ABSTRACT
Israel's War of Independence, one and a half years in duration, contributed the main content and symbolic thrust to Israeli culture in the early years of the State. Poetry and literature were dedicated to the subject; commemorative sites provided major targets for artistic expression; and school texts and educational activities focused on its narrative. A substantial part of these activities was not spontaneous. National leadership initiated a series of literary and historical projects to document and reconstruct from the diverse sources the story of Israel's rebirth. Official historiography, whether written as war diaries, historical works, literary collections, poetry, or letters from the front, was loyal to the official interpretative package decreed by Mapai. More particularly, Ben-Gurion's desire to stamp his mark on the nation's collective memory energized and channelled historiographical production.
