Avshalom Haviv
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Avshalom Haviv (; June 18, 1926 – July 29, 1947) was a member of the
Irgun The Irgun (), officially the National Military Organization in the Land of Israel, often abbreviated as Etzel or IZL (), was a Zionist paramilitary organization that operated in Mandatory Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of th ...
underground organization in
Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...
, and one of the Olei Hagardom executed by the British authorities during the Jewish insurgency in Palestine. His hanging, along with that of two other Irgun members, triggered the Irgun's retaliatory hangings of two British sergeants.


Childhood and adolescence

Avshalom Haviv was born on June 18, 1926 ( Tammuz 6, 5686, according to the
Jewish calendar The Hebrew calendar (), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance and as an official calendar of Israel. It determines the dates of Jewish holidays and other rituals, such as ''yahrzeits ...
), in
Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...
. His father, Eliezer Haviv, was a well-known leather merchant. His mother was Rivkah Haviv. Haviv grew up and received his education in
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
, residing with his family on Straus Street. In his youth, he studied at the , and as a high school student in Beit Hakerem he was drawn towards
Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
ideas. His school essays expressed opinions on the achievements of the Zionist party and the policy of the
British government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
, which then ruled Palestine. In an essay entitled "The Aspirations of an Enslaved Youth" he included the passage:
My aspiration is: one language will take hold in the land, not German, not Yiddish will be spoken in the land of Israel, but rather the language of the Tanakh, the ancient language of Hebrew. My ambition is the
aliyah ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...
of all of the nation of Israel into the land of Israel and those that will dwell here on the two sides of the Jordan river, and the land that was promised to us by the English will be only ours. In this hoped-for time there will be here a Hebrew state like all states. ''Amen, ken yihyeh ratson!'' Amen, may it be your will!", a phrase used in the Jewish liturgy/blockquote>


