During Passover 1948, during the War of Independence, battles took place in Haifa to liberate the city – an operation known as "The Clearing of the Leaven."
In memory of those days, we will return to tell about several sites that we have mentioned here in the past, but this time we will focus on the stories of the events related to that operation – "The Purification of Leaven."
Rushmia Bridge, Bridge of Heroes
The Rushamiya Bridge was built in 1927-28, during Hassan Shukry's tenure as mayor of Haifa. The bridge was intended to connect the young Hadar Carmel neighborhood to the east, to El Yagur and the Jezreel Valley via the "Check Post" intersection. The Battle of the Bridge (21/4/4) was in fact a battle for control of the eastern entrances to the city and access to the Hadar Carmel neighborhood.
A platoon of 31 fighters from the Carmeli Brigade left the "Industrial House" and stormed the "Najada House" (the United Arab Neighborhood House), which controlled the eastern approach to the bridge.
After a fierce battle, the building was captured and the soldiers barricaded themselves on the third floor of the building and from there continued fierce fighting. The soldiers of the Carmeli Brigade managed to join their comrades and rescue them only after a full day. In the battle, 7 soldiers were killed and 21 were wounded. Following this battle, the Arab residents of the Halisa neighborhood began to flee.
In memory of the battles that took place here and the heroism of the soldiers of the Carmeli Brigade, the bridge has since been called the "Bridge of Heroes."
Link to the article about "Beit Hataisha":
The Battle for the "Hadrat Kodesh" Synagogue
The "Hadrat Kodesh" synagogue was built in the first decade of the 20th century, on the ruins of an ancient synagogue from 1780, where, according to tradition, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov prayed during his visit to the Land of Israel in 1798.
During the War of Independence, the synagogue and the nearby Prophets' Steps were the target of attacks by Arab fighters, who even managed to penetrate the synagogue and desecrate the sacred objects it contained.
The defense forces from the Carmeli Brigade managed to repel the Arab soldiers and later used the synagogue as a base to launch an attack on the Arab positions.
The Battle of Beit Khuri (later the Tower of the Prophets was built on it)
The magnificent and large house of the Khoury family – a Christian-Maronite family originating from Lebanon – dominated the seam line between the Hadar Carmel neighborhood and the Arab neighborhood of Wadi Salib. During the War of Independence, the offices of the railway administration operated in this house.
The fighters from the 22nd Battalion of the Carmeli Brigade were tasked with capturing Beit Khoury, where a large number of Arab fighters had barricaded themselves. During the battle, Beit Khoury proved to be a very difficult target to capture. Although many of the Arab soldiers fled the house during the fighting, a number of snipers nevertheless barricaded themselves in it and continued to fight and snip at the attacking defense soldiers.
Finally, the building caught fire as a result of the Molotov cocktails thrown at it, and the Arab snipers were also killed.
After the War of Independence, the house was destroyed and the place stood derelict for years, until the present-day Tower of the Prophets was built in its place, on the initiative of the contractor Zechariah Drucker and designed by Adar Moshe Tzur. The tower was inaugurated in 1985.
Memorial Garden, the monument to the fallen of the War of Independence
The Memorial Garden, located opposite the historic Haifa Municipality building, overlooks the port and the downtown area. At its entrance is a monument intended to commemorate the people of Haifa who fell in the War of Independence throughout the country and those who fell in the battles to liberate the city in particular.
The monument was designed by artist Gershon Knispel (1932-2018), who worked in Israel and Brazil for about 60 years and served as the art advisor to the Municipality of Haifa. Many of his works are installed in Haifa's public spaces.
The monument includes 3 elements: a relief of Mount Carmel and the Port of Haifa, a space soldier lying on his back and next to him the dove symbolizing the aspiration for peace of the people of Israel.
Dear readers,
The articles in this section are based on open information published in sources such as Wikipedia and other websites and may include various historical inaccuracies arising from the aforementioned sources.
As the Passover holiday approaches, we will pray for the release of all the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and wish all Haifa readers a happy Spring Festival!
During the occupation of Haifa, the Arabs mostly fled despite Abba Khushi's request for the Arabs to stay. His grandson Ran told me this. But why was the escape so great because the Arabs knew that if it were the other way around, they would have annihilated and massacred us, if you want an example, go to the Gaza Strip. The Arabs of Israel today are no different, only what? They learned to keep their mouths shut. And even to smile. But if you look into their eyes, how easy it is to read their thoughts.
Thank you, very interesting.
A question for thought: Have we learned from the price our people paid in their lives in the battle for the city and the land?
In my opinion, the country is slowly being conquered again, this time legally, by buying properties and a one-sided influx that the legislator and the governments for generations ignore its problematic nature. And we haven't even talked about assimilation and the loss of religious and national identity, and as usual, as at the borders, while being addicted to silence even inside the country, as is often described in washed-up words like coexistence or partnership, abandoning future generations to their fate of living in a mixed city/state instead of creating solutions and enacting sometimes painful laws and agreements for the separation of peoples in separate territories in order to preserve identity before even talking about personal security.
So our heroic and brave ancestors fought to give us back the land, and we are slowly taking it back in the name of democracy=demography.
Wow, a few words to briefly say that you are a fascist Kahanist who doesn't want to see Arabs in front of his eyes and certainly doesn't want to live next to them.
A Kahanist but right!
Eli or Ali and how do you call some of your brothers in Sakhnin, Tamra Shafaram or your brothers in Dalia Beit Jan, etc.? Will they really accept us as homeowners (not as tenants) in their towns/cities?
Is it only legitimate for your side to maintain the homogeneity of the place, and for us, is it considered fascism?
Besides, Dov's criticism was of the policy and the legislature, so he said he had some reading comprehension (even though it's probably not your native language).
What beautiful drawings. I am delighted with each new column.