‘Forever Glory to the Heroic People of Korea!’: North Korea in the Press of the Israeli Zionist Left during the Korean War

The Korean War (1950-3) was a crucial moment in the history of Israel: the young state then abandoned its policy of nonalignment by identifying with the West. This decision was heavily criticized by the biggest opposition party, the Leftist Mapam. Through Al Ha-mishmar–the party’s mouthpiece newspaper–Mapam displayed a high level of interest in North Korea and the war. Based on a critical reading of the newspaper, this article investigates how the party framed the conflict, and contributes to the fields of both Israel studies and Korean studies. I argue that perceptions of North Korea played a noticeable role in shaping early-Mapam’s ideological identity. Al Ha-mishmar put North Korea on a pedestal using the devices of emotive rhetoric and juxtaposition, and, although it reiterated international communist narratives, it contextualized them within the party’s agenda in the local context. The conflict was evidence that Israel was wrong to side with the US imperialists, and the North Korean fight inspired an expression of cross-Asian solidarity. This fitted Mapam’s aspiration of Israel joining the global anti-colonial camp. The North’s struggle was in line with Mapam’s admiration of the USSR and Stalin; concomitantly, framing the struggle further consolidated this attitude.