The underground

At age 15, Haviv joined the
Irgun The Irgun (), officially the National Military Organization in the Land of Israel, often abbreviated as Etzel or IZL (), was a Zionist paramilitary organization that operated in Mandatory Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of th ...
Zionist underground movement and received the nickname "Efraim." He was initially part of Hatam - the Irgun's propaganda unit. On finishing high school, Haviv joined the
Palmach The Palmach (Hebrew: , acronym for , ''Plugot Maḥatz'', "Strike Phalanges/Companies") was the elite combined strike forces and sayeret unit of the Haganah, the paramilitary organization of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of th ...
, the elite fighting force of the
Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...
as a condition for being allowed to study at university, as the
Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel (), formerly known as the Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. It was established in 1929 as the operative branch of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). As an ...
obliged all Jewish high school graduates to spend a year either working on a kibbutz or serving in the Palmach. He underwent military training at
Ein Harod Ein Harod () was a kibbutz in northern Israel near Mount Gilboa. Founded in 1921, it became the center of Mandatory Israel's kibbutz movement, hosting the headquarters of the largest kibbutz organisation, HaKibbutz HaMeuhad. In 1923 part of the ...
. On October 10, 1945, he participated in a Palmach raid on the Atlit detainee camp to free Holocaust survivors being held by the British authorities as illegal immigrants. The raid freed 208 inmates, among them Yaakov Weiss, who would go on to join the Irgun and eventually be hanged alongside Haviv. About a month after his release from the Palmach, he returned to Jerusalem and began to study Hebrew literature, philosophy, and economics at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...
, and at the same time returned to the Irgun. Gradually, he spent more and more time on operations with the Combat Corps of the Irgun (the HaK, ''hayil kravi''), and as a result ended his university studies. In many operations, Haviv took on the job of machine gunner, mainly participating in attacks on the British police's
Criminal Investigation Department The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes criminal investigation, detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is disti ...
(CID) in Jerusalem and on the government income tax offices, as well as in mining operations in the Jerusalem-Bethlehem area against British security traffic. On January 19, 1946, Haviv participated in a joint Irgun- Lehi attack on the Central Prison in Jerusalem's Russian Compound in a failed attempt to free Jewish underground prisoners, in which one of the raiders and a British soldier and policeman were killed. On March 1, 1947, Haviv took part in an Irgun attack on a British officer's club in Goldschmidt House, which was in Jerusalem's Russian Compound. The attack took place on
Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...
, and Haviv, who was traditionally religious, left the
synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
during prayer. Haviv provided covering fire with a Bren gun for an Irgun sapper team which tossed explosive charges into the Goldschmidt House, leveling the building. During the operation, Haviv burned his hand on the gun barrel, but stayed at his post until the end of the mission. Haviv took part in the
Acre Prison break The Acre Prison break was an operation undertaken by the Irgun on May 4, 1947, in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate of Palestine, in which its men broke through the walls of the Acre Prison, Central Prison in Acre, Israel, Acre and freed ...
on May 4, 1947, in which Irgun fighters raided Acre Prison to free Jewish underground prisoners. Haviv was the leader of a blocking squad that laid mines to delay British pursuers, allowing the getaway trucks carrying escaped prisoners and retreating raiders to escape. Dov Salomon, a senior commander participating in the operation who was responsible for calling away the blocking squads, forgot to tell Haviv that the operation was over. As a result, his squad was left behind during the withdrawal. During the retreat from Acre Prison, other Irgun members shouted at him that the operation was over, but Haviv felt he had to wait for a formal order from Salomon before withdrawing. Thus, his team did not withdraw from their post. Haviv and four other men;
Meir Nakar Meir Nakar (; July 26, 1926 – July 29, 1947) was a member of the Irgun in pre-state Mandatory Palestine and one of 12 Olei Hagardom. Early life and army service Meir Nakar was born in Jerusalem to a poor Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox-Jewish famil ...
, Yaakov Weiss, Amnon Michaelov, and Nahman Zitterbaum, were left behind. Haviv and his men were still at their post when the British arrived. Accounts as to what happened next vary. According to some sources, they managed to hold the British at bay until their ammunition ran out, while the prosecutor allegedly stated that Haviv claimed to be a Haganah observer when he was arrested.Cornfield, Giveon and Seligman, Max: ''Zion Liberated'', p. 193


