Palmach
Encyclopedia
The Palmach was the elite fighting force of the Haganah
, the underground army of the Yishuv
(Jewish community) during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941. By the outbreak of the Israeli War for Independence in 1948 it consisted of over 2,000 men and women in three fighting brigade
s and auxiliary aerial, naval and intelligence units. With the creation of Israel's army, the three Palmach Brigades were disbanded. This and political reasons led to many of the senior Palmach officers resigning in 1950.
The Palmach contributed significantly to Israeli culture and ethos, well beyond its military contribution. Its members formed the backbone of the Israel Defense Forces
high command for many years, and were prominent in Israeli politics, literature and culture.
High Command on May 14, 1941. Its two primary aims were to protect the Yishuv against attacks by Arabs in the event of a British retreat from Palestine; and defence of Palestine against an Axis
invasion. Yitzhak Sadeh
was named as Palmach commander. Initially the group consisted of around one hundred men. In the early summer of 1941 the British military authorities agreed to joint operations against Vichy
French forces in Lebanon
and Syria
. The first action was a sabotage mission against oil installations at Tripoli
, North Lebanon. Twenty-three Palmach members and a British liaison officer set out by sea but were never heard of again. On 8 June mixed squads of Palmach and Australians began operating in Lebanon and Syria. The success of these operations led the British GHQ to fund a sabotage training camp for three hundred men at Mishmar Ha'emek. Since the Palmach consisted of unpaid volunteers, the funding was used to cover the needs of twice that number of men. However, after the Allied victory at the Second Battle of El Alamein
in 1942, the British ordered the dismantling of Palmach. The whole organization went underground instead.
, head of the Kibbutz
im union, suggested the Palmach could be self-funding by having its members work in the Kibbutzim. Each Kibbutz would host a Palmach platoon
and supply them with food, homes and resources. In return the platoon would safeguard the kibbutz and carry out work such as agricultural
work. The proposal was accepted in August 1942, when it was also decided that each month Palmach members would have eight training days, 14 work days and seven days off.
Combining military training with agricultural work meant:
The program of combined military
training, agricultural
work and Zionist education was called "Hach'shara Meguyeset" הכשרה מגויסת (meaning "Drafted/Recruited Training").
Later on, it was agreed with the Zionist youth movements that each person from the ages of 18-20 ("Gar'een
" meaning "nucleus" or "core group") would undergo training. This was the base for the Nahal
settlements. The training enabled Palmach to expand its numbers and recruit more people.
Basic training included physical fitness
, small arms
, mêlée
and Kapap
, basic marine training, topography
, first aid
and squad operations. Most of the Palmach members received advance training in one or more of the following areas: sabotage
and explosives, reconnaissance
, sniping
, communication
s and radio
, light and medium machine gun
s, and operating 2-inch and 3-inch mortars
. Platoon training included long marches, combined live-fire drills with artillery support and machine guns and mortars.
The Palmach put great emphasis on training independent and broadminded field commanders who would take the initiative and set an example for their troops. It trained squad commanders and company commanders. The major commanders training course was in the Palmach and many Haganah
commanders were sent to be trained in the Palmach. The Palmach commanders' course was the source for many field commanders, who were the backbone of Haganah
and, later, the Israeli Defense Forces.
were involved in the Saison
Operation, in which they cooperated with the British in an attempt to crush the Irgun
and Stern Gang.
But with Ben Gurion
's decision, 1 October 1945, to launch an armed struggle against the British, the Palmach entered an alliance with the dissident groups - called The Hebrew Resistance Movement
.
On 10 October 1945 a force led by Yitzhak Rabin
raided the prison at Atlit freeing 208 Jewish prisoners. The first joint operation took place on 31 October 1945
when the Palmach sank three British patrol boats, 2 in Haifa and one in Jaffa, and were involved in 153 bomb attacks on bridges and culverts of the railway system.
On the night of 22 February 1946 the Palmach attacked the Police Tegart fort
at Shefa 'Amr with a 200 lb bomb; in the firefight that followed, the Palmach suffered casualties.
In June 1946 the Palmach blew up ten of the eleven bridges
connecting Palestine to its neighbouring countries. Fourteen Palmach members were killed during the attack on Achziv Bridge.
The alliance was never completely under Haganah control and the Irgun launched a series of ever more ruthless attacks culminating in the King David Hotel
bombing. This attack was the Irgun's response to a British crack-down, "Black Sabbath
", launched on 29 June 1946. A combination of the crack-down and the Jewish civilian leadership's outrage at the King David attack led Ben Gurion to call off further Palmach operations.
, specifically in retaliation for the murder of two Jews in nearby Petah Tiqva. Following the escalation of violence after the UN Partition Resolution the scale of the retaliation operations increased.
On 18 December 1947, in an operation approved by Palmach commander Yigal Allon
, several houses were blown up in al Khisas, near the Lebanese border; a dozen civilians were killed.
On 31 December 1947 170 men from the Palmach launched an attack on Balad al-Shaykh, Haifa
, in retaliation for the killing of 47 Jews at the Haifa oil refinery
. Several dozen houses were destroyed and 60 villagers left for dead.
Around Jaffa
Palmach units destroyed houses in Yazur
and Salama
. An order dated 3 January 1948 said "The aim is ... to attack northern part of the village of Salama ... to cause deaths, to blow up houses and to burn everything possible."
In the Upper Galilee, the Palmach's third Battalion commanded by Moshe Kelman
, attacked Sa'sa'
, 15 February, and blew up ten houses, killing 11 villagers. Further North, they raided al-Husayniyya
, 16 March 1948, in retaliation for a land mine, they blew up five houses and killed "30 Arab adults."
In the Northern Negev
, 4 April 1948, a Palmach unit in two armoured cars destroyed "nine bedouin lay-bys and one mud hut" after a mine attack on a Jewish Patrol.
During this period, in the event known as the Convoy of 35
, the Palmach lost 18 men (along with 17 other Haganah fighters) on their way to reinforce the garrison at Kfar Etzion
after they were attacked by hundreds of Arab locals and militias. The bodies of the Palmach and Haganah fighters were mutilated to the point that some of them could not be recognized.
, in which they demolished 30 houses, six were left standing due to lack of explosives. The objective was to prevent them being occupied by British troops as a base against illegal immigrants. Yitzhak Rabin
, Palmach's OC Operations, opposed the attack. Although occupied by Arabs the buildings were Jewish owned.
With the activation of Plan D and its sub-operations Palmach units were used to demolish villages with the objective of preventing them being used by Palestinian irregulars
or the ALA
as bases.
, Khuda
and largely or partly destroyed Beit Surik
, Biddu
, Shu'fat, Beit Iksa
, Beit Mahsir
and Sheikh Jarrah
(Jerusalem)."
On 9 April a Palmach unit with mortars took part in the Irgun attack on Deir Yassin
.
