Alexandroni Brigade
{{Short description|Israeli military unit}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = Alexandroni Brigade
| native_name = חטיבת אלכסנדרוני
| image = Alexandroni.svg
| image_size = 150
| caption = Brigade insignia
| dates = 1948–present
| country = {{flag|Israel}}
| allegiance = {{army|Israel}}
| command_structure = 91st Division, Northern Command
| branch = Infantry
| type = Reserves
| specialization =
| size = 5 battalions
| garrison =
| commander1 = Colonel Moshe Passal
| nickname =
| motto =
| colors =
| march =
| mascot =
| battles = {{tree list}}
- 1948 Arab–Israeli War
- Operation Ben Nun Alef
- Six-Day War
- Yom Kippur War
- 1982 Lebanon War
- 2006 Lebanon War
- Israeli invasion of Lebanon (2024–present)
{{tree list/end}}
| notable_commanders =
| anniversaries =
| identification_symbol =
}}
The 3rd "Alexandroni" Brigade ({{langx|he|חטיבת אלכסנדרוני}}, Hativat Aleksandroni) is an Israel Defense Forces brigade which has fought in many of Israel's wars.{{cite web|url=https://www.alexandroni.co.il/en/66/|title=The Alexandroni Brigade|accessdate=9 September 2023}}
Organization
{{tree list}}
- 25px 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
{{tree list/end}}
Role in Tantura massacre
{{Main|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.{{cite journal |title=The Tantura Massacre, 22–23 May 1948 |journal=Journal of Palestine Studies |volume=30 |issue=3 |date=2001 |pages=5–18 |doi=10.1525/jps.2001.30.3.5 |url=https://ciaotest.cc.columbia.edu/olj/jps/tantura.html}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/25/study-1948-israeli-massacre-tantura-palestinian-village-mass-graves-car-park|title=UK study of 1948 Israeli massacre of Palestinian village reveals mass grave sites|accessdate=9 September 2023|work= The Guardian}}{{cite web|url=https://forensic-architecture.org/investigation/executions-and-mass-graves-in-tantura-23-may-1948|title=Executions and Mass Graves in Tantura|work=Forensic Architecture|accessdate=9 September 2023}}
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.{{cite news |last1=Aderet |first1=Ofer |title=Israeli University Head Slams Research on 1948 Tantura Massacre 'Used to Advance Political Agenda' |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2022-06-08/ty-article/.premium/for-political-agenda-haifa-uni-head-slams-thesis-on-alleged-tantura-massacre/00000181-425b-df72-a5cb-c2ffc5040000 |publisher=Haaretz |date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208193329/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2022-06-08/ty-article/.premium/for-political-agenda-haifa-uni-head-slams-thesis-on-alleged-tantura-massacre/00000181-425b-df72-a5cb-c2ffc5040000 |archive-date=8 Dec 2022}}
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.{{cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/tantura-director-israelis-have-been-lied-to-for-years-about-alleged-1948-massacre/|work=Times of Israel|title='Tantura' director: Israelis have been lied to for years about alleged 1948 massacre|accessdate=9 September 2023|date=27 January 2022}} The movie was harshly criticized by the historian Benny Morris, who characterized the documentary as "basically fraudulent".{{cite news |last1=Morris |first1=Benny |title=The Tantura Myth: It Makes No Sense That Palestinian Villagers Never Mentioned a Massacre |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2022-10-07/ty-article-opinion/.highlight/the-tantura-myth-it-makes-no-sense-that-palestinian-villagers-never-mentioned-a-massacre/00000183-b2e5-d8cc-afc7-feedf6560000 |publisher=Haaretz |date=Oct 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202234850/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2022-10-07/ty-article-opinion/.highlight/the-tantura-myth-it-makes-no-sense-that-palestinian-villagers-never-mentioned-a-massacre/00000183-b2e5-d8cc-afc7-feedf6560000 |archive-date=2 Dec 2022}}
Gallery
File:Alexandroni Brigade memorial in Latrun (1).JPG|Alexandroni Brigade memorial overlooking Latrun police station
File:תמונה 1154.jpg|Alexandroni Brigade memorial in Netanya
File:PikiWiki Israel 14137 A mass grave of 87 fallen soldiers of Alexandroni.JPG|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
File:PikiWiki Israel 34077 Archeological sites of Israel.JPG|Memorial in Qaqun with Bible citation from {{bibleverse|Zephaniah|3:19}}
File: דן אבן אפשטיין 1948 ארכיון ההגנה.jpg|Dan Even (Epstein), commander of the Alexandroni Brigade
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Alexandroni Brigade}}
- [http://www.alexandroni.org Official website] {{in lang|he}}
{{Israel Defense Forces}}
Category:1948 Arab–Israeli War