Alexandroni Brigade

Alexandroni Brigade
חטיבת אלכסנדרוני
Brigade insignia
Active1948–present
Country Israel
Allegiance Israeli Ground Forces
BranchInfantry
TypeReserves
Size5 battalions
Part of91st Division, Northern Command
Engagements
Commanders
Current
commander		Colonel Moshe Passal

The 3rd "Alexandroni" Brigade (Hebrew: חטיבת אלכסנדרוני, Hativat Aleksandroni) is an Israel Defense Forces brigade which has fought in many of Israel's wars.[1]

Organization

  • 3rd Infantry Brigade "Alexandroni" (Reserve)
    • 7012th Infantry Battalion
    • 8101st Infantry Battalion
    • 9203rd Infantry Battalion
    • (6609th) Reconnaissance Battalion "Alexandroni"
    • 5280th Combat Engineer Battalion
    • Logistic Battalion
    • Signal Company

Role in Tantura massacre

Main article: Tantura massacre

During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, around 40–200 Palestinian Arab villagers from Tantura were killed in a massacre perpetrated by the Alexandroni Brigade, which at the time was one of six field forces of the Haganah.[2] The massacre, which took place on the night of 22–23 May 1948, occurred following the surrender of Tantura, a village of roughly 1,500 people in 1945 located near Haifa. The bodies of the victims were buried in mass graves, one of which was later covered and a carpark constructed above it.[3][4]

In 1998, an Israeli researcher Teddy Katz interviewed and taped Israeli and Palestinian witnesses to events at Tantura in 1948 and wrote a master's thesis at Haifa University claiming that Israeli units committed a massacre of Palestinians at Tantura. The veterans of the brigade sued Katz for libel. Katz was forced to retract his conclusion and to apologize.[5]

In 2023, an Israeli documentary was published on the Tantura massacre, which interviewed and filmed Katz, as well as several veterans, who agreed to talk about the events.[6] The movie was harshly criticized by the historian Benny Morris, who characterized the documentary as "basically fraudulent".[7]

  • Alexandroni Brigade memorial overlooking Latrun police station
    Alexandroni Brigade memorial overlooking Latrun police station
  • Alexandroni Brigade memorial in Netanya
    Alexandroni Brigade memorial in Netanya
  • Mass grave of 87 Alexandroni soldiers fallen in the "Faluja Pocket" during the War of Independence, buried by the Egyptians and reburied in 1949 in Kiryat Gat
    Mass grave of 87 Alexandroni soldiers fallen in the "Faluja Pocket" during the War of Independence, buried by the Egyptians and reburied in 1949 in Kiryat Gat
  • Memorial in Qaqun with Bible citation from Zephaniah 3:19
    Memorial in Qaqun with Bible citation from Zephaniah 3:19
  • Dan Even (Epstein), commander of the Alexandroni Brigade
    Dan Even (Epstein), commander of the Alexandroni Brigade

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Alexandroni Brigade". Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  2. ^ "The Tantura Massacre, 22–23 May 1948". Journal of Palestine Studies. 30 (3): 5–18. 2001. doi:10.1525/jps.2001.30.3.5.
  3. ^ "UK study of 1948 Israeli massacre of Palestinian village reveals mass grave sites". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Executions and Mass Graves in Tantura". Forensic Architecture. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  5. ^ Aderet, Ofer (8 June 2022). "Israeli University Head Slams Research on 1948 Tantura Massacre 'Used to Advance Political Agenda'". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022.
  6. ^ "'Tantura' director: Israelis have been lied to for years about alleged 1948 massacre". Times of Israel. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  7. ^ Morris, Benny (7 October 2022). "The Tantura Myth: It Makes No Sense That Palestinian Villagers Never Mentioned a Massacre". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022.
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