Yaakov Banai
Encyclopedia
Yaakov Banai born Yaakov Tunkel, Alias Mazal (March 30, 1920 – January 7, 2009) served as the commander of the Lehi
movement's combat unit. Banai was a senior Lehi member who masterminded numerous military encounters against British and Arab targets during the Mandate period and the Israel War of Independence.
, Poland
. He was the third child of four children. His father was Shraga (Feivel) Tunkel and his mother Brakha née Sokolovsky. The family owned a barber shop and his father served as the head of the town's volunteer fire department. His father was the first cousin of Yosef Tunkel
, the Yiddish humorist known as Der Tunkeler. Both of his parents and two of his siblings perished in the Holocaust.
As a youth, Banai was a member of Betar
, the Revisionist Zionist youth movement and was a founding member of the Irgun
in Poland and leader of the Eastern Poland branch of the party. He graduated from the state Gymnasium
high school in 1938 and studied law for one year at Vilnius University
(1939–1940). In 1941, following the Soviet invasion and shortly before the German invasion of Lithuania
, Banai obtained a Sugihara
visa and made his way to Israel
via Turkey
with other members of the Betar.
and chose to join forces with Abraham Stern (Yair) to help form the Lehi. Once in Israel he was ordered to distance himself from Tel Aviv
to avoid the attention of the authorities and he enlisted as a watchman in the Jezreel Valley
where he commenced forming a local branch of the Lehi.
In early 1943 he relocated to Haifa
where he enlisted members, among whom was Eliahu Hakim (whose alias was Benny). Hakim was later hanged for carrying out the assassination of Lord Moyne in Cairo. In Haifa, Banai received the alias Mazal (meaning "Luck") after he managed to successfully evade capture during a surprise inspection conducted by British detectives. After a shoot-out with British detectives, he moved to Tel Aviv, where he joined the Executive Committee of Lehi. He changed his last name to Banai in order to confuse British detectives who were on the look out for a "Polish Jew".
Banai participated in a long list of combat missions including the preparations and attack on the British high commissioner in Palestine, Sir Harold MacMichael
. This attack was undertaken in retaliation for the sinking of the Struma
passenger ship. He also participated in the assassination of Thomas Wilkin, the head of the Criminal Investigation Department
(CID) Jewish Affairs Bureau. Wilkin was assassinated for his involvement in the murder of Abraham Stern. In his memoirs, Banai recalled that the order to assassinate Wilkin came directly from Yitzhak Shamir
, the head of Lehi who eventually became the Prime Minister of Israel.
Banai was appointed to head the Lehi’s combat forces which was renamed under him as the "Fighting Brigade". He masterminded and participated in combat operations such as attacks on military units and police, demolition of bridges, an attempt to free jailed prisoners in Jerusalem that was coordinated with the Irgun, the capture of weapons from a military base in Holon and a British military warehouse on HaYarkon Street
in Tel Aviv.
Following Shamir’s imprisonment, Banai remained in the underground from where he oversaw all of Lehi’s department’s and branches in Israel. Under his direction, dozens of combat operations were planned and carried out, a portion of them as part of the Jewish Resistance Movement
during which the three underground movements (Haganah
, Irgun, Lehi) joined forces against the British. During this period, the railyards near the Haifa port were attacked, the Sarona military headquarters (today HaKirya
in Tel Aviv) was bombed, Sarafand (today Tzrifin
military base) was attacked, the CID offices in Haifa were attacked, airplanes at the Kfar Sirkin
air base were destroyed, hospitalized prisoners were liberated as were female prisoners from the Petah Tikva
police station, and he participated in a bank robbery at the Tel Aviv branch of the Barclays Bank. Banai pioneered the use of explosive vehicles, which were used against the CID offices in Haifa, the Sarona military headquarters and the Jaffa
Sarai.
decision on the partition plan, Lehi's turned its attention to the confrontation with the Arabs. During this period Banai participated in numerous combat operations that included the bombing of homes in Arab villages, the bombing of the Sarai in Jaffa (the Arab gathering point for attacks on Tel Aviv), the bombing of the Arab gangs' headquarters in Haifa, and an attempt to bomb the Arab headquarters in Nablus
.
With the formation of the Israel Defense Forces
, Banai enlisted as a captain in the 8th Brigade, commanded the Lehi Battalion and served as the liaison officer between the army's Lehi units and Brigadier Yitzhak Sadeh
, the commander of the Palmach
. Banai quickly rose to become the battalion's Chief of Staff. Following the war, he served for ten years as a battalion commander in charge of the Dan district in the Civil Defense Forces.
