Meir Meivar
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Meir Meivar (; born Meir Meiberg;
Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...
,
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 ...
, 1918 –
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 ...
,
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, 2000), was 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 ...
commander of the city of Safed during the
1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...
. Meivar was the mayor of Safed in 1965–1966.


Biography

Meir Meiberg (later Meivar) was born to an
Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...
family. His mother, Tova (née Libman), was born in
Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...
. His father, Yehuda,
immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...
from
Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...
and served on the municipal council of Safed. Meir studied in a
Cheder A ''cheder'' (, lit. 'room'; Yiddish pronunciation: ''khéyder'') is a traditional primary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language. History ''Cheders'' were widely found in Europe before the end of the 18th century. L ...
and later a
Talmud Torah Talmud Torah (, lit. 'Study of the Torah') schools were created in the Jewish world, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic, as a form of religious school for boys of modest backgrounds, where they were given an elementary education in Hebrew language, H ...
(Jewish religious schools). When he was eleven years old, Meir witnessed the murder of a Jewish neighbor during the
1929 Palestine riots The 1929 Palestine riots, Buraq Uprising (, ) or the Events of 1929 (, , ''lit.'' Events of 5689 Anno Mundi), was a series of demonstrations and riots in late August 1929 in which a longstanding dispute between Palestinian Arabs and Jews ove ...
, in which 20 Safed Jews were killed by local Arabs. According to his memoirs, the event deeply influenced him. At the age of 15, he studied at the Scottish College in Safed, where the students were mostly
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
and
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
. He graduated in 1938.


Military career

Meivar was fourteen when he joined the ranks 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 courier boy. After a short while in
Maccabi youth movement Maccabi Hatzair, also known as Young Maccabi or the Maccabi youth movement (, ''HaMaccabi HaTza'ir''), is a Zionist youth movement established during the international convention of the Maccabi World Union in Prague, Czech Republic in 1929. As the ...
, he moved to serve with
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 ...
and was soon assigned as the commander of the local branch, taking in parallel also the command of the " Etzel" in Safed. This lasted until 1940, when the Etzel split into "Etzel" and " Lehi". In his book, Meivar describes his involvement with various youth movements as a character building experience, and emphasizes that volunteering for multiple organizations, sometimes with contradicting ideologies, did not interfere with his evolvement as a future commander. In 1938 Meivar formally joined the fighting forces of Haganah; his first commander was Miriam Stern. A short while after the Arab revolt and massacres of Tiberias, he was sent to an officers’ course. Most of his activities involved evading British troops, and helping Safed acquire ammunition and weapons. The overall goal was to prepare for future revolts and battles. However, in 1939, at the beginning of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the Arab revolts in Mandatory Palestine ceased. Although Haganah recommended assisting the British by providing them with some troops, Meivar refused. In his book, he justifies this decision, claiming that he was already part of four different military courses, and dealing with the tension between Etzel and Haganah, which peaked at 1940. Eventually, Meivar's meeting with
Avraham Stern Avraham Stern (, ''Avraham Shtern''; December 23, 1907 – February 12, 1942), alias Yair (), was one of the leaders of the Jewish paramilitary organization Irgun. In September 1940, he founded a breakaway militant Zionist group named Lehi, c ...
(founder of Lehi) was one of the key influences leading to his leaving of Etzel. In 1944, Meivar was appointed the commander of Safed by Giora Shanan, the Deputy
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 ...
Commander. According to Meivar's book, at the time the Haganah forces in Safed had approximately 100 troopers. One of his immediate goals was to recruit more people. His motivation was the prevalent conflict and the imminent battles. Since he grew up as a commander in the lines of Etzel, he was able to convince his former fighters to join the Haganah training. Later, in the 1948 War, those same fighters completely united with the Haganah forces, resulting in a better ability to defend the city.


