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Palmach

Palmach badge
Active 1941-1948
Country Israel
Type Strike force
Part of Haganah
Motto "Always at your command"
"לפקודה תמיד אנחנו"
Commanders
Notable
commanders		 Yigal Allon, Yitzhak Sadeh,
Yitzhak Rabin, Moshe Dayan

The Palmach (Hebrew: פלמ"ח, an acronym for Plugot Mahatz (Hebrew: פלוגות מחץ), Strike Companies) was the regular fighting force of the Haganah, the unofficial army of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the British Mandate of Palestine. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Haganah ( Hebrew: "The Defense" ההגנה was a Jewish Paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine Yigal Allon (יגאל אלון born 10 October 1918, died 29 February 1980) was an Israeli politician a commander of the Yitzhak Sadeh (יצחק שדה born Isaac Landsberg in Lublin, Russian Empire in 1890 died Tel Aviv, Israel in 1952 was the Moshe Dayan, DSO (משה דיין born 20 May 1915 died 16 October 1981 was an Israeli military leader and politician Haganah ( Hebrew: "The Defense" ההגנה was a Jewish Paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine Yishuv (ישוב literally "settlement" or Ha-Yishuv (the Yishuv הישוב or the full term הישוב היהודי בארץ ישראל Hayishuv Hayehudi The Palestine Mandate, was a set of protocols or articles that formed a multilateral legal and administrative agreement It was established on May 15, 1941 and by the war of 1948 had grown to three fighting brigades and auxiliary aerial, naval and intelligence units. Events 1252 - Pope Innocent IV issues the Papal bull Ad exstirpanda, which authorizes but also limits the Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A brigade is a Military unit Echelon: is Being a Palmachnik (Palmach member) was considered not only as performing military duties, but also as a way of life. Significant leaders of the Palmach include Yitzhak Sadeh, Yigal Allon and future prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and Defense Minister and member of the Knesset Moshe Dayan. Yitzhak Sadeh (יצחק שדה born Isaac Landsberg in Lublin, Russian Empire in 1890 died Tel Aviv, Israel in 1952 was the Yigal Allon (יגאל אלון born 10 October 1918, died 29 February 1980) was an Israeli politician a commander of the Moshe Dayan, DSO (משה דיין born 20 May 1915 died 16 October 1981 was an Israeli military leader and politician

The Palmach contributed significantly to Israeli culture and ethos, well beyond its undoubtable 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. The Israel Defense Forces ( IDF) (צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, lit

Contents

History

The Palmach was established by the British military and Haganah on May 15, 1941 to help the British protect Palestine from the Nazi German threat. The Armed forces of the United Kingdom, commonly known as the British Armed Forces or Her Majesty's Armed Forces, and sometimes legally the Armed Forces Haganah ( Hebrew: "The Defense" ההגנה was a Jewish Paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine Events 1252 - Pope Innocent IV issues the Papal bull Ad exstirpanda, which authorizes but also limits the Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German They were also to assist Allied forces with the planned invasion of Syria and Lebanon, then held by Vichy French forces. The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis powers during the Second World War. Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية Lebanon (ˈlɛbənɒn Arabic: ar لبنان Lubnān) officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic (ar الجمهورية اللبنانية Vichy France, or the Vichy regime are the common terms used to describe the government of France from July 1940 to August 1944 British experts trained the Palmach special soldiers and equipped them with small arms and explosives. However, after the Allied victory at the Second Battle of El Alamein in 1943, the British ordered the dismantling of Palmach. The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of World War II. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Instead the whole organization went underground.

Since British funding had stopped, Yitzhak Tabenkin, head of the Kibbutzim union suggested Palmach could be self-funding by letting the warriors work in the Kibbutzim. A kibbutz ( Hebrew: קיבוץ קִבּוּץ lit "gathering clustering" plural kibbutzim) is a collective community in Each Kibbutz would host a Palmach platoon and supply them with food, homes and resources. A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or Squads and containing about 30 to 50 soldiers In return the platoon would safeguard the kibbutz and carry out work such as agricultural work. Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture 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. Other names In Arabic, the month is called أغسطسص ʾUġusṭuṣ or آب ʾĀb; usage varies from place to place and Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Combining military training with agricultural work meant:

  1. Maintenance of an independent, easily mobilized military force.
  2. A force in which members' labor funded 80% of Palmach's budget. Money from Haganah was dedicated to weapons and training.
  3. The force would be hard to track down.
  4. Easier recruitment of people from Kibbutzim and Moshavim. Moshav ( is a type of Cooperative Agricultural Community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists during the second
  5. The creation of groups of settlers, who could form the base for future settlements.
  6. Education of soldiers in Zionist values. History of Zionism|Timeline of Zionism|World Zionist Organization|Zionist political violence Zionism is an international political movement that originally supported the

