‘Arming a nation: Italy’s role in Israel’s clandestine arms pipeline, 1947–1949’

This article examines Italy’s pivotal yet underappreciated role in the clandestine arms procurement and training networks that supported Jewish military preparation before and during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. While traditional historiography has emphasised Czechoslovakia, Italy emerged earlier and proved more versatile, serving as a critical external source of weapons, personnel, and logistical support. Drawing on multilingual research, this study reassesses and repositions Italy’s contribution to Israel’s early military build-up, filling a significant historiographical gap. As a central hub for covert arms shipments, training camps, and naval innovation, Italy’s role was broader and more consequential than previously acknowledged.