When are Foreign Volunteers Useful? Israel’s Transnational Soldiers in the War of 1948 Re-examined

The literature on foreign, or “transnational,” war volunteering has focused overwhelmingly on the motivations and experiences of the volunteers. This approach has largely overlooked other aspects of the phenomenon such as the military and political use that host states can derive from foreign fighters. This article focuses on the enlistment of international volunteers by the Israeli armed forces in the war of 1948–49. Drawing on a combination of archival material, interviews with veterans, and secondary literature, the article assesses the relative importance of “Machal” (Israel’s overseas volunteers) by comparing the role played by these foreigners with that of transnational volunteers who fought in other twentieth-century conflicts.