, the objective of this operation, under the command of Yigal Allon, was to clear upper Galilee of its Arab population. The operation log book, 4 May 1948, states "blow up the houses and burn all the bedouin tents." Typical of the attacks was that on Mughr al-Khayt
whose residents fled after a night of bombardment on 2 May 1948. Also on 2 May, the Palmach 3rd Battalion, commanded by Moshe Kelman
, attacked Ein al-Zeitun
with a Davidka
, two 3 inch mortars
and eight 2 inch mortars. During the following two days Palmach sappers blew up and burned all the houses. In the aftermath of the capture of this village Battalion Commander Kelman ordered the execution of seventy prisoners.
On 6 May the Palmach launched an attack on Safad. It failed to capture the citadel and the Palmach had to withdraw. The defenders offered a cease-fire which Allon refused. A second attack was launched on 9 May. This was preceded by a "massive concentrated barrage" using mortars and Davidkas. The empty Arab quarter of Safad was occupied on 11 May. Between 12,000 and 15,000 refugees had been created.
The Palmach suffered 69 killed during Operation Yiftah.
In May 1948 the Palmach had 2,200 permanently mobilised members. A different source puts the size of the Palmach as 3,000 at the end of November 1947, and, following the mobilization of 3,000 reserves, five battalions were formed by May 1948, consisting of 5,000 fighters of whom 1,200 were women.
Palmach units took a major part in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
. At the beginning of the war, Palmach units were responsible for holding Jewish settlements (such as Gush Etzion
, Kfar Darom
and Revivim
) against Arab militias. Although inferior in numbers and arms, Palmach soldiers held out long enough to allow the Haganah to mobilise the Jewish population and prepare for war.
. On 22 June 1948 the Irgun moored the Altalena, loaded with weapons, off Tel Aviv. Ben-Gurion ordered the Palmach to prevent the arms being landed. In an operation commanded by Yigal Allon
, with Yitzhak Rabin
as his deputy, a cannon was used to sink the ship. One member of the Palmach and fourteen members of the Irgun were killed.
After the establishment of the Israeli army, the Palmach was reorganised into three IDF brigades - the Negev Brigade
, the Yiftach Brigade
, and the Harel Brigade
. The Negev and Yiftah Brigades fought in the Negev
against the Egyptian army
and managed to stop and later repulse it into the Gaza Strip
and Sinai. The Yiftah Brigade was later transferred to the north. The Harel Brigade was centered on Jerusalem.
In total, the Palmach lost 1187 fighters during the war of independence and in the years prior to Israel's creation.
A further 39 members of the Palmach died between the May 1945 and November 1947. Twenty-one are recorded as killed in action and one killed in battle, fourteen being killed during the attempt to blow up the Achziv Bridge during the Night of the bridges
. Twenty-eight died in the struggle against the British.
Between the beginning of December 1947 and the end of May 1948, when the Israeli army was created, 574 deaths are listed. Five hundred and twenty-four were killed in action or in battle; seventy-seven while on convoy duty or securing roads; fifty-nine during Operation Yevusi
, including thirty-four at Nabi Samuel
; twenty during Operation Nachshon
, all at Qastel; sixty-eight during Operation Yiftach
; twelve at Mishmar Ha'emek. By district one hundred and seventy-one members of the Palmach were killed in Jerusalem and the surrounding area, one hundred and four in and around Gush Etzion
, one hundred and three in the Galilee and eighty-one in the Negev.
From June 1948 to December 1949, during which time the Palmach was absorbed into the army, 527 members died, four hundred and fifty-two killed in action or in battle; one hundred and one were killed during Operation Danny
, including forty-five at Khirbet Kurikur
; fifty-three during Operation Yoav
; forty-four in Operation Horev
and twenty-two during Operation Death to the Invader
. By district two hundred and thirty-four died in the Negev and Southern Plain; sixty-two in Jerusalem and surrounds; forty-four around Latrun; forty-two in the Gaza Strip and forty-one in the Central Plain and Coastal Strip.
By Brigade, 313 members of the Harel Brigade were killed, 312 from the Negev and 274 from the Yiftach. One of the dead is listed as also being a member of the Lechi.
The Palamach memorial site records the death of 34 female members, seventeen killed in action or in battle.
Around 520 of the fatalities had been born in Palestine; of whom one hundred and seventeen where from Tel Aviv, ninety-seven from Jerusalem and fifty-six Haifa. Over 550 had been born in Europe and Russia; with one hundred and eighty-one from Poland, ninety-nine from Germany and ninety-five from Romania. 131 of the dead originated from Arab and Muslim countries; thirty-two from Turkey, twenty-three from Syria and twenty-one from the Yemen. Of the remainder thirteen had been born in the USA.
633 of the dead were aged between 18 and 22 years, 302 were between 22 and 25, 138 were 26 and over - 91 were under 18 years of age.
Palmach special units included:
The Palmach put an emphasis on training field commanders (מפקדי שטח) and formed the basis for the Israeli army.
During the 1948–49 War of Independence
the Palmach was expanded to form three infantry brigades commanded by Yigal Allon:
The Command Battalion controlled naval, air and commando companies.
The battlecry of the Palmach commander was "!אחרי" (Aharai), which literally means "after me!" or "follow me!". It refers to the commander leading his troops instead of sending them out and staying behind.
organisation, associated with socialist parties. Its members trained and lived in Kibbutz
im. The political tendencies of its leaders such as Yigal Allon
and Yitzhak Sadeh
was towards Mapam
, a left-wing party in opposition to David Ben-Gurion
and the Mapai
ruling party. In 1944 a major split had occurred in Palestine's Jewish community's
dominant party, Mapai
, led by David Ben-Gurion. The breakaway group, which evolved into Mapam, were inspired by Stalin's
regime in the Soviet Union
, and had a strong following in the Kibbutz movement. Since most of the Palmach's members came from the Kibbutzim, the Mapam dominated the Palmach, with a majority of its officers being members. After 1948 Ben Gurion, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the new state, had a series of confrontations with leaders of the Haganah and the Palmach. In a process that Ben-Gurion described as de-politicizing the army, the three Palmach brigades were disbanded and in 1950 most of the Mapam officers resigned. Those Palmach members who had been in Mapam and remained in the army had to endure several years on the margins. The effect of the de-politicizing was that all senior army posts were held by Mapai members or Ben-Gurion loyalists. After demobilization many Palmach members founded new Kibbutzim. In 1949 they set up Bar'am
, Beit Guvrin, Nir Yitzhak (named in honour of Yitzhak Sadeh), Palmachim
, Re'im
, Rosh HaNikra, Re'im
and Yir'on. Palmach members were not, however, a unified, homogeneous collective with a single ideology. In the early years of the state of Israel they could be found in all political parties.
Yigal Allon, considered by many to be the representative of the Palmach generation, never reached a position of national leadership although he was Prime Minister for a few days between Eshkol's
death and Meir's
appointment in 1969. He died in 1980.
Besides military contributions, the Palmach had great influence over the Israeli "Tzabar" culture. Palmach activities included "Kumzitz" (sitting around a fire at night, eating, talking and having fun), public singing and cross-country walking trips. These often took on mythical proportions and have become favorite activities for Israelis.
The Palmach also contributed many anecdotes, jokes, "chizbat" (short funny tales, often based on exaggerations), songs and even books and stories.
