Thursday, February 23, 2017

Moshe Brodetzky at Ramat Rachel 1948

American Betari, decorated World War II veteran, a soldier of the Irgun and a hero of the battle for Ramat Rachel (and a Soviet Jewry activist), Moshe Brodetsky:


Part of the story:


The Egyptians halted their advance, and the Legion also paused to take stock of their situation. I exploited the relative quiet to visit the wounded, which were lying on the floor of the dining-hall. The room was quiet, and only a stifled groan was heard here and there. I went over to one of the injured and asked how he was. In reply, he asked for a little water. I hastened to the jug in the corner, but was disappointed to find that it was empty and that there was no water even for the wounded. 

The many casualties sustained vastly reduced our numbers. One of the injured officers appealed to his wounded comrades, explaining that if the Arabs reached the dining hall, he would give them weapons and they had to fight to the last bullet. It was Daniel (Moshe Brodetzky), who had been an officer in the US army in World War Two. Daniel had come to study in Jerusalem at the Hebrew University, and when fighting broke out, had joined the Irgun. He was wounded while on look out on the roof of the dining-hall, and after being bandaged, had immediately gone up to the roof again. Only when he was hit for the second time did I order him to remain in the dining-hall with the other wounded men. 

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1 comment:

Kiki Raz said...

I wanted to read the whole story!