A meeting in Detroit in 1949 led Ed Levy, Sr. to approach Ben Gurion with an offer to help construct housing for new immigrants to Israel.
As told by his son Ed Levy, Jr.
“Eyewitness 1948: The American Contribution” is a short film series produced by Toldot Yisrael with the support of the Ruderman Family Foundation, focusing on the efforts of Americans in the period leading up to the founding of the State of Israel. Films in the series describe WWII veterans (Machal) who fought in the War of Independence; volunteers who smuggled weapons, machine parts, and uniforms overseas; businessmen who raised funds to help bring Holocaust refugees to Palestine; and doctors, nurses, journalists, students, etc., who were eyewitnesses to Israel’s founding. Stories are selected to give American Jews a sense of pride in their role in building the State of Israel and to help educate Israelis about the unique contribution that Americans made to Israel's founding.
Interviews for this series were made possible through a grant from the William Davidson Foundation.
Producer: Eric Halivni (Weisberg)
Director: Tal Ella
Production: Peleg Levy
Cinematography: Travis Reynolds
Interviewer: Eric Halivni
Editor: Nahum Grinberg
Original Score and Sound Editor: Uri Kalian
Research: Yael Biron
Graphic Design: Idit Keshales, Pickles Design
Photo/video credits:
Michigan_&_Griswold at Detroit_circa_1920 by the Detroit Public Library
Detroit_Skyline_1942d by the Library of Congress
010 detroit 1920s by The Levy Group of Companies
יומן כרמל 111-2 דצמבר 14 1952 - ארכיון המדינה by the Israel State Archives