Notable Palmach cultural figures include:
Special units commanders:
Company
commanders (as of 1943):
Street in Tel Aviv
, near the Eretz Israel Museum
, explores the Palmach legacy through the stories of individuals and groups. Visitors to the museum join the group of young Palmach recruits from its establishment, and advanced through the story of the Palmach until the end of the War of Independence.
Haganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
, the underground army of the Yishuv
Yishuv
The Yishuv or Ha-Yishuv is the term referring to the body of Jewish residents in Palestine before the establishment of the State of Israel...
(Jewish community) during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941. By the outbreak of the Israeli War for Independence in 1948 it consisted of over 2,000 men and women in three fighting brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
s and auxiliary aerial, naval and intelligence units. With the creation of Israel's army, the three Palmach Brigades were disbanded. This and political reasons led to many of the senior Palmach officers resigning in 1950.
The Palmach contributed significantly to Israeli culture and ethos, well beyond its military contribution. Its members formed the backbone of the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
high command for many years, and were prominent in Israeli politics, literature and culture.
History
The Palmach was established by the HaganahHaganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
High Command on May 14, 1941. Its two primary aims were to protect the Yishuv against attacks by Arabs in the event of a British retreat from Palestine; and defence of Palestine against an Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
invasion. Yitzhak Sadeh
Yitzhak Sadeh
Yitzhak Sadeh , was the commander of the Palmach, one of the founders of the Israel Defense Forces at the time of the establishment of the State of Israel and a cousin of British philosopher Isaiah Berlin.-Biography:...
was named as Palmach commander. Initially the group consisted of around one hundred men. In the early summer of 1941 the British military authorities agreed to joint operations against Vichy
Vichy
Vichy is a commune in the department of Allier in Auvergne in central France. It belongs to the historic province of Bourbonnais.It is known as a spa and resort town and was the de facto capital of Vichy France during the World War II Nazi German occupation from 1940 to 1944.The town's inhabitants...
French forces in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. The first action was a sabotage mission against oil installations at Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
, North Lebanon. Twenty-three Palmach members and a British liaison officer set out by sea but were never heard of again. On 8 June mixed squads of Palmach and Australians began operating in Lebanon and Syria. The success of these operations led the British GHQ to fund a sabotage training camp for three hundred men at Mishmar Ha'emek. Since the Palmach consisted of unpaid volunteers, the funding was used to cover the needs of twice that number of men. However, after the Allied victory at the Second Battle of El Alamein
Second Battle of El Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...
in 1942, the British ordered the dismantling of Palmach. The whole organization went underground instead.
Underground
Since British funding had stopped, Yitzhak TabenkinYitzhak Tabenkin
-External links:...
, head of the Kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
im union, suggested the Palmach could be self-funding by having its members work in the Kibbutzim. Each Kibbutz would host a Palmach platoon
Platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...
and supply them with food, homes and resources. In return the platoon would safeguard the kibbutz and carry out work such as agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
work. The proposal was accepted in August 1942, when it was also decided that each month Palmach members would have eight training days, 14 work days and seven days off.
Combining military training with agricultural work meant:
- Maintenance of an independent, easily mobilized military force.
- A force in which members' labor funded 80% of Palmach's budget. Money from Haganah was dedicated to weapons and training.
- The force would be hard to track down.
- Easier recruitment of people from Kibbutzim and MoshavMoshavMoshav is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists during the second aliyah...
im. - The creation of groups of settlers, who could form the base for future settlements.
- Education of soldiers in Zionist values.
The program of combined military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
training, agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
work and Zionist education was called "Hach'shara Meguyeset" הכשרה מגויסת (meaning "Drafted/Recruited Training").
Later on, it was agreed with the Zionist youth movements that each person from the ages of 18-20 ("Gar'een
Nahal
Nahal is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade. Historically, it refers to a program that combines military service and establishment of new agricultural settlements, often in outlying areas...
" meaning "nucleus" or "core group") would undergo training. This was the base for the Nahal
Nahal
Nahal is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade. Historically, it refers to a program that combines military service and establishment of new agricultural settlements, often in outlying areas...
settlements. The training enabled Palmach to expand its numbers and recruit more people.
Basic training included physical fitness
Physical fitness
Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness , and specific fitness...
, small arms
Small arms
Small arms is a term of art used by armed forces to denote infantry weapons an individual soldier may carry. The description is usually limited to revolvers, pistols, submachine guns, carbines, assault rifles, battle rifles, multiple barrel firearms, sniper rifles, squad automatic weapons, light...
, mêlée
Mêlée
Melee , generally refers to disorganized close combat involving a group of fighters. A melee ensues when groups become locked together in combat with no regard to group tactics or fighting as an organized unit; each participant fights as an individual....
and Kapap
Kapap
Kapap , short for Krav Panim el Panim, translated as "face to face combat", was a combat system of defensive tactics, hand-to-hand combat and self defense...
, basic marine training, topography
Topography
Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
, first aid
First aid
First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care...
and squad operations. Most of the Palmach members received advance training in one or more of the following areas: sabotage
Sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
and explosives, reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
, sniping
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
, communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
s and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, light and medium machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s, and operating 2-inch and 3-inch mortars
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
. Platoon training included long marches, combined live-fire drills with artillery support and machine guns and mortars.
The Palmach put great emphasis on training independent and broadminded field commanders who would take the initiative and set an example for their troops. It trained squad commanders and company commanders. The major commanders training course was in the Palmach and many Haganah
Haganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
commanders were sent to be trained in the Palmach. The Palmach commanders' course was the source for many field commanders, who were the backbone of Haganah
Haganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
and, later, the Israeli Defense Forces.
Post World War II Operations
For seven months after the assassination of Lord Moyne, members of the Palmach under the command of Shimon AvidanShimon Avidan
Shimon Avidan , born Shimon Koch , was an Israeli soldier and officer, the commander of the Givati Brigade during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war....
were involved in the Saison
The Hunting Season
The Hunting Season or The Saison was the name given to the Haganah's suppression of the Irgun's insurgency against the government of the British Mandate in Palestine.-Background:...
Operation, in which they cooperated with the British in an attempt to crush the Irgun
Irgun
The Irgun , or Irgun Zevai Leumi to give it its full title , was a Zionist paramilitary group that operated in Mandate Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization haHaganah...
and Stern Gang.
But with Ben Gurion
Ben Gurion
Ben Gurion can refer to the following persons:* Nicodemus ben Gurion, a Biblical figure, probably a rich Jewish member of the Sanhedrin that felt sympathetic to Jesus Christ...
's decision, 1 October 1945, to launch an armed struggle against the British, the Palmach entered an alliance with the dissident groups - called The Hebrew Resistance Movement
Jewish Resistance Movement
The Jewish Resistance Movement , sometimes called United Resistance Movement , was an umbrella group for Jewish Resistance movements in the British Mandate of Palestine...
.
On 10 October 1945 a force led by Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin
' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
raided the prison at Atlit freeing 208 Jewish prisoners. The first joint operation took place on 31 October 1945
Night of the Trains
The Night of the Trains was a sabotage operation of the British railroads in Palestine on November 1, 1945...
when the Palmach sank three British patrol boats, 2 in Haifa and one in Jaffa, and were involved in 153 bomb attacks on bridges and culverts of the railway system.
