American Veterans of Israel Legacy Corporation
Who We Are
Preserving the legacy of the volunteers for Israel’s independence
The American Veterans of Israel Legacy Corporation (AVILC) preserves the history, records, and archives of the North American volunteers who fought for Israel’s independence. It carries forward a fellowship that began in 1949, when the veterans came home and formed the American Veterans of Israel (AVI). On March 5, 2009, at the Israeli Consulate in New York, AVI joined with the American Jewish Historical Society to establish AVILC — a lasting successor charged with safeguarding that legacy for generations who would never meet the men and women who lived it.
Some 1,250 volunteers from the United States and Canada — Jewish and non-Jewish alike — crossed an ocean to serve in Israel’s 1947–1948 War of Independence. As Machal — mitnadvei chutz la’aretz, “volunteers from outside the land” — they fought in the ranks of the new Israel Defense Forces on the ground, at sea, and in the air. On the ships of Aliyah Bet, they ran the British blockade to carry Holocaust survivors and displaced persons from the camps of Europe to the shores of the new state. Together they turned conviction into history.
From Fellowship to Legacy
Our Purpose
Written into our charter in 1963
The original AVI was a fraternal organization, founded in 1949 and formally incorporated in 1963 to keep four commitments:
- To preserve and strengthen the spirit of comradeship among its members.
- To assist worthy comrades — reaching out to those who are sick or in need.
- To perpetuate the memory of their dead, and to maintain and extend the institutions of freedom.
- To foster good will between the United States of America and Israel.
As the founding generation grew fewer, AVILC was created in 2009 to carry that same purpose forward — turning a veterans’ club into a permanent archive and living memorial.
Who Leads AVILC Today
A volunteer board carrying the mission forward
AVILC is guided by a volunteer board. Its officers include:
- Jeffrey Margolis — President
- Si Spiegelman — Vice President, 1948 Machal veteran
- Donna Parker — Treasurer
- Ben Margolis — Director of Communications
That one of our own — Si Spiegelman, who served in 1948 — still helps steward this legacy is a reminder that the story on these pages is not distant history.
