Operation Nachshon was an
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
i military operation during the 1947-1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine. Lasting from 5-20 April 1948, its objective was to open up the Jerusalem road that was blockaded by Palestinian Arabs and to supply food and water to the Jewish community of Jerusalem. It was the first major
HaganahHaganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
operation and the first step of
Plan DaletPlan Dalet, or Plan D, was a plan worked out by the Haganah, a Jewish paramilitary group and the forerunner of the Israel Defense Forces, in Palestine in autumn 1947 to spring 1948. Its purpose is much debated. According to Yoav Gelber and Benny Morris, it was a contingency plan for defending a...
whose aim was to secure the area allotted to the
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
s by the
1947 UN Partition PlanThe United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine or United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 Future Government of Palestine was a plan adopted by a decision of the General Assembly. The resolution was approved by a vote of 33 to 13, with 10 abstentions on November 29, 1947...
.
Operation Nachshon was an
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
i military operation during the 1947-1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine. Lasting from 5-20 April 1948, its objective was to open up the Jerusalem road that was blockaded by Palestinian Arabs and to supply food and water to the Jewish community of Jerusalem. It was the first major
HaganahHaganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
operation and the first step of
Plan DaletPlan Dalet, or Plan D, was a plan worked out by the Haganah, a Jewish paramilitary group and the forerunner of the Israel Defense Forces, in Palestine in autumn 1947 to spring 1948. Its purpose is much debated. According to Yoav Gelber and Benny Morris, it was a contingency plan for defending a...
whose aim was to secure the area allotted to the
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
s by the
1947 UN Partition PlanThe United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine or United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 Future Government of Palestine was a plan adopted by a decision of the General Assembly. The resolution was approved by a vote of 33 to 13, with 10 abstentions on November 29, 1947...
. The operation was carried out by the
GivatiThe Givati Brigade functions as the amphibious force and is one of the infantry brigades in the Israel Defense Forces. Givati soldiers are designated by purple berets...
and Harel Brigades.
It was during Operation Nachshon that the
Deir Yassin massacreThe Deir Yassin massacre took place on April 9, 1948, when around 120 fighters from the Irgun and Lehi Zionist paramilitary groups attacked Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, a Palestinian-Arab village of roughly 600 people...
took place on April 9, where around 107 Palestinian villagers, including women and children, were killed by
IrgunIrgun was a militant Zionist group that operated in the British mandate of Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah...
and
LehiLehi was an armed underground Zionist group in Mandatory Palestine.
fighters.
Background
At the end of March 1948,
Abd al-Qadir al-HusayniAbd al-Qadir al-Husayni was a Palestinian nationalist and fighter who in late 1933 founded the secret militant group known as the Organization for Holy Struggle, , which he and Hasan Salama commanded as the Army of the Holy War in the 1948 Palestine War...
's troops were preventing supply convoys from reaching Jerusalem. The city was besieged and the Jewish population was forced to adhere to a rationing system. As the first operation of
Plan DaletPlan Dalet, or Plan D, was a plan worked out by the Haganah, a Jewish paramilitary group and the forerunner of the Israel Defense Forces, in Palestine in autumn 1947 to spring 1948. Its purpose is much debated. According to Yoav Gelber and Benny Morris, it was a contingency plan for defending a...
, Yishuv leader
David Ben-Gurion' was the first Prime Minister of Israel. Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, culminated in his instrumental role in the founding of the state of Israel...
decided to launch the operation to open up the city and provide supplies to the Jewish residents.
The operation
The operation was named after the Biblical figure
Nachshon Ben AminadavNahshon or Nachshon ben Aminadav was, according to the Book of Exodus, the son of Amminadab; descendant in the fifth generation of Judah, brother-in-law of Aaron and an important figure in the Hebrew's Passage of the Red Sea which according to the Jewish Midrash he initiated by walking in head...