The program of combined military training, agricultural work and Zionist education was called "Hach'shara Meguyeset" הכשרה מגויסת (meaning "Drafted/Recruited Training"). A military is an Organization authorized by its Nation to use force usually including use of Weapons in defending its Country (or by attacking Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture

Later on, it was agreed with the Zionist youth movements that each person from the ages of 18-20 ("Gar'een" meaning "nucleus" or "kernel" in Hebrew) would undergo training. Nahal (נח"ל an acronym for Noar Halutzi Lohem, lit Fighting Pioneer Youth) is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade This was the base for the Nahal settlements. Nahal (נח"ל an acronym for Noar Halutzi Lohem, lit Fighting Pioneer Youth) is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade The training enabled Palmach to expand its numbers and recruit more people to its lines.

Basic training included physical fitness, small arms, mêlée and Kapap, basic marine training, topography, first aid and squad operations. Physical fitness is used in two close meanings general fitness (a state of Health and well-being and specific fitness (a task-oriented definition based on the ability Small arms is a term used by the Armed forces to refer to Infantry Weapons such as the Firearms that an individual soldier can carry Melee (from the French mêlée meˈleː generally refers to disorganized Close combat involving a group of fighters Kapap (קפא"פ קפ"פ short for Krav Panim el Panim translated as "face to face combat" is a combat system of defensive tactics Hand-to-hand Topography ( topo-, "place" and graphia, "writing" is the study of Earth 's Surface features or those of Planets First aid is the provision of initial care for an Illness or Injury. Most of the Palmach members received advance training in one or more of the following areas: sabotage and explosives, reconnaissance, sniping, communications and radio, light and medium machine guns, and operating 2-inch and 3-inch mortars. Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening an enemy oppressor or employer through subversion obstruction disruption and/or destruction An explosive material is a material that either is chemically or otherwise Energetically unstable or produces a sudden expansion of the material usually accompanied Reconnaissance (also scouting) is a military and medical term denoting exploration conducted to gain information READ DISCUSSION PAGE BEFORE MAKING ANY EDITS TO CAPTION BELOW http//en Communication is the process of conveying information from a sender to a receiver with the use of a medium in which the communicated information is understood the same way Radio is the transmission of signals by Modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible Light. For other uses of the phrase see Machine Gun (disambiguation. A mortar is a muzzle-loading Indirect fire weapon that fires shells at low velocities short ranges and high-arcing ballistic trajectories Platoon training included long marches, combined live-fire drills with artillery support and machine guns and mortars.

Palmach put emphasis on training independent and broadminded field commanders who would take the initiative and set an example for their troops. The Palmach ( Hebrew: פלמ"ח an acronym for Plugot Maḥatz (Hebrew פלוגות מחץ Strike Companies) was the regular fighting force Palmach 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. Haganah ( Hebrew: "The Defense" ההגנה was a Jewish Paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine The Palmach commanders' course was the source for many field commanders which were the backbone of Haganah, and, later, the Israeli Defense Forces. Haganah ( Hebrew: "The Defense" ההגנה was a Jewish Paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine The Israel Defense Forces ( IDF) (צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, lit

Between 1945 and 1946, Palmach units carried out attacks against British infrastructure such as bridges, railways, radar stations and police stations. Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A bridge is a Structure built to span a Gorge, Valley, Road, railroad track, River, Body of water "Railroad" and "Railway" both redirect here For other uses see Railroad (disambiguation. Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic waves to identify the range altitude direction or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as Aircraft, ships A police station (also called stationhouse) is a Building which serves as the Headquarters of a Police force or unit which serves a specific Such activities ceased, however, after "Black Sabbath" (June 29, 1946), when British forces carried out mass arrests of Palmach and Haganah leaders. Operation Agatha (Saturday June 29, 1946) sometimes called Black Shabbat or Black Saturday because it began on the Jewish sabbath Events 512 - A Solar eclipse is recorded by a monastic chronicler in Ireland. Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

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. Gush Etzion (גוש עציון literally bloc of Etzion) refers to a group of Jewish villages established from the 1920s south of Jerusalem on the northern part Kfar Darom (כפר דרום lit South Village) was a Kibbutz and Israeli settlement within the Gush Katif bloc in the Gaza Strip Revivim (רְבִיבִים is a Kibbutz in the Negev desert in southern Israel. The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary Citizens to provide defense emergency law enforcement or Paramilitary service Although inferior in numbers and arms, Palmach soldiers held out long enough to let Haganah mobilise the Jewish population and prepare for war. Haganah ( Hebrew: "The Defense" ההגנה was a Jewish Paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine

