Saving Israel: The Unknown Story of Smuggling Weapons and Winning a Nation's Independence is a book by Boaz Dvir, published January 31, 2020 by Rowman & Littlefield.

Al Schwimmer, an American World War II veteran who feared a repeat of the Holocaust created factitious airlines, bought decommissioned airplanes from the US War Assets Administration, fixed them in California and New Jersey, and sent his pilots (Jewish and non-Jewish WWII aviators) to pick up rifles, bullets, and fighter planes from the only country willing to break the international arms embargo: communist Czechoslovakia.

[4][5] Joshua Sinai from the Washington Times said: A fascinating and dramatic account filled with lots of new information about a crucially formative period in Israel's history.

The author recreates in vivid detail how this overarching effort included the covert purchasing, fixing and maintenance of a variety of surplus aircraft, such as Messerschmitt fighters and B-17 bombers, as well as firearms, in the United States, and the recruitment, training, and deployment of the mostly American pilots to fly them on what turned out to be dangerous long-distance missions to Israel.

In short, the author did some world-class reporting … it is the nitty-gritty of getting the job done and activities of the characters who risked their lives, not to mention their freedom and citizenships, that make this book unique."

How did a fledgling state that didn’t yet have an air force manage to turn back a powerful Egyptian military column that was poised to march on Tel Aviv?

—Miriam F. Elman, associate professor of political science, Syracuse University "With the world being turned on its head, the state of Israel faces some of its biggest challenges since its inception little more than a half century ago.

Enriched by numerous first-hand accounts of the participants, Boaz Dvir presents a compelling and highly readable story of people willing to risk all in defense of an ideal."

On June 18, 2020, the National Museum of American Jewish Military History in Washington, DC, held a virtual book talk with Dvir.