1948 War

Preparations for the war began more than 10 years before it actually begun. In 1936, Meivar participated in devising an overall defense plan to protect Safed's Jewish quarter. His role included setting the positions, stocking them with ammunition, defining sectors and conducting mental preparations of the fighters. These arrangements, made with Mordechai Leibovitz (Ben-Ari), were the cornerstone of Safed's Jewish quarter defense, which was later proved essential. When
Yitzhak Sadeh Yitzhak Sadeh (; born Izaak Landoberg, August 10, 1890 – August 20, 1952), was the commander of the Palmach and one of the founders of the Israel Defense Forces at the time of the establishment of the State of Israel. Biography Sadeh was bo ...
, the Palmach chief commander, was asked about the situation in Safed, he said that the one who will control the city's fortress, will be able to take control over the whole city. Hence the title of Meivar's book, "At the Shadow of the Fortress" (In Hebrew: "בצל המצודה"). In December 1947, Haganah forces in the Jewish quarter counted around 250 fighters. The Arab forces had around 3,000 fighters (according to the memoirs of Colonel Wasfi al-Tal, one of the leaders of the
Arab Liberation Army The Arab Liberation Army (ALA; , better translated as Arab Rescue Army (ARA) or Arab Salvation Army (ASA), was an army of volunteers from Arab countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji. It fought on the Arab side in the 1948 Palestine war. It was set ...
). The Jewish leadership did not know the real size of their opponents, a fact that increased their deep concerns during the pre-war period The battles over Safed begun on January 2, 1948, and their frequency increased until a siege was declared in April 1948. Without civil authorities in charge, the military sector commanders have become “civil governors” de facto, led by Meivar. He had to continuously make both civil and military decisions. Among his notable decisions was his choice to invest resources in improving the Jewish citizens’
morale Morale ( , ) is the capacity of a group's members to maintain belief in an institution or goal, particularly in the face of opposition or hardship. Morale is often referenced by authority figures as a generic value judgment of the willpower, ...
. Through “The Voice of Safed” (Hebrew: קול צפת), a leaflet printed and distributed using underground methods, he tried to maintain a cohesive community. Another major decision was related to conduct in battle: he instructed his fighters to detonate a
grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...
upon themselves and the enemy, in case they were captured. Although this was a military instruction, it was not given as a military command. On April 16, 1948, the
British forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, support international peacekeeping ef ...
, which had a mandate of the region at the time, started evacuating the city. The Arab forces tried a surprise attack, striking the Jewish side while they were defenseless; Syrian, Lebanese and Iraqi flags were posted on the local police station. The Jewish response was posting a blue-and-white flag on Merkazi hotel. By night, Meivar led a complex operation. That operation resulted in the blasting of the Scottish Church of Safed by the Arab forces and the blasting of the police station by the Jewish forces. Since the
electric generator In electricity generation, a generator, also called an ''electric generator'', ''electrical generator'', and ''electromagnetic generator'' is an electromechanical device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy for use in an externa ...
was damaged, the whole city was blacked-out. Thanks to emergency
telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...
s,
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 ...
forces armed with
Davidka The Davidka (, ''"Little David"'' or ''"Made by David"'' ) was a homemade Israeli mortar used in Safed and Jerusalem during 1947–1949 Palestine war. Its bombs were reported to be extremely loud, but very inaccurate and otherwise of little val ...
mortars were sent to reinforce the Haganah fighters, and the city came under the full control of the Jewish forces by May 11, 1948. Throughout the battles Meivar maintained his composure, except on May 8, when a bomb shell penetrated the bedroom of his wife Sarah and his two children, Yair (four years old at the time) and Drora (two months old). Yigal Alon, the commander of the Palmach and Meivar's closest friend, wrote in his book that the liberation of Safed was complex due to its
topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...
: flanking the Arab forces was practically impossible. However, the wise identification of the city's key strategic points, the fortress, the police station and Bet Shalva, helped focus the firepower and gain strategic advantage.


Political and business career

After the war Meivar stayed in
Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...
and turned to serve the local community, holding various local government positions. For several years he was member of Safed's
municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...
as a representative of
Gahal Gahal (, an acronym for ''Gush Herut–Liberalim'' (Hebrew: ), ''lit.'' ''Freedom–Liberals Bloc'') was the main right-leaning political alliance in Israel, ranging from the centre-right to right-wing, from its founding in 1965 until the establi ...
. During the 1960s he was elected as the mayor of Safed. It was the first time a non-
Mapai Mapai (, an abbreviation for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', ) was a Labor Zionist and democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in January ...
member was acting mayor. However, his coalition did not last until the end of his term. Later, Meivar worked as a branch manager for the
First International Bank of Israel The First International Bank of Israel () is an Israel-based bank. Its commercial base consists primarily of large corporate clients as well as end-market consumers.Mountain of Canaan. After almost twenty years of operation, the
motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the Parking lot, parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central Lobby (room), lo ...
was sold and converted into the dormitories of Zefat Academic College. He was among the founders of local
Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
branch, and its first president. During his term as president of the Safed branch of
Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and p ...
, he initiated the planting of the Paul Harris Peace Forest, which still thrives in the
Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...
in northern
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. Meivar moved to
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 ...
in the late 1980s. In the 1990s he received the honour of Yakir Safed (“honorable of Safed”), for his contributions during the 1948 War and his achievements as a local business owner, particularly his success with Motel Zefat. Meivar changed his surname in 1948 from Meiberg (מייברג) to Meivar (מיבר). He married Sarah, a Safed native, and he fathered three children: Yair, a naval engineer, Drora, an organizational psychologist, and Ruth, an Insurance consultant. He had eight grandchildren: Yael (murdered in a
terrorist attack Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war a ...
in 1998), Jonathan, Boaz, Ariel, Yoav, Galia, Ehud and Alon.


Published works

* ''In the Shadow of the Fortress''


References


Further reading

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Meivar, Meir 1918 births 2000 deaths Haganah members Irgun members Israeli generals Israeli military personnel of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War 20th-century Israeli Jews Jews from Mandatory Palestine Mayors of places in Israel People from Safed Burials at the Old Jewish Cemetery, Safed