On the night of 22 February 1946 the Palmach attacked the Police Tegart fort
Tegart fort
A Tegart fort is a style of militarized police "fortress" constructed throughout Palestine during the British Mandatory period.The forts are named after British police officer and engineer Sir Charles Tegart, who designed them in 1938 based on his experiences in the Indian insurgency.Tens of the...
at Shefa 'Amr with a 200 lb bomb; in the firefight that followed, the Palmach suffered casualties.
In June 1946 the Palmach blew up ten of the eleven bridges
Night of the bridges
Operation Markolet was a Haganah venture on the night of the 16th to the 17th of June 1946 in the British Mandate of Palestine...
connecting Palestine to its neighbouring countries. Fourteen Palmach members were killed during the attack on Achziv Bridge.
The alliance was never completely under Haganah control and the Irgun launched a series of ever more ruthless attacks culminating in the King David Hotel
King David Hotel
The King David Hotel is a 5-star hotel in Jerusalem, Israel. Opened in 1931, the hotel was built with locally quarried pink limestone and was founded by Ezra Mosseri, a wealthy Egyptian Jewish Banker. To this day the hotel remains one of the most prominent and prestigious hotels in Israel, and...
bombing. This attack was the Irgun's response to a British crack-down, "Black Sabbath
Operation Agatha
Operation Agatha sometimes called Black Shabbat or Black Saturday because it began on the Jewish sabbath, was a police and military operation conducted by the British authorities in the British Mandate of Palestine...
", launched on 29 June 1946. A combination of the crack-down and the Jewish civilian leadership's outrage at the King David attack led Ben Gurion to call off further Palmach operations.
Retaliation raids
After a gap of over ten months the Palmach resumed operations. The one weapon of which there was no shortage was locally produced explosives. On 20 May 1947 they blew up a coffee house in FajjaFajja
Fajja is a former Palestinian Arab town located 15 kilometers northwest of Jaffa.-History:In the late 19th century, Fajja was described as a small village built of adobe bricks....
, specifically in retaliation for the murder of two Jews in nearby Petah Tiqva. Following the escalation of violence after the UN Partition Resolution the scale of the retaliation operations increased.
On 18 December 1947, in an operation approved by Palmach commander Yigal Allon
Yigal Allon
Yigal Allon was an Israeli politician, a commander of the Palmach, and a general in the IDF. He served as one of the leaders of Ahdut HaAvoda party and the Israeli Labor party, and acting Prime Minister of Israel, and was a member of the Knesset and government minister from the 10th through the...
, several houses were blown up in al Khisas, near the Lebanese border; a dozen civilians were killed.
On 31 December 1947 170 men from the Palmach launched an attack on Balad al-Shaykh, Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
, in retaliation for the killing of 47 Jews at the Haifa oil refinery
Haifa Oil Refinery massacre
The Haifa Oil Refinery massacre took place on 30 December 1947. After operatives of the Zionist paramilitary organisation, the Irgun, threw a number of grenades at a crowd of 100 Arab day-labourers who had gathered outside the main gate of the then British-owned Haifa Oil Refinery looking for work,...
. Several dozen houses were destroyed and 60 villagers left for dead.
Around Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
Palmach units destroyed houses in Yazur
Yazur
Yazur was an Arab town located east of Jaffa. Mentioned in 7th century BCE Assyrian texts, the village was a site of contestation between Muslims and Crusaders in the 12th century....
and Salama
Salama
Salama may refer to:* Fathy Salama, musician* Hannu Salama , Finnish author* Hasan Salama , commander of the Palestinian Holy War Army* Salama al-Khufaji, member of the Interim Iraq Governing Council...
. An order dated 3 January 1948 said "The aim is ... to attack northern part of the village of Salama ... to cause deaths, to blow up houses and to burn everything possible."
In the Upper Galilee, the Palmach's third Battalion commanded by Moshe Kelman
Moshe Kelman
Moshe Kelman was the operational commander of the Palmach's Third Battalion in 1948. On 15 February 1948 Kelman led a force of 60 men which attacked the remote village Sa'sa', in the Upper Galilee. The operation coincided with a number of other attacks on Arab targets. Its intention was to...
, attacked Sa'sa'
Sa'sa'
Sa'sa was a Palestinian village, located 12 kilometres northwest of Safed that was depopulated by Israeli forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war...
, 15 February, and blew up ten houses, killing 11 villagers. Further North, they raided al-Husayniyya
Al-Husayniyya
Al-Husayniyya was a Palestinian village, depopulated in 1948.On the 13th of May 1948, Haganah paramilitary forces committed a crime by killing more than 30 children and women, which lead to the rest of people living in the village to flee and seek shelter in Lebanon and Syria.-Location:The...
, 16 March 1948, in retaliation for a land mine, they blew up five houses and killed "30 Arab adults."
In the Northern Negev
Negev
The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
, 4 April 1948, a Palmach unit in two armoured cars destroyed "nine bedouin lay-bys and one mud hut" after a mine attack on a Jewish Patrol.
During this period, in the event known as the Convoy of 35
Convoy of 35
The Convoy of 35 refers to 35 soldiers of the Haganah who were killed while attempting to resupply and or reinforce the Gush Etzion kibbutzim by foot on January 16, 1948, after a number of convoys had been attacked during the early stages of the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine.- Attack...
, the Palmach lost 18 men (along with 17 other Haganah fighters) on their way to reinforce the garrison at Kfar Etzion
Kfar Etzion
Kfar Etzion is a religious Israeli settlement and kibbutz located in the Judean Hills between Jerusalem and Hebron in the southern West Bank. It has a population of 400 and falls under the jurisdiction of Gush Etzion Regional Council...
after they were attacked by hundreds of Arab locals and militias. The bodies of the Palmach and Haganah fighters were mutilated to the point that some of them could not be recognized.
A change in objectives
On 20 February 1948 the Palmach launched an operation in Caesarea, North of Tel AvivTel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, in which they demolished 30 houses, six were left standing due to lack of explosives. The objective was to prevent them being occupied by British troops as a base against illegal immigrants. Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin
' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
, Palmach's OC Operations, opposed the attack. Although occupied by Arabs the buildings were Jewish owned.
With the activation of Plan D and its sub-operations Palmach units were used to demolish villages with the objective of preventing them being used by Palestinian irregulars
Army of the Holy War
The Army of the Holy War or Holy War Army was a force of Palestinian Arab irregulars in the 1947-48 Palestinian civil war led by Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni and Hasan Salama. The force has been described as Husayni's "personal" army...
or the ALA
Arab Liberation Army
The Arab Liberation Army , also translated as Arab Salvation Army, was an army of volunteers from Arab countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji...
as bases.
Operation Nachshon
Following the attempt to clear the road to Jerusalem, Palmach units "more or less systematically leveled the villages of al Qastal, QalinyaQalunya
Qalunya was a Palestinian Arab village located west of Jerusalem.Prior to the village's destruction in 1948, with the exception of 166 dunums, Qalunya's land was privately owned: 3,594 dunums were owned by Arabs, while 1,084 dunums were owned by Jews....
