The history of the Jewish people stretches back into antiquity, nearly 3,500 years. For Jewish pilots, their brightest moment in aviation history, or at least the boldest, may have been in 1948 when Jewish (and non-Jewish) pilots from around the world gathered to fight for the new state of Israel. The saga of pilots who risked their lives flying smuggled, surplus warplanes, while outnumbered by the air forces of five nations, seems like the stuff of novels and movies; it is, and inspired a number of both.
Source: aopaPilots of the Mahal