Trial and verdict

The trial began on Wednesday, May 28, 1947, after a delay of two days due to Yaakov Weiss' illness. The judges were Colonel M.E. Fell (the President of the Court), Major D. Lee Hunter, and Captain I. Stewart. The accused sang the Zionist anthem
Hatikvah Hatikvah (, ; ) is the national anthem of the Israel, State of Israel. Part of 19th-century Jewish literature, Jewish poetry, the theme of the Romantic poetry, Romantic composition reflects the 2,000-year-old desire of the Jews, Jewish people ...
to the members of the court, whereupon the judges stood up to be later rebuked by the presiding judge for shaming the court. Haviv asked to read a declaration in response to the judge's question, but was told by the President of the Court that he was there to answer questions, not to recite declarations. When Haviv insisted, two policemen were ordered to bring him forward by force. Meanwhile, the accused disrupted the trial by not answering the judge's questions, asking their friends to answer for them, or alternatively got up from their places or pretended to doze off. When witnesses were called to testify, the defendants chatted among themselves and exchanged jokes. In isolated incidents the defendants referred to the events preceding their trial. Avshalom got up and asked one of the witnesses, a British soldier who was present during his detention: "Can you explain to me precisely what you meant when you said to me 'gas chambers are a game compared to what is expected for you in Israel'?" When they weren't answering questions, the defendants continued to talk amongst themselves and to draw caricatures of members of the court. The trial lasted 14 days and 35 witnesses were called before the time came for the defense to present its case. The defendants, who originally opposed the authority of the court to judge them, also opposed defense proceedings. Despite this each defendant prepared a long affidavit with statements opposing tyrannical British rule, which were delivered on June 10, 1947. In his affidavit, Haviv equated the
Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...
and
American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
to the Jewish underground struggle: He finished his speech with these words: On June 16 the court convened at 11:10. Lieutenant Colonel Norman, vice commander of the British forces in Palestine also attended the proceedings. The lawyers entered 15 minutes late and complained to the presiding judge about being subjected to a security check. This was part of the enormous ring of protection surrounding the court. The check even extended to cigarette cases, matches, and fountain pens. In unison, the indicted parties sat bound and sang songs from the
Betar The Betar Movement (), also spelled Beitar (), is a Revisionist Zionism, Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Ze'ev Jabotinsky, Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky. It was one of several right-wing youth movements tha ...
Revisionist Zionist youth movement, which were translated for the many foreign journalists in attendance. The defendants entered the hall under heavy guard with chains on their hands and legs. It was reported that Haviv refused to raise his legs for the manacles to be put on and in a loud voice answered the British jailer "If the British mandate wants to put handcuffs on me, may it submit!" The shackles were only removed shortly before the assembly of the panel of the court. The accused reassured their families "We will yet laugh at them, and if not us, others will laugh." The presiding judge declared that all accused had been found guilty of discharging a firearm and illegally possessing explosives. At the request of the judges, lawyers brought forward documents concerning the ages of Michaelov and Nachman Zitterbaum. Consultation over the verdict lasted for nearly two hours during which time observers and journalists were transferred by the police to a grated porch under the sun. The resentment of the journalists over this "confinement" didn't help. After two hours, the presiding judge entered the hall wearing a red hat, a sign that the verdict was death. He informed the condemned that they were sentenced to "hanging until their spirit departs". Amnon Michaelov and Nachman Zitterbaum were sentenced to imprisonment "until the commissioner chooses to free them" due to their youth. When they heard the verdict, the accused started singing, with the crowd in the hall joining them in a rendition of "
Hatikvah Hatikvah (, ; ) is the national anthem of the Israel, State of Israel. Part of 19th-century Jewish literature, Jewish poetry, the theme of the Romantic poetry, Romantic composition reflects the 2,000-year-old desire of the Jews, Jewish people ...
". Immediately afterwards, the entire crowd was put onto the barred porch for three quarters of an hour until the jury left. It was reported that the crowd were told anyone trying to leave would "be shot where they stood". The condemned parties were loaded into an armored vehicle that then made its way to the Acre Prison. Haviv's mother exercised self-control when the verdict was declared and remained silent throughout. According to the newspaper ''
Davar ''Davar'' (, lit. ''Speech, Word'') was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in the British Mandate of Palestine and Israel between 1925 and May 1996. A similarly named website was launched in 2016, under the name ''Davar Rishon'' as an ...
'', which carried out investigations in Haviv's household, his family had held on to the hope that he would be saved through a visit by the UN council. Haviv sent a message to his family: "We are ready to sabotage, the question is how ready are you for it?" On the 29th of Tammuz, anniversary of the release of Irgun leader
Ze'ev Jabotinsky Ze'ev Jabotinsky (born Vladimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky; 17 October 1880  – 3 August 1940) was a Russian-born author, poet, orator, soldier, and founder of the Revisionist Zionist movement and the Jewish Self-Defense Organization in O ...
, Haviv and the two other condemned men were promoted from group leader (''rosh kvutza'') to sergeant (''samal''). The Irgun approached the UN council and asked them to annul the death sentence. This was in light of the UN calling on all sides to refrain from violence during the investigation, and also based on a similar event that had occurred in
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
along with the fact that no one from the security forces lost their life in the attack on the Acre Prison – the only victims were underground fighters. During the UN council investigation, support developed for intervention in the affair, but after the matter was brought to the chairman of the council and after stormy deliberations behind closed doors, it was decided on June 23 not to adopt a position contrary to the decision of the British mandate. A hostile government request for a conference concerning the three convicts worsened relations between the parties, and shortened the duration of the UN Council's stay.
David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary List of national founders, national founder and first Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister of the State of Israel. As head of the Jewish Agency ...
,
Chaim Weizmann Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( ; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born Israeli statesman, biochemist, and Zionist leader who served as president of the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organization and later as the first pre ...
, and the chief rabbis, all pleaded with the chief commissioner for amnesty. Many other bodies joined in the call for amnesty, including the council of the Sephardic union, the council of
Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...
, American students, and even the ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'' and
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newspapers. The convicted men passed their time in the chamber studying and reciting
Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...
. When the prisoners' rabbi Aryeh Levin visited them they received him happily and asked him to report that they were in strong condition. On July 8 at 01:00 the army commander confirmed the verdicts. In due course the Irgun would capture two British sergeants and guarantee that if the death sentence went ahead, they would hang the sergeants as " an eye for an eye".