, Khuda
Khuda
Khuda or Khoda is the Pashto word for "guide" and has come to be used as "Lord" or " God" in both Pashto and Persian. Formerly used for Ahura Mazda, today mostly of God in Islam by not just Pashto and Persian speakers, but also by Urdu speakers as well...
and largely or partly destroyed Beit Surik
Beit Surik
Beit Surik is a Palestinian village in the Jerusalem Governorate, located 12 kilometers Northwest of Jerusalem in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 3,818 in 2006.-Enclave:...
, Biddu
Biddu
Biddu or Biddu Appaiah is an Indian-British music producer, composer, song-writer and singer who produced and composed many hit records worldwide during a career spanning five decades...
, Shu'fat, Beit Iksa
Beit Iksa
Beit Iksa is a Palestinian village in the Jerusalem Governorate, located 6 kilometers northwest of Jerusalem in the West Bank. Beit Iksa, a village of 1,600 inhabitants, was classified as "Area B" as a result of the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 1995...
, Beit Mahsir
Bayt Mahsir
Bayt Mahsir was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Jerusalem. It was depopulated during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on May 10, 1948 by the Har'el Brigade of Operation Makkabi. It was located 9 km west of Jerusalem....
and Sheikh Jarrah
Sheikh Jarrah
Sheikh Jarrah is a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem on the road to Mount Scopus.-History:Sheikh Jarrah was established on the slopes of Mount Scopus, taking its name from the tomb of Sheikh Jarrah. The tomb, dated to 1201, is the burial place of Husam al-Din al-Jarrahi, an...
(Jerusalem)."
On 9 April a Palmach unit with mortars took part in the Irgun attack on Deir Yassin
Deir Yassin
Deir Yassin was a Palestinian Arab village of around 600 people near Jerusalem. It had declared its neutrality during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine between Arabs and Jews...
.
Mishmar Ha'amek
Following the failed ALA attack on the Haganah base at Mishmar Ha'amek, and the Hagana's refusal of an offer of a truce, Haganah and Palmach troops counter attacked. Between 8–14 April ten villages came under Palmach control. Within two weeks they were leveled.Operation Yiftah and the conquest of Safad
According to Walid KhalidiWalid Khalidi
Walid Khalidi is an Oxford University-educated Palestinian historian who has written extensively on the Palestinian exodus. He is General Secretary and co-founder of the Institute for Palestine Studies, established in Beirut in December 1963 as an independent research and publishing center...
, the objective of this operation, under the command of Yigal Allon, was to clear upper Galilee of its Arab population. The operation log book, 4 May 1948, states "blow up the houses and burn all the bedouin tents." Typical of the attacks was that on Mughr al-Khayt
Mughr al-Khayt
Mughr al-Khayt was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Safad. It was depopulated during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on May 2, 1948 by the Palmach's First Battalion of Operation Yiftach. It was located 4.5 km northeast of Safad. In 1945 it had a population of...
whose residents fled after a night of bombardment on 2 May 1948. Also on 2 May, the Palmach 3rd Battalion, commanded by Moshe Kelman
Moshe Kelman
Moshe Kelman was the operational commander of the Palmach's Third Battalion in 1948. On 15 February 1948 Kelman led a force of 60 men which attacked the remote village Sa'sa', in the Upper Galilee. The operation coincided with a number of other attacks on Arab targets. Its intention was to...
, attacked Ein al-Zeitun
Ein al-Zeitun
Ein al-Zeitun, also spelled Ein Zaytun, Ein ez-Zeitun, Ain al-Zaytun or Ain el-Zeitun, was a Palestinian Arab village, located north of Safad in the Upper Galilee. In 1945, the village had a population of 820 inhabitants and a total land area of 1,100 dunams. Ein al-Zeitun was entirely Muslim...
with a Davidka
Davidka
The Davidka was a homemade Israeli mortar used in Safed and Jerusalem during the early stages of the 1948 Israeli War of Independence. Its bombs were reported to be extremely loud, but very inaccurate and otherwise of little value beyond terrifying opponents; they proved particularly useful in...
, two 3 inch mortars
Ordnance ML 3 inch Mortar
The Ordnance ML 3-inch mortar was the United Kingdom's standard mortar used by the British Army from the late 1920s to the late 1960s, superseding the Stokes Mortar.-History:...
and eight 2 inch mortars. During the following two days Palmach sappers blew up and burned all the houses. In the aftermath of the capture of this village Battalion Commander Kelman ordered the execution of seventy prisoners.
On 6 May the Palmach launched an attack on Safad. It failed to capture the citadel and the Palmach had to withdraw. The defenders offered a cease-fire which Allon refused. A second attack was launched on 9 May. This was preceded by a "massive concentrated barrage" using mortars and Davidkas. The empty Arab quarter of Safad was occupied on 11 May. Between 12,000 and 15,000 refugees had been created.
The Palmach suffered 69 killed during Operation Yiftah.
In May 1948 the Palmach had 2,200 permanently mobilised members. A different source puts the size of the Palmach as 3,000 at the end of November 1947, and, following the mobilization of 3,000 reserves, five battalions were formed by May 1948, consisting of 5,000 fighters of whom 1,200 were women.
Palmach units took a major part in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
. At the beginning of the war, Palmach units were responsible for holding Jewish settlements (such as Gush Etzion
Gush Etzion
Gush Etzion is a cluster of Israeli settlements located in the Judaean Mountains directly south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank, Palestinian territories. The core group includes four agricultural villages that were founded in 1940-1947 on property purchased in the 1920s and 1930s, and ...
, Kfar Darom
Kfar Darom
Kfar Darom was a kibbutz and an Israeli settlement within the Gush Katif bloc in the Gaza Strip.-Original kibbutz:Kfar Darom was founded on 250 dunams of land purchased in 1930 by Tuvia Miller for a fruit orchard on the site of an ancient Jewish settlement of the same name mentioned in the Talmud...
and Revivim
Revivim
Revivim showers) is a kibbutz in the Negev desert in southern Israel. Located around half an hour south of Beersheba, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ramat HaNegev Regional Council...
) against Arab militias. Although inferior in numbers and arms, Palmach soldiers held out long enough to allow the Haganah to mobilise the Jewish population and prepare for war.
The creation of the Israeli Army
The Palmach's last operation as an independent unit was against the IrgunIrgun
The Irgun , or Irgun Zevai Leumi to give it its full title , was a Zionist paramilitary group that operated in Mandate Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization haHaganah...
. On 22 June 1948 the Irgun moored the Altalena, loaded with weapons, off Tel Aviv. Ben-Gurion ordered the Palmach to prevent the arms being landed. In an operation commanded by Yigal Allon
Yigal Allon
Yigal Allon was an Israeli politician, a commander of the Palmach, and a general in the IDF. He served as one of the leaders of Ahdut HaAvoda party and the Israeli Labor party, and acting Prime Minister of Israel, and was a member of the Knesset and government minister from the 10th through the...
