Convoy of 35
Encyclopedia
The Convoy of 35 refers to 35 soldiers of the Haganah
who were killed while attempting to resupply and or reinforce the Gush Etzion
kibbutz
im 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
.
to resupply or reinforce the four blockaded kibbutz
im of Gush Etzion (the Etzion bloc), south of Jerusalem, following the Arab
attack of January 14. Thirty-eight Haganah personnel set out on foot from Hartuv
at 11 p.m. on January 15, commanded by Danny Mas. They took a long detour around the Palestine Police station, a Tegart fort
, to avoid detection by the British
, but this took them close to a large training base erected by Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni
.. Three were sent back because one man sprained an ankle, and two accompanied him. The remaining 35 were killed in an area between the villages of Jaba
and Surif
.
The fate of the 35 was reconstructed from British and Arab reports. The six hours of night that remained did not suffice for the trip. About an hour before the convoy reached their destination, it became light. Not far from the village of Surif, near Gush Etzion, they were spotted by an Arab shepherd or by two women (accounts differ) who hurried to sound the alarm. According to reporting sources a large number of armed villagers from Surif and other communities gathered to block the way. The battle had two stages, four hours apart, with hundreds of Arabs from the training base taking part. The 35 battled until the last of their ammunition was spent. The last of the 35 was apparently killed at about 4:30 p.m. Amongst the dead was the first American to be killed in the conflict.
A phone conversation about the battle was intercepted by the Irgun
, in which it was heard that many were killed and some were wounded.
After no word of the 35 had been received for a long time and wounded Arabs started arriving at Hebron
, the British dispatched a platoon of the Royal Sussex Regiment
to investigate. After threatening and exhorting the village mukhtar
s and notables, the British were led to the site of the battle where they found the bodies of the 35. According to some reports many of the bodies had been mutilated, some beyond recognition.
, when the bodies of the 35 were returned to Israel
, only 23 of the 35 bodies could be identified. To solve the problem, Rabbi Aryeh Levin
performed the rare goral ha-gra (ha-gra = Vilna Gaon
) ceremony, a process in which the reader of the Torah
is led to certain verses which give hints as to the subjects in question.
.
In August 1949, a group of former Palmach
soldiers founded a kibbutz
, Netiv HaLamed He near the convoy's route. They built a memorial commemorating the fallen Haganah soldiers there (see picture). Prior to the 1967 Six-Day War
, it was assumed that the precise location of the final battle was on the Jordanian side of the armistice line. However, in 1967 the British police officer who had found the bodies in 1948 and Arab witnesses independently identified a hilltop on the Israeli side of the line.
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 :...
who were killed while attempting to resupply and or reinforce the 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 ...
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 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
1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine
The 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine lasted from 30 November 1947, the date of the United Nations vote in favour of the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the UN Partition Plan, to the termination of the British Mandate itself on 14 May 1948.This period constitutes the...
.
Attack
On the 16 January 1948, the convoy of 38 was sent by the Jewish Haganah paramilitaryParamilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
to resupply or reinforce the four blockaded 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 of Gush Etzion (the Etzion bloc), south of Jerusalem, following the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
attack of January 14. Thirty-eight Haganah personnel set out on foot from Hartuv
Hartuv
Hartuv or Har-Tuv was an agricultural colony in the Judean Hills established in 1883 on land purchased from the Arab village of Artuf by English missionaries. It was destroyed in the 1929 Palestine riots but was rebuilt in 1930. In 1948 it was abandoned again. Hartuv was the starting point for...
at 11 p.m. on January 15, commanded by Danny Mas. They took a long detour around the Palestine Police station, a 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...
, to avoid detection by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, but this took them close to a large training base erected by Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni
Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni
Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni was a Palestinian Arab nationalist and fighter who in late 1933 founded the secret militant group known as the Organization for Holy Struggle, , which he and Hasan Salama commanded as the Army of the Holy War during the 1936-1939 Arab Revolt and during the 1948...