Ascending the gallows

On the night of Monday, July 28, the prisoners heard the sound of the Hatikvah coming from the condemned men's cells. Suddenly the rumor spread that they would be hanged that night. Throughout the whole night the three condemned men sang songs of the underground and the rebellion. At 02:00, the chief Sephardic Rabbi of
Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...
, Nissim Ohana, came to see them. He spent fifteen minutes encouraging them, although the Rabbi ended up being heartened by the prisoners. Amnon Michaelov, who was judged with them and was in Acre Prison at the same time testified: Michaelov says that later that night the doors of the corridor opened and the hangman approached the convicts' cell together with some policemen, a military doctor and the manager of the prison in
Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...
. Some time afterwards, prisoners once more heard the "Hatikvah" breaking from the area of the
oubliette A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably derives more from the Renaissance period. An oubliette (fr ...
. All Jewish prisoners then joined in the singing, which rang throughout the building. After twenty minutes, at 04:00 on Tuesday, the prisoners heard Haviv singing Hatikvah as he was led to the gallows. His voice then stopped when he was hanged at 4:03. Haviv died on July 29 at the age of 21. Meir followed and like Haviv, sang until his last moments. Twenty minutes later his body was brought out, and at 04:25 Yaakov Weiss ascended the gallows, where he too sang the "Hatikvah" with other prisoners joining in.


Aftermath

On the following day, July 30, at 10:00, the funeral cortege of the three fighters proceeded towards the graveyard in Safed Old Jewish Cemetery in a convoy led by a military vehicle followed by a family car and the "
chevra kadisha The term ''chevra kadisha'' () gained its modern sense of "burial society" in the nineteenth century. It is an organization of Jewish men and women who see to it that the bodies of deceased Jews are prepared for burial according to Jewish tra ...
". Nakar was first to be buried followed by Weiss and Haviv. The shock among Jewish communities in Mandatory Palestine was deep at the time, coming as it did on top of the SS Exodus incident. Charlton resigned as manager of the Acre Prison on the same day. It is known that he refused to execute the men personally and a replacement had to be brought in. On July 30, the Irgun carried out its threat to kill the two British sergeants it had kidnapped earlier. The soldiers were hanged and their bodies booby-trapped and left in a grove near
Netanya Netanya () () or Natanya (), is a city in the "Planet Bekasi" Central District (Israel), Setanyahu of Israel, Israel BAB ih, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between the Poleg stre ...
. This operation shocked Britain, despite the explicit threat beforehand, and brought to an end hanging of Jews in the British Mandate of Palestine. Meir Nakar, Yaakov Weiss and Avshalom Haviv were the last to ascend the British gallows. Today, Haviv, along with the other Olei Hagardom, is revered as a national hero in Israel. Streets have been named for him, and postage stamps bearing his image have been issued. The letters he wrote to his family and girlfriend Gila have since been compiled into a book titled ''Four Steps to the Gallows''.


See also

* Olei Hagardom


References


Further reading

* * *
trove.nla.gov.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haviv, Avshalom 1926 births 1947 deaths Executed Palestinian people Irgun members Palmach members People from Haifa Olei Hagardom (Palestine) People convicted of illegal possession of weapons Burials at the Old Jewish Cemetery, Safed