercer than Death: The 35 Heroes of Gush Etzion

The tragic yet inspiring story of 35 young soldiers--mostly students at the Hebrew University-- who set out from Jerusalem to bring much-needed supplies to the kibbutzim in the besieged Etzion Bloc south of the city.

By Air, Land, and Sea: Aliyah under the British Mandate

The dramatic story of immigrants from Europe and Iraq who made their way (illegally) to the Land of Israel in the 1930s and 40s - by Air, Land, and Sea.