After the establishment of the Israeli Defence Forces, the Palmach was dissolved into two IDF brigades - the Negev Brigade and Yiftach Brigade. The Israel Defense Forces ( IDF) (צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, lit The Negev Brigade (aka 12th Brigade Hativat HaNagev in Hebrew) was an Israeli infantry brigade that served in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. The Yiftach Brigade (also known as the Yiftah Brigade, the 11th Brigade in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war) was an Israeli infantry brigade The Negev and Yiftah Brigades fought in the Negev against the Egyptian army and managed to stop and later repulse them into the Gaza Strip and Sharm El Sheikh. The Negev (נֶגֶב Tiberian vocalization: Néḡeḇ) is the Desert region of southern Israel. The Egyptian Army is the largest service branch within the Egyptian military establishment. The Gaza Strip (قطاع غزة, רצועת עזה Retzu'at 'Azza) is a coastal strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea, bordering Egypt on the south-west Sharm el Sheikh (شرم الشيخ Sharm al-Shaykh) often known simply as "Sharm" is a city situated on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in Yiftah Brigade later was transferred to the north.

Military organization

The Palmach was organised into regular companies (six in 1943), and five or six special units. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Palmach special units included:

The Palmach put emphasis on training field commanders (מפקדי שטח) and they became the basis for the Israeli army.

During the 1948-49 War of Independence the Palmach was expanded to form three infantry brigades: Yiftach, Harel, and Negev. Yitzhak Rabin (then age 26) commanded the Harel Brigade.

The battlecry of the Palmach commander was "!אחרי" (Aharei), which literally means "after me!". For other uses see Battle cry (disambiguation A battle cry is a yell or chant taken up in Battle, usually by members of the same It refers to the commander leading his troops instead of sending them out and staying behind.

The Palmach in Politics and Culture

The Palmach was a left-wing organisation, associated with left-wing parties. Its members trained and lived in Kibbutzim, which were generally left-sympathetic. A kibbutz ( Hebrew: קיבוץ קִבּוּץ lit "gathering clustering" plural kibbutzim) is a collective community in 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. Yigal Allon (יגאל אלון born 10 October 1918, died 29 February 1980) was an Israeli politician a commander of the Yitzhak Sadeh (יצחק שדה born Isaac Landsberg in Lublin, Russian Empire in 1890 died Tel Aviv, Israel in 1952 was the Mapam (מפ"ם an acronym for Mifleget HaPoalim HaMeuhedet (מפלגת הפועלים המאוחדת lit for the town in Mozambique see Mapai Mozambique Mapai (מפא"י an acronym for Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael (מפלגת Those tendencies caused Ben-Gurion to order the dissolving of Palmach in 1948. Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

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 properly 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. (לֵוִי אֶשְׁכּוֹל born Levi Školnik (לֵוִי שׁקוֹלנִיק on 25 October 1895, died 26 February 1969) Golda Meir ( גּוֹלְדָּה מֵאִיר جولدا مائير born Golda Mabovitch, 3 May 1898 - 8 December 1978 known as Golda Myerson from 1917-1956 Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He died in 1980.

The best known Palmachnik in Israeli politics was Yitzchak Rabin of the Israeli Labour party. Others included Moshe Dayan, Chaim Bar-Lev and Mordechai Gur. Moshe Dayan, DSO (משה דיין born 20 May 1915 died 16 October 1981 was an Israeli military leader and politician Haim "Kidoni" Bar-Lev (חיים בר-לב born Haim Brotzlewsky on 16 November 1924, died 7 May 1994) was a military Lt Gen Mordechai "Motta" Gur (מרדכי "מוטה" גור born 6 May 1930, died 16 July 1995) was an Israeli

Palmachniks can be found everywhere in Israeli politics. Besides left-wing activists such as Mattityahu Peled, Yair Tsaban and Shulamit Aloni, Palmach veterans include Israeli nationalists such as Rehavam Zeevi and Rafael Eitan. Mattityahu "Matti" Peled (מתתיהו "מתי" פלד born Mattityahu Ifland on 20 July 1923, died 10 March 1995 Yair Tzaban (יאיר צבן born 23 August 1930) is an Israeli politician academic and social activist Shulamit Aloni (שולמית אלוני born November 29 1928) is an Israeli politician and left-wing activist (רחבעם "גנדי" זאבי born 20 June 1926, died 17 October 2001) was an Israeli general Politician Rafael "Raful" Eitan (רפאל "רפול" איתן born 11 January 1929 - 23 November, 2004) was an Israeli

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:

Notable Palmachniks

See also

External links

Bibliography

Aluf (Major General Shmuel "Shmulik" Tankus (שמואל טנקוס born 14 November 1914) was the fifth commander of the Israeli Sea Corps Shmuel "Samek" Yanai (שמואל "סמק" ינאי born 1921 is a former Israeli naval commander and today chair of the Atlit Museum of Illegal Immigration The Syria-Lebanon campaign, also known as Operation Exporter, was the Allied invasion of Vichy French -controlled Syria and Lebanon
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