, who was the first to wade into the
Red SeaThe Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez,...
when the Hebrews escaped from slavery in
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
. The operation was commanded by
Shimon AvidanShimon Avidan , born Shimon Koch, was an Israeli soldier and officer, the commander of the Givati Brigade during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. He was the operational commander of Operation Barak, Operation Nachshon, Operation Pleshet and Operation An-Far...
.
The first orders were given on 2 April 1948. A telegraph confirming the beginning of the operation, was released on 5 April, with the operation starting that same night. It lasted until 20 April. 1,500 men from the Givati and Harel brigades took control of the road to Jerusalem, allowing three of four convoys to get to the city.
The operation was a military success. All the Arab villages that blocked the route were either taken or destroyed, and the Jewish forces were victorious in all their engagements. Nonetheless, not all the objectives of the operation were achieved, as only 1,800 tonnes of the 3,000 envisaged were transported to the town, and two months of severe rationing had to be assumed.
Abd al-Kader al-Husseini was killed during the night of 7-8 April, in the middle of the battles taking place in
Al-QastalAl-Qastal was a Palestinian village that was depopulated in the lead up the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Located 8 kilometers west of Jerusalem, al-Qastal was defended by the Arab Liberation Army and the Army of the Holy War, led by Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni...
. The loss of the charismatic Palestinian leader 'disrupted the Arab strategy and organisation in the area of Jerusalem.' His successor,
Emil GhuriEmil Ghuri , a Palestinian Christian, was Secretary of the Arab Higher Committee , the official leadership of the Arabs in the British Mandate of Palestine...
, changed tactics: instead of provoking a series of ambushes throughout the route, he had a huge road block erected at Bab-el-Oued, and Jerusalem was once again isolated as a consequence.
Aftermath
Operation Nachshon exposed the bad military organisation of the Palestinian paramilitary groups. Due to lack of logistics, particularly food and ammunition, they were incapable of maintaining engagements that were more than a few hours away from their permanent bases.
Faced with these events, the
Arab Higher CommitteeThe Arab Higher Committee was the central political organ of the Arab community of Mandate Palestine. It was established on 25 April 1936, on the initiative of Hajj Amin al-Husayni, the mufti of Jerusalem, and comprised the leaders of Palestinian Arab clans under the mufti's chairmanship. The...
asked Alan Cunningham to allow the return of the Mufti, the only person capable of redressing the situation. Despite obtaining permission, the Mufti did not get to Jerusalem. His declining prestige cleared the way for the expansion of the influence of the
Arab Liberation ArmyThe Arab Liberation Army was an army of volunteers from Arab countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji. It fought on the Arab side in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and was set up by the Arab League as a counter to the Arab High Committee's Holy War Army, though in fact the League and Arab governments...
and of
Fawzi al-QawuqjiFawzi al-Qawuqji was the field commander of the Arab Liberation Army during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and a rival of the principal Arab Palestinian leader, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini.-Biography:...
in the Jerusalem area.
Right after opening the road to Jerusalem, a Jewish convoy, including 60 vehicles headed towards Jerusalem, through
HuldaHulda is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located in the Shephelah near the Hulda forest and the Burma Road, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gezer Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 332....
. At the last day to this operation, 3 convoys, loaded with supply managed to make their way to Jerusalem successfully. However, the Arabs managed to block the road again, immediately thereafter.
Operation Harel was carried out right after Operation Nachshon ended, and immediately thereafter Operation Yevusi. Operation Maccabi, and
Operation KilshonFrom May 13 1948 until May 18 1948 Jewish forces from the Haganah and Irgun executed Operation Kilshon . Its aim was to capture the Jewish suburbs of Jerusalem particularly Talbiya in central Jerusalem....
took place in May.