, with Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin
' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
as his deputy, a cannon was used to sink the ship. One member of the Palmach and fourteen members of the Irgun were killed.
After the establishment of the Israeli army, the Palmach was reorganised into three IDF brigades - the Negev Brigade
Negev Brigade
The 12th Negev Brigade was an Israeli infantry brigade that served in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. It was commanded by Nahum "Sergei" Sarig and consisted of four Palmach battalions...
, the Yiftach Brigade
Yiftach Brigade
The Yiftach Brigade was an Israeli infantry brigade...
, and the Harel Brigade
Harel Brigade
Harel Brigade is a reserve brigade of the Israel Defense Forces, today part of the Northern Command. It played a critical role in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.- War of Independence :...
. The Negev and Yiftah Brigades fought in the Negev
Negev
The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
against the Egyptian army
Egyptian Army
The Egyptian Army is the largest service branch within the Egyptian Armed Forces and holds power in the current Egyptian government. It is estimated to number around 379,000, in addition to 479,000 reservists for a total of 858,000 strong. The modern army was created in the 1820s, and during the...
and managed to stop and later repulse it into the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
and Sinai. The Yiftah Brigade was later transferred to the north. The Harel Brigade was centered on Jerusalem.
In total, the Palmach lost 1187 fighters during the war of independence and in the years prior to Israel's creation.
Casualties
The Palmach memorial site records 37 deaths of Palmach members between May 1941 and May 1945. Thirty-one are described as killed in action, six were killed while serving in the British Army and six were killed in the "Struggle against the British Government".A further 39 members of the Palmach died between the May 1945 and November 1947. Twenty-one are recorded as killed in action and one killed in battle, fourteen being killed during the attempt to blow up the Achziv Bridge during the Night of the bridges
Night of the bridges
Operation Markolet was a Haganah venture on the night of the 16th to the 17th of June 1946 in the British Mandate of Palestine...
. Twenty-eight died in the struggle against the British.
Between the beginning of December 1947 and the end of May 1948, when the Israeli army was created, 574 deaths are listed. Five hundred and twenty-four were killed in action or in battle; seventy-seven while on convoy duty or securing roads; fifty-nine during Operation Yevusi
Operation Yevusi
Operation Yevusi was a Palmach military operation carried out during the 1948 Arab Israeli War to assert Jewish control over Jerusalem. The operation, commanded by Yitzhak Sadeh, lasted two weeks, from 22 April 1948 to 3 May 1948. Not all objectives were achieved before the British enforced a...
, including thirty-four at Nabi Samuel
Nabi Samwil
An-Nabi Samwil also al-Nabi Samuil is a Palestinian village of nearly 220 inhabitants in the West Bank, within the Jerusalem Governorate, located four kilometers north of Jerusalem...
; twenty during Operation Nachshon
Operation Nachshon
Operation Nachshon was an Jewish military operation during the 1948 war. Lasting from 5–20 April 1948, its objective was to break the Siege of Jerusalem by opening the Tel-Aviv - Jerusalem road blockaded by Palestinian Arabs and to supply food and weapons to the isolated Jewish community of...
, all at Qastel; sixty-eight during Operation Yiftach
Operation Yiftach
Operation Yiftach was an offensive of the Israeli Haganah between 28 April and 29 May 1948 aimed at capturing the eastern Galilee. The central objectives were the capture of Safed and the securing of the Lebanese and Syrian borders before the British Mandate ended on 14 May 1948...
; twelve at Mishmar Ha'emek. By district one hundred and seventy-one members of the Palmach were killed in Jerusalem and the surrounding area, one hundred and four in and around Gush Etzion
Gush Etzion
Gush Etzion is a cluster of Israeli settlements located in the Judaean Mountains directly south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank, Palestinian territories. The core group includes four agricultural villages that were founded in 1940-1947 on property purchased in the 1920s and 1930s, and ...
, one hundred and three in the Galilee and eighty-one in the Negev.
From June 1948 to December 1949, during which time the Palmach was absorbed into the army, 527 members died, four hundred and fifty-two killed in action or in battle; one hundred and one were killed during Operation Danny
Operation Danny
Operation Danny was an Israeli military offensive launched at the end of the first truce of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The objectives were to capture territory east of Tel Aviv and then to push inland and relieve the Jewish population and forces in Jerusalem...
, including forty-five at Khirbet Kurikur
Shilta
Shilta was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Ramla. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War on July 18, 1948 by the First Battalion of the Yiftach Brigade of Operation Dani. It was located 15 km east of Ramla....
; fifty-three during Operation Yoav
Operation Yoav
Operation Yoav was an Israeli military operation carried out from 15–22 October 1948 in the Negev Desert, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Its goal was to drive a wedge between the Egyptian forces along the coast and the Beersheba–Hebron–Jerusalem road and ultimately to conquer the whole Negev...
; forty-four in Operation Horev
Operation Horev
At the end of Israel's War of Independence Operation Horev was a large scale attack against the Egyptian army in the Western Negev. Its objective was to trap the Egyptian Army in the Gaza Strip...
and twenty-two during Operation Death to the Invader
Operation Death to the Invader
Operation Death to the Invader , also Death to the Invaders, was an Israeli military operation during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was carried out on July 16–18, 1948 in the northwestern Negev desert. The operation's objective was to link Jewish villages in the Negev desert with the rest of...
. By district two hundred and thirty-four died in the Negev and Southern Plain; sixty-two in Jerusalem and surrounds; forty-four around Latrun; forty-two in the Gaza Strip and forty-one in the Central Plain and Coastal Strip.
By Brigade, 313 members of the Harel Brigade were killed, 312 from the Negev and 274 from the Yiftach. One of the dead is listed as also being a member of the Lechi.
The Palamach memorial site records the death of 34 female members, seventeen killed in action or in battle.
Around 520 of the fatalities had been born in Palestine; of whom one hundred and seventeen where from Tel Aviv, ninety-seven from Jerusalem and fifty-six Haifa. Over 550 had been born in Europe and Russia; with one hundred and eighty-one from Poland, ninety-nine from Germany and ninety-five from Romania. 131 of the dead originated from Arab and Muslim countries; thirty-two from Turkey, twenty-three from Syria and twenty-one from the Yemen. Of the remainder thirteen had been born in the USA.
633 of the dead were aged between 18 and 22 years, 302 were between 22 and 25, 138 were 26 and over - 91 were under 18 years of age.
Military organization
The Palmach was organised into regular companies (six in 1943), and five or six special units.Palmach special units included:
- Ha-Machlaka Ha-Germanit: the "German Department" (aka the Middle East Commando) performed covert operations and sabotage operations against NaziNazismNazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
infrastructure in the Middle EastMiddle EastThe Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and the BalkansBalkansThe Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
. - Ha-Machlaka Ha-Aravit: the "Arab Department" performed covert operations and espionage missions against Arab militias, which frequently attacked Jewish settlements. It was the base for the Israeli Defense Forces's and the Border PoliceIsrael Border PoliceThe Israel Border Police is the gendarmerie and border security branch of the Israel National Police. It is also commonly known by its Hebrew abbreviation Magav , meaning border guard, whilst its members are colloquially known as Magavnikim . Border Guard is often used as the official name of the...
