Merkava-4 for People Playground

From the very beginning of the creation of the State of Israel, he had to wage wars with his neighbors. And from the very first war - 1947-1949. Tanks became the shock fist of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)[1]. In this, the IDF followed the Soviet model. At that time, the attitude of Israelis towards the USSR and Stalin was different than it dominates now. But for a long time the tanks were foreign-made. As well as captured - Soviet, Polish and Czechoslovak production. However, the Czech and Polish tanks were copies of the Soviet ones. Abroad, Israel bought American, British and French-made tanks. But in 1970, Britain refused to sell its newest Chieftain tanks to Israel. The influence of the Arab lobby has affected. Meanwhile, the British "Centurions" and the American "Shermans" are already outdated. The French light AMX-13, despite its effectiveness as fighters of Arab tanks, could not fully replace medium tanks. By that time, Israel had already had experience of modernization of the "Shermans" of the Second World period