Penn State professor, filmmaker pens ‘Saving Israel’ to bring secret WWII operation to light

A secret operation during which World War II aviators smuggled Nazi-surplus weapons and airplanes into Israel in 1948 became the tipping point for the survival of the then newborn country. Yet, this story has remained mostly unknown throughout the world and even Israel to this day.

Penn State professor and award-winning filmmaker Boaz Dvir uncovered how these aviators — mainly Americans, Canadians and South Africans, including Jews and non-Jews — gave Israel a fighting chance in its first war. Rowman & Littlefield recently published Dvir’s book about this operation, “Saving Israel: The Unknown Story of Smuggling Weapons and Winning a Nation’s Independence.”

“Saving Israel” — which is available in variety of formats, including as an audiobook, from all major booksellers, including Amazon and Apple — has received rave reviews from several publications, including The Washington Times and The Jerusalem Post.

“How American Jews and others smuggled vital military supplies to the Jewish community in Palestine and later the Jewish state has never been told in such rich detail,” wrote Aaron Leibel in the Post. “Never before have readers gotten such an inside look at some very feisty — but also courageous and noble — characters, who changed the course of history.”

Dvir has a personal connection to this story. His grandparents were Holocaust survivors. After WWII, they were stuck in a displaced persons (DP) camp.

Most of the 250,000 Holocaust survivors were kept by the Allies in DP camps. These Jewish refugees often wore the same uniforms and lived under somewhat similar conditions as they did in Nazi concentration camps. They were still dying at alarming numbers from malnutrition and disease in these DP camps.

Dvir’s grandparents got married and had their first two children, twins, in a DP camp. They wanted a home, but most countries weren’t taking in refugees. Dvir’s grandfather, Ozer Grundman, took his wife and kids to newborn Israel, and was swept away to fight as soon as he got there.

Israel’s military was severely under-equipped. Most soldiers had no weapons, only uniforms. One day, Grundman and his platoon received a shipment of rifles and bullets. Except, the rifles were engraved with the German eagle, which held two swastikas in its talons.

Dvir was shocked to hear from his grandfather that Holocaust survivors among Israel’s military were fighting with Nazi-surplus weapons. Where did they come from? He made it his mission to find out.

Dvir made his first breakthrough when was working as a journalist in Florida in 1995 and writing a story about the 30th anniversary of the end of WWII. He met fighter pilot Leo Gardner, who mentioned transporting weapons to Israel after the war. Dvir asked if these weapons happen to be Nazi surplus. Gardner said that’s exactly what they were.

After meeting Gardner, Dvir slowly got in contact with the rest of the operation members. Some of whom had to be convinced to give an interview. Since then, Dvir has videotaped extensive, in-depth interviews of 30 people and pored through FBI files to find the truth about what happened in Israel’s fight for independence.

The illegal operation led by an American and WWII flight engineer Al Schwimmer gave the Israeli military weapons and an air force. Schwimmer and his team risked their lives and their freedom to get these weapons to Israel.

With the FBI on their tail, they smuggled airplanes from the U.S. and more planes and weapons from Czechoslovakia to Israel. They also participated in the war as bombers and fighter pilots. Some operation members were killed in action.

Schwimmer and his team weren’t recognized as war heroes at first. He and several others were indicted upon their return home to the U.S. for violating the Neutrality Act and arms embargo.

The U.S. recognized Israel’s independence the same day that they declared it, but they still arrested the people who helped make it happen.

“I lost family members during the Holocaust,” Dvir said. “Yet, as a journalist, I understand the US government’s position. I can also understand the Arab position. It’s my job to try to see other perspectives.”

Before writing “Saving Israel,” Dvir directed and produced a PBS documentary about the operation. “A Wing and a Prayer,” which won Best Documentary at the 2016 Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, is now available on Amazon Prime, Roku and Plex.

When Dvir edited the hour-long “A Wing and a Prayer,” he was able to include less than half of his 30 interviews. He saw the opportunity to write “Saving Israel” as his chance to give a more complete and in-depth account of the mission.

Dvir hopes this story is not lost from history.

“The biggest thing for readers and viewers to know is that they can make a difference,” Dvir said. “We can take a stand, be innovative, and change the world.”

“Saving Israel” is available on Amazon.