.. Three were sent back because one man sprained an ankle, and two accompanied him. The remaining 35 were killed in an area between the villages of Jaba
Jaba
Jaba may refer to:* "Jaba", Silvino João de Carvalho, Brazilian footballer* Jaba River* Jaba', former Palestinian village in the Karmel area* Jaba * Jaba', Town in the Jenin Governorate of the West Bank....
and Surif
Surif
Surif is a Palestinian town in the Hebron Governorate located 25 km northwest of the city of Hebron. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics census, Surif had a population of 13,365 in 2007. The population is entirely Muslim....
.
The fate of the 35 was reconstructed from British and Arab reports. The six hours of night that remained did not suffice for the trip. About an hour before the convoy reached their destination, it became light. Not far from the village of Surif, near Gush Etzion, they were spotted by an Arab shepherd or by two women (accounts differ) who hurried to sound the alarm. According to reporting sources a large number of armed villagers from Surif and other communities gathered to block the way. The battle had two stages, four hours apart, with hundreds of Arabs from the training base taking part. The 35 battled until the last of their ammunition was spent. The last of the 35 was apparently killed at about 4:30 p.m. Amongst the dead was the first American to be killed in the conflict.
A phone conversation about the battle was intercepted by 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 which it was heard that many were killed and some were wounded.
After no word of the 35 had been received for a long time and wounded Arabs started arriving at Hebron
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
, the British dispatched a platoon of the Royal Sussex Regiment
Royal Sussex Regiment
The Royal Sussex Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed as part of the Childers reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th Regiment of Foot and the 107th Regiment of Foot...
to investigate. After threatening and exhorting the village mukhtar
Mukhtar
Mukhtar meaning "chosen" in Arabic, refers to the head of a village or mahalle in many Arab countries as well as in Turkey and Cyprus. The name refers to the fact that mukhtars are usually selected by some consensual or participatory method, often involving an election. Mukhtar is also a common...
s and notables, the British were led to the site of the battle where they found the bodies of the 35. According to some reports many of the bodies had been mutilated, some beyond recognition.
Burial of the bodies
After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War1948 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...
, when the bodies of the 35 were returned to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, only 23 of the 35 bodies could be identified. To solve the problem, Rabbi Aryeh Levin
Aryeh Levin
Rabbi Aryeh Levin, , known as Reb Aryeh, was an Orthodox rabbi dubbed the "Father of Prisoners" for his visits to members of the Jewish underground imprisoned in the Central Prison of Jerusalem in the Russian Compound during the British Mandate...
performed the rare goral ha-gra (ha-gra = Vilna Gaon
Vilna Gaon
Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman Kramer, known as the Vilna Gaon or Elijah of Vilna and simply by his Hebrew acronym Gra or Elijah Ben Solomon, , was a Talmudist, halachist, kabbalist, and the foremost leader of non-hasidic Jewry of the past few centuries...
) ceremony, a process in which the reader of the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
is led to certain verses which give hints as to the subjects in question.
Commemoration
The story of the 35 was immortalised in an emotional poem, Here Our Bodies Lie written by Haim GouriHaim Gouri
Haim Gouri is an Israeli poet, novelist, journalist, and documentary filmmaker.-Biography:Haim Gouri was born in Tel Aviv. After studying at the Kadoorie Agricultural High School, he joined the Palmach militia. In 1947 he was sent to Hungary to assist Holocaust survivors to come to Palestine...
.
In August 1949, a group of former 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...
soldiers founded a 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...
, Netiv HaLamed He near the convoy's route. They built a memorial commemorating the fallen Haganah soldiers there (see picture). Prior to the 1967 Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
, it was assumed that the precise location of the final battle was on the Jordanian side of the armistice line. However, in 1967 the British police officer who had found the bodies in 1948 and Arab witnesses independently identified a hilltop on the Israeli side of the line.