Eliyahu Tamler (simetimes rendered as Temler, ; August 25, 1919 – April 29, 1948) was Romanian

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 ...

and senior commander in 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 paramilitary group (also known as Etzel), who fought in the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine.

Biography

Eliyahu Tamler was born in 1919 in

Zastavna Zastavna (, ; ) is a small city in Chernivtsi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast of Ukraine. Zastavna is located to the north of the city of Chernivtsi, in the historical region of Bukovina. It hosts the administration of Zastavna urban hromada, one of ...

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

(in present-day Ukraine), as Eduard Samuel Tamler, to Abraham and Sabina Tamler. His father died when he was 13 years old. He studied at a school in his hometown and at a gymnasium in the neighboring city of

Cernăuți Chernivtsi (, ; , ;, , see also #Names, other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivt ...

. His father was a

activist. Eliyahu enrolled at the University of Cernăuți, but didn't graduate. In 1939, he immigrated to

Eretz Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definitions ...

, then

Mandate Palestine The Mandate for Palestine was a League of Nations mandate for British administration of the territories of Palestine and Transjordanwhich had been part of the Ottoman Empire for four centuriesfollowing the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in Wo ...

, as an immigrant on the ship Parita, which sailed from the port of

Constanța Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...

on July 12, carrying 857

Beitar 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 ...

activists, and after 42 days it arrived at the coast of

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. Upon his arrival, Tamler joined the Beitar groups operating in Mandate Palestine. He later became part of the

underground and was active in its ranks. In 1942, Tamler was arrested by the British Mandate authorities 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 ...

and sent to a detention camp near

Mizra Mizra () is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located between Afula and Nazareth, it falls under the jurisdiction of Jezreel Valley Regional Council. In it had a population of . History Kibbutz Mizra was established during Hanukkah in 1923 by the fi ...

, from where he was released in March 1943. After his release, he was appointed commander of the Irgun's operational activity in the

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva (, ), also spelt Petah Tiqwa and known informally as Em HaMoshavot (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of the Old Y ...

District and later in Tel Aviv District. As part of this role, he planned and carried out a large number of actions against the British authorities, such as the capture of a truck carrying explosives en route to the Migdal Tzedek quarries, the blowing up of communication pillars in the Petach Tikva area (1945), the capture of weapons from the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

's warehouses in

Sarafand Sarafand or Sarafend (Ṣarafand / صرفند) is an Arabic rendition of the Phoenician place-name *Ṣrpt. Places * Sarafand, Lebanon, also spelled Sarafend ** Sarepta, an ancient Phoenician city at the location of the modern Lebanese town * T ...

, the attack on the immigration and customs offices in

(February 12, 1944), the blowing up of oil pipelines (May 1945), the capture of explosives from the

Solel Boneh Solel Boneh (, lit. ''Paving and Building'') is the oldest, and one of the largest, construction and civil engineering companies in Israel. History During British rule (1921–1948) Solel Boneh was founded in 1921 in British-ruled Palestine, ...

Company warehouses (August 1945), the attack on the Haifa police building (September 29, 1945) and the attack on the

Lydda Lod (, ), also known as Lydda () and Lidd (, or ), is a city southeast of Tel Aviv and northwest of Jerusalem in the Central District of Israel. It is situated between the lower Shephelah on the east and the coastal plain on the west. The ci ...

railway station during the

Night of the Trains The Night of the Trains (or Operation Party) was a sabotage operation of the British railways in Palestine (" Palestine Railways") on November 1, 1945. The operation was one of the first carried out by the Jewish Resistance Movement, before its ...

(1 November 1945). On 2 April 1946, he was caught by the British carrying a weapon, sentenced to seven years in prison and detained in the

Jerusalem Central Prison Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the oldest cities in the world, and is considered holy to the three major Abrahamic religions—Juda ...

. He was the leader of the Irgun within the prison, but lacked the authority to authorise particularly controversial plans such as martyrdom operations. On 20 February 1948, together with 11 other Irgun and Lehi prisoners, he managed to dig a tunnel and escape from prison. After his escape, he was appointed to a central role in the Irgun's national headquarters. On 29 April 1948, Tamler was one of the Etzel commanders in the Battle of Jaffa. During this operation, he was hit by a British bombshell and killed.

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'', ; (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of both Herut and Likud and the prime minister of Israel. Before the creation of the state of Isra ...

, who knew him closely, praised him, saying that "Eliyahu is gone - there was nobody better in the organization than him". He was buried in the

Nahalat Yitzhak Cemetery Nahalat Yitzhak Cemetery () is a Jews, Jewish municipal burial ground in the Tel Aviv District city of Givatayim, Israel, east of the Nahalat Yitzhak neighborhood of Tel Aviv. Founded in 1932, it includes more than 30,000 graves, including those ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamler, Eliyahu 1919 births 1948 deaths Betar members Bukovina Jews Escapees from British military detention Israeli military personnel killed in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War Romanian escapees Romanian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Romanian people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Romanian Zionists Irgun members People from Chernivtsi Oblast People convicted by British military courts People convicted of illegal possession of weapons Prisoners and detainees of Mandatory Palestine Deaths from explosion Members of Aliyah Bet