The IDF in 10 Minutes

Forged in the crucible of 1948 from the underground militias of the Haganah, Irgun, and Lehi, the Israel Defense Forces emerged as the unified sword and shield of a newborn state fighting for its very existence. From the desperate battles of independence through the lightning victories and hard-won survivals of later wars, the IDF has remained both a people's army—drawing conscripts from every corner of Israeli society—and the living embodiment of the Zionist resolve that a Jewish people, once defenseless in exile, would never again stand without the means to protect itself.