Gianluca Fantoni, "Soldiers, Angels, and Avengers: A History of the Jewish Brigade" (McGill-Queen's UP, 2026)

Soldiers, Angels, and Avengers: A History of the Jewish Brigade (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2026) tells

the compelling story of the Jewish Brigade Infantry Group (JBG), a

five-thousand-strong military unit, recruited primarily from the Jewish

population of Palestine, and the only exclusively Jewish military unit

to fight under the British flag during the Second World War. Gianluca

Fantoni reconstructs the military and human experience of the brigade in

Italy and investigates its enduring and controversial place in memory

and public debate.

Formed in 1944, the JBG saw combat in the

final stages of the Italian campaign, where its soldiers fought with

distinction against German forces. After the war, many of its members –

who often had little or no military training, and included artists,