Historian argues David Marcus was an adviser, not commander

Yael Driver, the daughter of Maj.-Gen. Shlomo Shamir, asserts that the historical record regarding David “Mickey” Marcus requires correction. Driver maintains that her father, who recruited Marcus in January 1948, remained the closest figure to the American veteran until Marcus died in an accident on June 11, 1948. She argues that common narratives exaggerate Marcus’s direct command role and underestimate his administrative contributions to the Israel Defense Forces.

Marcus, a West Point graduate and former US Army officer who worked on the Nuremberg Trials, arrived in the British Mandate of Palestine at the start of 1948. According to Driver, his primary challenge was the lack of military structure among certain troops. She notes that approximately 30,000 Jewish soldiers were veterans of the British Army, while only 4,000 to 5,000 belonged to the Palmach, a group formed in 1941 that operated without formal rank or hierarchy.

Driver describes the Palmach soldiers as courageous but informal, noting that Marcus observed their lack of discipline with the comment, “Every platoon commander is a general.” To address this, Marcus brought US Army training manuals, which were adapted and translated into Hebrew. These documents formed the basis for future IDF manuals. Driver states that Marcus’s personal charm and physical fitness helped him gain the acceptance of soldiers who initially had little respect for authority.

The recruitment process began in October 1947 when David Ben-Gurion tasked Shamir with finding an experienced American general. Shamir consulted with Moshe Sharett in New York, who introduced him to Murray Gurfein, a lawyer who had assisted US counsel at the Nuremberg Trials. The group reviewed a list of 24 candidates, narrowing it down to Maj.-Gen. Ralph C. Smith. Smith, a veteran of World War I and World War II, declined the offer to preserve his US Army pension.

Marcus accepted the position at a salary of $750 per month plus expenses. On May 28, 1948, Ben-Gurion appointed him Supreme Commander of the Jerusalem Front. Driver describes this appointment as declarative, noting that Marcus did not speak or write Hebrew and did not appoint his own staff. She argues that this limited his ability to function as a wartime commander, preferring to label him an important unifier and adviser.

The 1966 film Cast a Giant Shadow popularized the idea that Marcus directed the construction of a road to lift the siege of Jerusalem. Driver clarifies that the first attempt, Derech Ha’ayalot, was a dirt road built by the Palmach’s Har’el Brigade but was too narrow for heavy convoys. The successful route was Route 7, also known as the Burma Road, which was wider and accommodated large supply convoys. In his 1994 book, Shamir attested that Marcus did not participate in planning or building Route 7.

Questions also persist regarding Marcus’s status as Israel’s first major-general. Driver points out that the IDF had not established formal ranks when Marcus was appointed. Two weeks after his death, Ben-Gurion established ranks, and an ordinance dated August 11, 1948, retroactively assigned the rank of major-general to the first 12 IDF officers effective August 1, 1948. Marcus was not included in that list.