WATCH: Amazons of the desert
In 1958, female IDF soldiers practiced camouflage in southern Israel
Female IDF soldiers, their heads laden with brush and branches, dash across the screen.
“The empty deserts of southern Israel — but suddenly, the desert blooms!” the narrator exclaims, as the soldiers crouch down to crawl.
“Hats are more than half the secret,” the announcer reveals. “Military millinery — a sprig here, a tuft there, hat fashion for feminine fighters.”
And as the camera focuses on one exemplary hat, he concludes: “The enemy are bound to surrender!”
(The Associated Press and Movietone News recently released their vast video archives on YouTube, allowing the public to freely access a million minutes worth of historical news clips dating back to 1895 — including many iconic scenes from Israel’s history featured in this Times of Israel series.)