The israeli volunteering movement preceding the 1956 war

This article deals with the Israeli volunteering movement that preceded the outbreak of the 1956 war and centred on two public endeavours: the Defence Fund (Keren HaMagen) designed to help fund acquisition of weapons and the Fortification of the Frontier (Bitzur Hasfar), a framework that sent volunteers to work on fortifications and assist frontier settlements. These two endeavours were an expression of David Ben-Gurion's pioneering outlook that sought to blend voluntary components and the use of the central powers of the state, parallel to putting Israeli society on the necessary footing in the year that preceded the Sinai war.