Thursday, March 02, 2006

Wikipedia: Battle of Britain--The "Palestinian Contribution"

The Wikipedia article on the Battle of Britain ends with a discussion of foreign pilots who served in the RAF. It features sections entitled "Irish Contribution," "Canadian Contribution," and "American Contribution." The last such section is entitled "Palestinian Contribution." This elicited a "Huh?" from me, but it refers to a Jew from Israel:
The RAF's official "Battle of Britain Roll of Honour" recognizes 1 Palestinian as having fought in the Battle of Britain: Pilot Officer George Ernest Goodman (42598), born in Haifa, Palestine (now Haifa, Israel). The Palestinian contribution is also sometimes described as the "Israeli contribution", although the State of Israel was not proclaimed until 1948. Officially, PO Goodman is recorded as a British airman.

At least 32 (probably 43) Jewish airmen took part in the Battle of Britain. Over three-quarters were British Jews, the rest fighting in the American, Belgian, Canadian, Czechoslovak, Polish and South African contributions . . .
Add that to the list of immortal feats performed by persons named Goodman.

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