Palestinian communities captured during Operation Nachshon
| Name | Date | Defending forces | Brigade | Population |
|---|
| al-Qastal Al-Qastal was a Palestinian village that was depopulated in the lead up the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Located 8 kilometers west of Jerusalem, al-Qastal was defended by the Arab Liberation Army and the Army of the Holy War, led by Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni...
|
3 - 9 April 1948 |
Palestinian irregulars |
PalmachThe Palmach was the regular fighting force of the Haganah, the unofficial army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...
|
90 |
| Dayr Muhaysin |
6 April 1948 |
n/a |
n/a - 'with ease' |
460 |
| Khulda Khulda was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Ramla. It was depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War on April 6, 1948 under Operation Nachshon. It was located 12 km south of Ramla. The Crusaders referred to Khulda as "Huldre"...
|
6 April 1948 |
n/a |
HaganahHaganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
Battalion
'without fighting' |
280 |
| Saydun Saydun was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Ramla. It was depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War on April 6, 1948 under Operation Nachshon. It was located 9 km south of Ramla on the east bank of Wadi Saydun....
|
6 April 1948 |
n/a |
n/a |
460 |
| Dayr Yasin |
9 April 1948 |
villagers |
IrgunIrgun was a militant Zionist group that operated in the British mandate of Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah...
, Stern Gang |
610 |
| Qalunya Qalunya was a Palestinian Arab village located west of Jerusalem.Prior to the village's destruction in 1948, with the exception of 166 dunums, Colonia's land was privately owned: 3,594 dunums were owned by Arabs, while 1,084 dunums were owned by Jews.-Location:Qalunya stood on a mountain slope,...
|
11 April 1948 |
n/a |
Palmach |
1,260 (including 350 Jews) |
| Bayt Naqquba Bayt Naqquba was a Palestinian village in British Mandate Palestine, located 9.5 kilometers west of Jerusalem, near Abu Ghosh. Before Palmach and Haganah troops occupied the village during Operation Nachshon on April 1, 1948 approximately 300 Palestinian Arabs lived there...
|
11 April 1948 |
n/a |
Palmach, Haganah |
240 |
| Saris Saris was a Palestinian Arab village that was depopulated during the major offensive launched by the Haganah on 6 April 1948. Called Operation Nachshon, and launched before the British had left Palestine, its objective was to capture villages between Jerusalem and the coastal plain.-History:During ...
|
13 April 1948 |
n/a |
Haganah |
560 |
| Khirbat Bayt Far |
1st half of April 1948 |
n/a |
Haganah |
300 |
| Dayr Ayyub |
1st half of April 1948
recaptured twice afterwards |
n/a |
n/a |
320 |
| Wadi Hunayn Wadi Hunayn was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Ramla. It was depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War on April 17, 1948. It was located 9 km west of Ramla. Wadi Hunayn was mostly destroyed with exception of few of its houses and mosque which today is a synagogue.In 1945 the...
|
17 April 1948 |
n/a |
Givati Brigade |
3,380 including 1,760 Jews |
| Bayt Thul Bayt Thul was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Jerusalem. It was depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War on April 1, 1948 under Operation Nachshon. It was located 15.5 km west of Jerusalem....
|
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
260 |
Sources:
Walid KhalidiWalid Khalidi is an Oxford University-educated Palestinian historian who has written extensively on the Palestinian exodus...
, All That Remains, ISBN 0 88728 224 5.
Benny MorrisBenny Morris is professor of History in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Be'er Sheva, Israel. He is a key member of a group of Israeli historians known as the 'New Historians', because they are rewriting the history of Israel since its...
, The Birth of the Palestinian refugee problem, 1947-1949,ISBN 0 521 33028 9.
See also
- 1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known by Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation and by Palestinians as the Catastrophe , was the first in a series of wars fought between the newly declared State of Israel and its Arab neighbours in the long-running Arab-Israeli conflict.The war...
- Siege of Jerusalem (1948)
The siege of Jerusalem was an Arab attempt to block the road to Jerusalem in the days leading up to Israeli independence, from December 1, 1947 to July 10, 1948, preventing supplies from reaching the city.-History:...
- Nahshon
Nahshon or Nachshon ben Aminadav was, according to the Book of Exodus, the son of Amminadab; descendant in the fifth generation of Judah, brother-in-law of Aaron and an important figure in the Hebrew's Passage of the Red Sea which according to the Jewish Midrash he initiated by walking in head...