Banai frequently lectured to soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces, in schools, to youth groups, at community centers, and throughout the country. Banai worked for the Egged bus company and was a member of its Secretariat as well as a manager. Prior to his retirement in 1997, he served as the director of an assisted living facility in Ramat Gan. In 2000, he was awarded the key to the city of Ramat Gan and was the Chairman of an NGO that worked to preserve the historical legacy of the Lehi.
Lehi (group)
Lehi , commonly referred to in English as the Stern Group or Stern Gang, was a militant Zionist group founded by Avraham Stern in the British Mandate of Palestine...
movement's combat unit. Banai was a senior Lehi member who masterminded numerous military encounters against British and Arab targets during the Mandate period and the Israel War of Independence.
Early life
Yaakov Banai (Tunkel) was born on March 20, 1920 in BaranovichiBaranovichi
Baranovichi , is a city in the Brest Province of western Belarus with a population of 173,000. It is a significant railway junction and home to a state university.-Overview:...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. He was the third child of four children. His father was Shraga (Feivel) Tunkel and his mother Brakha née Sokolovsky. The family owned a barber shop and his father served as the head of the town's volunteer fire department. His father was the first cousin of Yosef Tunkel
Yosef Tunkel
Yosef Tunkel was a Jewish–Belarusian–American writer of poetry and humorous prose in Yiddish commonly known by the pen name Der Tunkeler or 'The dark one' in Yiddish....
, the Yiddish humorist known as Der Tunkeler. Both of his parents and two of his siblings perished in the Holocaust.
As a youth, Banai was a member of Betar
Betar
The Betar Movement is a Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Vladimir Jabotinsky. It has been traditionally linked to the original Herut and then Likud political parties of Israel, and was closely affiliated with the pre-Israel Revisionist Zionist splinter group...
, the Revisionist Zionist youth movement and was a founding member of 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...
in Poland and leader of the Eastern Poland branch of the party. He graduated from the state Gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
high school in 1938 and studied law for one year at Vilnius University
Vilnius University
Vilnius University is the oldest university in the Baltic states and one of the oldest in Eastern Europe. It is also the largest university in Lithuania....
(1939–1940). In 1941, following the Soviet invasion and shortly before the German invasion of Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, Banai obtained a Sugihara
Chiune Sugihara
was a Japanese diplomat who served as Vice-Consul for the Japanese Empire in Lithuania. During World War II, he helped several thousand Jews leave the country by issuing transit visas to Jewish refugees so that they could travel to Japan. Most of the Jews who escaped were refugees from...
visa and made his way to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
via Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
with other members of the Betar.
Combat operations
On his way to Israel he was informed of the internal split within 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...
and chose to join forces with Abraham Stern (Yair) to help form the Lehi. Once in Israel he was ordered to distance himself from 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...
to avoid the attention of the authorities and he enlisted as a watchman in the Jezreel Valley
Jezreel Valley
-Etymology:The Jezreel Valley takes its name from the ancient city of Jezreel which was located on a low hill overlooking the southern edge of the valley, though some scholars think that the name of the city originates from the name of the clan which founded it, and whose existence is mentioned in...
where he commenced forming a local branch of the Lehi.
In early 1943 he relocated to 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...
where he enlisted members, among whom was Eliahu Hakim (whose alias was Benny). Hakim was later hanged for carrying out the assassination of Lord Moyne in Cairo. In Haifa, Banai received the alias Mazal (meaning "Luck") after he managed to successfully evade capture during a surprise inspection conducted by British detectives. After a shoot-out with British detectives, he moved to Tel Aviv, where he joined the Executive Committee of Lehi. He changed his last name to Banai in order to confuse British detectives who were on the look out for a "Polish Jew".
Banai participated in a long list of combat missions including the preparations and attack on the British high commissioner in Palestine, Sir Harold MacMichael
Harold MacMichael
Sir Harold Alfred MacMichael, GCMG, DSO , was a British colonial administrator.-Early service:MacMichael graduated with a first from Magdalene College, Cambridge. After passing his civil service exam, he entered the service of the British Empire in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan...
. This attack was undertaken in retaliation for the sinking of the Struma
Struma
The Struma was a ship chartered to carry Jewish refugees from Axis-allied Romania to British-controlled Palestine during World War II. On February 23, 1942, with its engine inoperable and its refugee passengers aboard, Turkish authorities towed the ship from Istanbul harbor through the Bosphorus...
passenger ship. He also participated in the assassination of Thomas Wilkin, the head of the Criminal Investigation Department
Criminal Investigation Department
The Crime Investigation Department is the branch of all Territorial police forces within the British Police and many other Commonwealth police forces, to which plain clothes detectives belong. It is thus distinct from the Uniformed Branch and the Special Branch.The Metropolitan Police Service CID,...
