Maccabi Petah Tikva are the current Israel State Cup holders, having beaten Hapoel Be'er Sheva 1–0 in the final for their third title.
The sustained good performance of Beitar Jerusalem, the next most successful team in terms of State Cup wins with seven, is a relatively recent occurrence compared to the two major Tel Aviv clubs: Maccabi and Hapoel Tel Aviv have been consistently successful throughout the cup's history, but Beitar Jerusalem only reached their first finals in the 1970s.
[1] Starting in 1922, unofficial cup competitions were held in Mandatory Palestine on an annual, national basis under the sponsorship of Britain's military garrison there.
The next four editions of this competition were won by a Royal Air Force team drawn from across the Mandate, which beat the Ramla side in the 1927 decider.
[7] The Eretz Israel Football Association was founded in August 1928,[11] and the first officially sanctioned national tournament was held the same year as the "People's Cup".
The Jerusalem-based British Police side won in 1932 and Maccabi Petah Tikva lifted the cup three years later.
During this period Hapoel Tel Aviv won three consecuive cup titles (1937 to 1939), which remains a record to this day.
At the end of the Mandate period, Maccabi Tel Aviv were the most successful team in the national cup, with six final wins; their city rivals Hapoel followed with five.
Despite this, the People's Cup trophy was awarded after the 1943 final to the victorious team of British artillerymen, Gunners.
The 1944–45 War Cup was controversial both at its beginning and at its end—it was boycotted from the start by clubs of the Beitar organisation and its final match, held on 13 January 1945, was abandoned.
The official sent the offending player off, but he vehemently refused to leave the pitch, causing significant disruption.
Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv first lifted the trophy in 1968, and Hakoah Ramat Gan did the same a year later.