Al Schwimmer: Above and Beyond

I recently saw the film Above and Beyond, about the circumstances that created the Israeli Air Force.  The star of the movie, in my opinion, was Al Schwimmer.  I had not heard of him prior to viewing the movie, but realize he played a vital role in the creation of Israel.

In the late 1940's it was decided that Palestine would be divided in two, half would remain Palestine, the other half would become the free state of Israel.  Palestine was not happy, and thus began Israel's war for independence.  Israel won, but fighting between Israelis and Arabs continues to this day.

Al Schwimmer, an American born Jew, is responsible for creating the Israeli Air Force.  Using the skills he had learned during WW11 and his engineering skills, Schwimmer smuggled aircraft out of the U.S. in a circuitous  way to get supplies to Israel.  He asked WW11 pilots to volunteer to help in his efforts, and he got tremendous results.  Many young American Jews who had just finished serving in the U.S. Air Force, were willing to risk everything for an effort that they knew was illegal, but felt it was morally right.  At the time there were 600,000 Jews in Israel (not yet a state), many refugees from concentration camps, and about 50 million Arabs in the surrounding area.  Schwimmer knew the Israelis had no chance to win a war without some help.  He got help from friends in high places (we don't know exactly who), and bought discarded aircraft left over from the war.  He got pilots to fly the planes to Israel, carrying supplies for the people of Israel.

This is truly a David and Goliath story.  The Egyptians were invading Israel, and an Air Force of just 4 planes was able to stop them.  Through the course of several years, Schwimmer was able to get 3,500 volunteers from around the world to help Israel establish itself as a country, and protect it from Arab nations that didn't want Israel to exist.

Al Schwimmer was arrested and fined for his illegal endeavors, but never regretted what he did, thinking he made the right moral decision.  David Ben Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel, asked Schwimmer to come to Israel, which he did.  He started Israel Aerospace Industries, and became a close personal friend of Ben Gurion.  During Bill Clinton's presidency, Schwimmer was given a full pardon.

The movie Above and Beyond contained many interviews with surviving pilots, most of who flew 25-30 missions during Israel's war for independence.  What impressed me most about this story, is how many good people there are in the world.  There are so many people, Jew and Gentile alike, that risked it all to do what they considered the moral thing to do.  Let's not forget Al Schwimmer, and all the men and women that contributed to creating the state of Israel.  They are all heroes in my eyes.