's "Mistaarvim" units. - PalyamPalyamPalyam was the sea force of the Palmach.-History:Palyam was set up in April 1945 as the Palmach's tenth company which originated from the Palmach's Naval Platoon. The Company's first commander was Abraham Zakai...
(Sea Companies): the naval force of the Palmach was formed in 1943, attached to the Palmach's Staff Battalion (the 4th Battalion). They were in charge of underwater demolition and maritime activity units. The majority of their activities were related to the escorting of ships of Aliyah Bet, immigration ships (66 of them in all) bringing Jewish refugees from EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
by boat, despite the British White Paper of 1939White Paper of 1939The White Paper of 1939, also known as the MacDonald White Paper after Malcolm MacDonald, the British Colonial Secretary who presided over it, was a policy paper issued by the British government under Neville Chamberlain in which the idea of partitioning the Mandate for Palestine, as recommended in...
which introduced restrictions on Jewish immigration to Palestine. - PalavirPalavirThe Palavir, an acronym for Plugat HaAvir was the air force for the Palmach, based in Tel Aviv. Little is known about the Palmach's flying platoon due to its short life and its secrecy during the British Mandate. Like the rest of the Palmach it was made up entirely of Jewish fighters.-History:In...
(The Air Companies): made up of Jewish pilots, the Palmach air force was incorporated into the Sherut AvirSherut AvirThe Sherut Avir was the air force of the Haganah and the forerunner of the Israeli Air Force.-Founding:The Sherut Avir was founded in November 1947, just two weeks prior to the passing of the 1947 UN Partition Plan which proposed the division of Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state.It was at...
(predecessor of the Israeli Air ForceIsraeli Air ForceThe Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
) upon the Sherut's foundation in late 1947. - Sabotage Units: explosives experts who became the basis for the Israeli Engineering CorpsIsraeli Engineering CorpsThe Israeli Combat Engineering Corps is the combat engineering forces of the Israel Defense Forces.The Combat Engineering Corps beret's color is grey and its symbol features a sword on a defensive tower with a blast halo on the background...
in the IDF.
The Palmach put an emphasis on training field commanders (מפקדי שטח) and formed the basis for the Israeli army.
During the 1948–49 War of Independence
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
the Palmach was expanded to form three infantry brigades commanded by Yigal Allon:
- YiftachYiftach BrigadeThe Yiftach Brigade was an Israeli infantry brigade...
, with three battalions operating in Eastern Galilee (1st and 3rd and later 2nd) - HarelHarel BrigadeHarel Brigade is a reserve brigade of the Israel Defense Forces, today part of the Northern Command. It played a critical role in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.- War of Independence :...
, with three battalions operating (4th, 5th and 10th) in the Jerusalem area commanded by Yitzhak RabinYitzhak Rabin' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
(then age 26). - NegevNegev BrigadeThe 12th Negev Brigade was an Israeli infantry brigade that served in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. It was commanded by Nahum "Sergei" Sarig and consisted of four Palmach battalions...
, with four battalions (2nd, 7th, 8th and 9th), one of which was the jeep mounted "Negev Beasts"
The Command Battalion controlled naval, air and commando companies.
The battlecry of the Palmach commander was "!אחרי" (Aharai), which literally means "after me!" or "follow me!". It refers to the commander leading his troops instead of sending them out and staying behind.
In politics and culture
The Palmach was a broad spectrum left-wing nationalistLeft-wing nationalism
Left-wing nationalism describes a form of nationalism officially based upon equality, popular sovereignty, and national self-determination. It has its origins in the Jacobinism of the French Revolution. Left-wing nationalism typically espouses anti-imperialism...
organisation, associated with socialist parties. Its members trained and lived in Kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
im. The political tendencies of its leaders such as Yigal Allon
Yigal Allon
Yigal Allon was an Israeli politician, a commander of the Palmach, and a general in the IDF. He served as one of the leaders of Ahdut HaAvoda party and the Israeli Labor party, and acting Prime Minister of Israel, and was a member of the Knesset and government minister from the 10th through the...
and Yitzhak Sadeh
Yitzhak Sadeh
Yitzhak Sadeh , was the commander of the Palmach, one of the founders of the Israel Defense Forces at the time of the establishment of the State of Israel and a cousin of British philosopher Isaiah Berlin.-Biography:...
was towards Mapam
Mapam
Mapam was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party.-History:Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party and Ahdut HaAvoda Poale Zion Movement. The party was originally Marxist-Zionist in its outlook and represented...
, a left-wing party in opposition to David Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion
' was the first Prime Minister of Israel.Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, led him to become a major Zionist leader and Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization in 1946...
and the Mapai
Mapai
Mapai was a left-wing political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in 1968...
ruling party. In 1944 a major split had occurred in Palestine's Jewish community's
Yishuv
The Yishuv or Ha-Yishuv is the term referring to the body of Jewish residents in Palestine before the establishment of the State of Israel...
dominant party, Mapai
Mapai
Mapai was a left-wing political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in 1968...
, led by David Ben-Gurion. The breakaway group, which evolved into Mapam, were inspired by Stalin's
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
regime in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, and had a strong following in the Kibbutz movement. Since most of the Palmach's members came from the Kibbutzim, the Mapam dominated the Palmach, with a majority of its officers being members. After 1948 Ben Gurion, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the new state, had a series of confrontations with leaders of the Haganah and the Palmach. In a process that Ben-Gurion described as de-politicizing the army, the three Palmach brigades were disbanded and in 1950 most of the Mapam officers resigned. Those Palmach members who had been in Mapam and remained in the army had to endure several years on the margins. The effect of the de-politicizing was that all senior army posts were held by Mapai members or Ben-Gurion loyalists. After demobilization many Palmach members founded new Kibbutzim. In 1949 they set up Bar'am
Bar'am
Bar'am is a kibbutz located in northern Israel. Located approximately 300 meters from Israel's border with Lebanon near the ruins of the ancient Jewish village of Kfar Bar'am. Bar'am National Park is known for the remains of one of Israel's oldest synagogues...
, Beit Guvrin, Nir Yitzhak (named in honour of Yitzhak Sadeh), Palmachim
Palmachim
Palmachim is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located about ten kilometers south of the Tel Aviv area along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, among the sand dunes, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gan Raveh Regional Council...
, Re'im
Re'im
Re'im is a secular kibbutz in southern Israel, and one of the Gaza vicinity villages. Located at the confluence of Besor Stream and Gerar Stream in the north-western Negev desert, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council...
, Rosh HaNikra, Re'im
Re'im
Re'im is a secular kibbutz in southern Israel, and one of the Gaza vicinity villages. Located at the confluence of Besor Stream and Gerar Stream in the north-western Negev desert, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council...
and Yir'on. Palmach members were not, however, a unified, homogeneous collective with a single ideology. In the early years of the state of Israel they could be found in all political parties.
