This article is a historical review of simultaneous interpretation in Israel. Starting with the precursors of Antiquity, it describes the early uses of interpretation in the State of Israel in the 1950s--even prior to the Eichman Trial (1961), the development of the profession in the 1960s, the early beginnings of interpreter training, and current university training provided since 1972 at Bar-Ilan University (Ramat-Gan).