WW2 Palestine Volunteer Force cap badge.

WW2 Palestine Volunteer Force cap badge. Die stamped dark bronze finished cap badge on rear slider.
The Palestine Defence Force (PDF) was a short-lived military formation established during World War II (1941–1945) in British Mandate Palestine, a territory under British administration from 1920 until 1948.

Palestine Defence Force (1941–1945)

In 1941, during the height of WWII, the British were concerned about the potential for a German invasion of the Middle East through North Africa or from the Caucasus.
British forces in the region were overstretched, and internal security within Palestine was a growing concern, especially with tensions between Jewish and Arab populations.
To free up British troops for frontline duties, the British government created a local defence force made up of residents of Palestine.

Formed in 1941 by the British military command.
Meant to be a territorial/home defence force.
Role: Guard duties, infrastructure protection, and internal security.
Also intended as a means to channel manpower from the Jewish and Arab populations into the Allied war effort.

Multinational: Included both Jews (mainly from the Haganah) and Arabs, but the majority of committed personnel were Jewish.
Commanded by British officers.
Training was rudimentary, and service was often part-time.
The Jewish Agency and Haganah (Jewish underground defence organisation) saw the PDF as an opportunity to gain military training and experience.
Some units became a precursor to the later formation of the Jewish Brigade Group in 1944, which served under British command in Europe.
Arab recruitment was limited, due to growing opposition to British rule and fears of aiding the Zionist movement.
The British walked a fine line between recruiting Jewish manpower and maintaining neutrality in the internal politics of Palestine.
The Palestine Defence Force was gradually phased out as WWII ended and larger, more formal Jewish military units (like the Jewish Brigade) took prominence. By 1945, the PDF had mostly been absorbed into or replaced by other British-controlled formations.
Many Jewish veterans of the PDF would later become key figures in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) after the founding of Israel in 1948.

Code: 64751