Yigal Allon, considered by many to be the representative of the Palmach generation, never reached a position of national leadership although he was Prime Minister for a few days between Eshkol's
Levi Eshkol
' served as the third Prime Minister of Israel from 1963 until his death from a heart attack in 1969. He was the first Israeli Prime Minister to die in office.-Biography:...
death and Meir's
Golda Meir
Golda Meir ; May 3, 1898 – December 8, 1978) was a teacher, kibbutznik and politician who became the fourth Prime Minister of the State of Israel....
appointment in 1969. He died in 1980.
Besides military contributions, the Palmach had great influence over the Israeli "Tzabar" culture. Palmach activities included "Kumzitz" (sitting around a fire at night, eating, talking and having fun), public singing and cross-country walking trips. These often took on mythical proportions and have become favorite activities for Israelis.
The Palmach also contributed many anecdotes, jokes, "chizbat" (short funny tales, often based on exaggerations), songs and even books and stories.
Notable Palmach cultural figures include:
- Yehuda AmichaiYehuda AmichaiYehuda Amichai was an Israeli poet. Amichai is considered by many, both in Israel and internationally, as Israel's greatest modern poet. He was also one of the first to write in colloquial Hebrew....
- poet - Netiva Ben Yehuda - journalist, writer, radioRadioRadio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
host - Haim HeferHaim Hefer-Biography:Hefer was born in Sosnowiec, Poland in 1925 to Issachar Feiner, a chocolate salesman, and Rivka Herzberg, a housewife. He had a private Hebrew tutor....
- poet, writer - Haim Guri - poet, writer
- Moshe ShamirMoshe ShamirMoshe Shamir was an Israeli author, playwright, opinion writer, and public figure.-Biography:...
- writer, playwright - Hannah SzenesHannah SzenesHannah Szenes , often anglicized as Hannah Senesh was a Hungarian Jew, one of 37 Jews from the British Mandate for Palestine that were trained by the British army to parachute into Yugoslavia during the Second World War in order to help save the Jews of Hungary, who were about to be deported to...
(Senesh) - poet - Dahn Ben Amotz - writer, journalist
- Shaike OfirShaike OfirShaike Ophir was an Israeli film actor and comedian, and the country's first mime.-Biography:Yishayahu Goldstein-Ophir was born in Jerusalem. His family roots in the city go back to the mid-19th century....
- actor
Notable Palmachniks
High command:- Eliyahu GolombEliyahu GolombEliyahu Golomb was the leader of the Jewish defense effort in Mandate Palestine and chief architect of the Haganah, the underground military organization for defense of the Yishuv between 1920 and 1948.-Early life:...
- general commander of HaganahHaganahHaganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :... - Yitzhak SadehYitzhak SadehYitzhak Sadeh , was the commander of the Palmach, one of the founders of the Israel Defense Forces at the time of the establishment of the State of Israel and a cousin of British philosopher Isaiah Berlin.-Biography:...
- first general commander of Palmach - Yigal AllonYigal AllonYigal Allon was an Israeli politician, a commander of the Palmach, and a general in the IDF. He served as one of the leaders of Ahdut HaAvoda party and the Israeli Labor party, and acting Prime Minister of Israel, and was a member of the Knesset and government minister from the 10th through the...
- second general commander of Palmach (1945–1948) - Giora ShananGiora ShananGiora Shanan b. 5 May 1908 d 9 November 2001, Palmach member from 1941. Served in the Palmach Headquarters as Deputy Palmach Commander.-Footnotes:...
- lieutenant general deputy commander of the Palmach - David Nameri - lieutenant general commander of the Palmach
- Yohanan Ratner - strategy officer
- Moshe Bar-Tikva - training officer
- Yitzhak RabinYitzhak Rabin' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
- brigade commander; Allon's second in command - Moshe KelmanMoshe KelmanMoshe Kelman was the operational commander of the Palmach's Third Battalion in 1948. On 15 February 1948 Kelman led a force of 60 men which attacked the remote village Sa'sa', in the Upper Galilee. The operation coincided with a number of other attacks on Arab targets. Its intention was to...
- 3rd Battalion commander
Special units commanders:
- Shimon AvidanShimon AvidanShimon Avidan , born Shimon Koch , was an Israeli soldier and officer, the commander of the Givati Brigade during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war....
- commander of the "German Department" - Israel Ben-Yehuda - commander of the "Arab Department"
- Yigal AllonYigal AllonYigal Allon was an Israeli politician, a commander of the Palmach, and a general in the IDF. He served as one of the leaders of Ahdut HaAvoda party and the Israeli Labor party, and acting Prime Minister of Israel, and was a member of the Knesset and government minister from the 10th through the...
- commander of the "Syrian Department"
Company
Company (military unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...
commanders (as of 1943):
- Yigal AllonYigal AllonYigal Allon was an Israeli politician, a commander of the Palmach, and a general in the IDF. He served as one of the leaders of Ahdut HaAvoda party and the Israeli Labor party, and acting Prime Minister of Israel, and was a member of the Knesset and government minister from the 10th through the...
, Zalman Mars - Pluga Aleph commanders - Moshe DayanMoshe DayanMoshe Dayan was an Israeli military leader and politician. The fourth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces , he became a fighting symbol to the world of the new State of Israel...
, Meir Davidson, Uri Brenner - Pluga Beth commanders - Uri Yafeh - Pluga Gimel commander
- Benjamin Goldstein Tzur - Pluga Dalet commander
- Abraham Negev - Pluga Hey commander
- Israel Livertovski, Shimon AvidanShimon AvidanShimon Avidan , born Shimon Koch , was an Israeli soldier and officer, the commander of the Givati Brigade during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war....
- Pluga Vav commander - Yehuda. L. Ben-Tzur - Palyam commander
- Shmuel TankusShmuel TankusAluf Shmuel "Shmulik" Tankus was the fifth commander of the Israeli Navy, serving from 30 June 1954 until 1960.Tankus was born in 1914 in the Neve Shalom district of Jaffa...
- Shmuel YanaiShmuel YanaiShmuel "Samek" Yanai is a former Israeli naval commander and chair of the Atlit Museum of Illegal Immigration at the Atlit detainee camp.-Biography:...
- Palyam commander - Rafael EitanRafael EitanRafael "Raful" Eitan was an Israeli general, former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and later a politician, a Knesset member government minister...
- 4th Battalion, Company A. 1948
Palmach Museum
The Palmach museum, located on Chaim LevanonChaim Levanon
Chaim Levanon was an Israeli politician and mayor of Tel Aviv between 13 April 1953 and 1959.-Personal life:Levanon was born in Kraków, Poland, in 1899 as Chaim Yosef Levinstein. After graduating from a yeshiva, he studied agricultural engineering at the Jagiellonian University.He made aliyah in...
Street in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, near the Eretz Israel Museum
Eretz Israel Museum
The Eretz Israel Museum is a historical and archeological museum in the Ramat Aviv neighborhood of Tel Aviv, Israel.Eretz Israel Museum, established in 1953, has a large display of archaeological, anthropological and historical artifacts organized in a series of exhibition pavilions on its grounds...
, explores the Palmach legacy through the stories of individuals and groups. Visitors to the museum join the group of young Palmach recruits from its establishment, and advanced through the story of the Palmach until the end of the War of Independence.