The Palmach
The Palmach, an acronym for “Pelugot
Hamahatz,” meaning striking force,
was established as part of the Haganah on
May 19, 1941, due to fears of a German invasion
of Palestine. The force originally
consisted of nine assault companies: three in the
northern Galilee, two in central Galilee, two
in southern Galilee, and one in Jerusalem. Like
the kibbutz movement,
the Palmach promoted the values of mutual responsibility,
assistance, sacrifice and contribution to the
greater good. In fact, Palmach bases were situated
on kibbutzim,
so members of the Palmach were responsible for
their agricultural tasks as well as their military
training exercises. This social framework created
by the Palmach was considered to be the core
of the Sabra, or native born Israeli.
The Palmach
launched pre-emptive strikes into Syrian and Lebanese
territory, frequently sending members fluent in
Arabic in Arab dress into Syria and Lebanon to
sabotage and scout targets. The Palmach grew to
12 companies. It played a central role during the War
of Independence, the height of Palmach activity.
Of the 12 Haganah brigades,
three were Palmach brigades, considered the “tip
of the spear” during the war and in the establishment
of the Israel
Defense Forces.
Palmach leaders
included Yigal Allon, Moshe
Dayan, Yitzhak Rabin, Haim Bar-Lev, Uzi
Narkiss and Ezer Weizman.
Sources: The Pedagogic
Center, The Department for Jewish Zionist Education, The Jewish Agency for
Israel, (c) 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, Director: Dr. Motti Friedman, Webmaster:
Esther Carciente |