The Haganah from A to Z - Mordecai Naor
On the morning of Tuesday, June 1, 1948, the citizens of the two weeks old State of Israel faced an arduous war. An all-Arab invasion launched on May 15, 1948, was in progress, although the Haganah defenders of the young state managed to contain it almost everywhere and even began initiating attacks.
On that morning, tens of thousands of combatants from the twelve Haganah brigades fighting on all the fronts, "from Metulah to the Negev," as the saying went in those days, learned that they were now part of the Defense Army, soon to be named Israel Defense Forces, the IDF.
The transition from the Haganah to the IDF was natural and smooth. The Haganah handed over to the Haganah all its forces – brigades, professional corps, services, structural organization, the General Staff, and the Chief of Staff. Yaakov Dori, who headed the Haganah General Staff until May 31, 1948, was appointed the IDF Chief of General Staff on June 1, 1948.
In memory of those days and the preceding 28 years since the Haganah establishment in June 1920, we are pleased to offer this humble book on the 75th anniversary of the State of Israel. The book holds 100 concepts, prominent personalities, units, and sites across Israel representing the Haganah heritage.
We hope our readers will find useful the book's concise format.
Mordecai Naor, Ph.D
