Scarcely had the infant State of Israel emerged from the womb in 1948 when it was obliged to put on a helmet. But how do you wage war with no weapons or equipment? The amazing documentary “Above and Beyond” answers: By putting together a ragtag air force.

Buying old military planes in California, searching military records for pilots with Jewish-sounding names in New York City and forming a bogus Panamanian airline were some of the ingenious moves by Americans determined to rush to Israel’s aid despite the hostility of the Truman administration, which promised to withdraw citizenship from anyone who joined Israel’s cause and embargoed arms sales to the entire Mideast.

Director Roberta Grossman features interviews with surviving pilots who were there and struck some of the most essential blows for Israel’s existence: One key sortie of just four planes stopped a massive Egyptian column in its tracks, its general fearing that a much larger air attack was coming. Among this hardy band were Milton Rubenfeld — Pee-wee Herman’s father — and Harold Livingston, who wrote “Star Trek: The Motion Picture.” Shot down and worried he’d be mistaken for an Arab, Rubenfeld, who spoke no Hebrew, shouted at Israeli soldiers, “Shabbos!” and “Gefilte fish!”

Though somewhat marred by cheesy docudrama re-enactments, the film (produced by Steven Spielberg’s sister Nancy) is nutty, dramatic, surprising and above all inspiring.