(CID) Jewish Affairs Bureau. Wilkin was assassinated for his involvement in the murder of Abraham Stern. In his memoirs, Banai recalled that the order to assassinate Wilkin came directly from Yitzhak Shamir
Yitzhak Shamir
' is a former Israeli politician, the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, in 1983–84 and 1986–92.-Biography:Icchak Jeziernicky was born in Ruzhany , Russian Empire . He studied at a Hebrew High School in Białystok, Poland. As a youth he joined Betar, the Revisionist Zionist youth movement...
, the head of Lehi who eventually became the Prime Minister of Israel.
Banai was appointed to head the Lehi’s combat forces which was renamed under him as the "Fighting Brigade". He masterminded and participated in combat operations such as attacks on military units and police, demolition of bridges, an attempt to free jailed prisoners in Jerusalem that was coordinated with the Irgun, the capture of weapons from a military base in Holon and a British military warehouse on HaYarkon Street
Hayarkon Street
HaYarkon Street is a major street which runs roughly parallel with the coastline in Tel Aviv, Israel, carrying traffic north and south....
in Tel Aviv.
Following Shamir’s imprisonment, Banai remained in the underground from where he oversaw all of Lehi’s department’s and branches in Israel. Under his direction, dozens of combat operations were planned and carried out, a portion of them as part of the Jewish 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...
during which the three underground movements (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 :...
, Irgun, Lehi) joined forces against the British. During this period, the railyards near the Haifa port were attacked, the Sarona military headquarters (today HaKirya
HaKirya
HaKirya, or The Kirya , is an area in central Tel Aviv, containing various government structures, including the major Israel Defense Forces base, Camp Rabin , named for Yitzhak Rabin...
in Tel Aviv) was bombed, Sarafand (today Tzrifin
Tzrifin
Tzrifin is an area in Gush Dan in central Israel, located on the eastern side of Rishon LeZion and including parts of Be'er Ya'akov. The area proper is defined as an 'area without jurisdiction' between the two cities....
military base) was attacked, the CID offices in Haifa were attacked, airplanes at the Kfar Sirkin
Kfar Sirkin
Kfar Sirkin or Kefar Syrkin is a moshav in Israel within the municipal jurisdiction of the Drom HaSharon Regional Council near the city of Petah Tikva. Founded in 1933, it was named after the famous Zionist Nachman Syrkin....
air base were destroyed, hospitalized prisoners were liberated as were female prisoners from the Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva known as Em HaMoshavot , is a city in the Center District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv.According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2009, the city's population stood at 209,600. The population density is approximately...
police station, and he participated in a bank robbery at the Tel Aviv branch of the Barclays Bank. Banai pioneered the use of explosive vehicles, which were used against the CID offices in Haifa, the Sarona military headquarters and the 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:...
Sarai.
Service in the Israel Defense Forces
Following the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
decision on the partition plan, Lehi's turned its attention to the confrontation with the Arabs. During this period Banai participated in numerous combat operations that included the bombing of homes in Arab villages, the bombing of the Sarai in Jaffa (the Arab gathering point for attacks on Tel Aviv), the bombing of the Arab gangs' headquarters in Haifa, and an attempt to bomb the Arab headquarters in Nablus
Nablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
.
With the formation 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...
, Banai enlisted as a captain in the 8th Brigade, commanded the Lehi Battalion and served as the liaison officer between the army's Lehi units and Brigadier 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:...
, the commander of the Palmach
Palmach
The Palmach was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...
. Banai quickly rose to become the battalion's Chief of Staff. Following the war, he served for ten years as a battalion commander in charge of the Dan district in the Civil Defense Forces.
Post-military career
Banai authored the book Hayalim Almonim based on his experiences in the Lehi. The book is considered the most comprehensive account of the underground movement. In 2006 he edited Mekorot LeToldot Tnu'at Lohmei Herut Israel (Lehi) .Banai frequently lectured to soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces, in schools, to youth groups, at community centers, and throughout the country. Banai worked for the Egged bus company and was a member of its Secretariat as well as a manager. Prior to his retirement in 1997, he served as the director of an assisted living facility in Ramat Gan. In 2000, he was awarded the key to the city of Ramat Gan and was the Chairman of an NGO that worked to preserve the historical legacy of the Lehi.