Alexandroni Brigade
Brigade insignia
Active1948–present
Country Israel
AllegianceIsrael Defense Forces
BranchInfantry
TypeReserves
SizeBrigade
Engagements1948 Arab–Israeli War

Six-Day War

Yom Kippur War
1982 Lebanon War

2006 Lebanon War

The Alexandroni Brigade (3rd Brigade) is an Israel Defense Forces brigade that has fought in multiple Israeli wars.[1]

During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the Alexandroni Brigade perpetrated the Tantura massacre of around 40-200 Palestinian villagers.[2]

History

Along with the 7th Armoured Brigade both units had 139 killed during the first battle of Latrun (1948), Operation Ben Nun Alef. The commanding officer was Dan Even.

Today the unit is a reserve unit.

Role in Tantura massacre

During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, around 40-200 Palestinian Arab villagers from Tantura were massacred by the Israeli Defense Force's Alexandroni Brigade. 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.[2][3]

After an Israeli researcher Teddy Katz produced a master's degree thesis in the 1990s claiming Israeli units committed a massacre of Palestinians at Tantura, the Alexandroni Brigade's veterans sued him for defamation. However, in 2023, an Israeli documentary was published on the Tantura massacre, which managed to interview and film many veterans who agreed to talk about the massacre.[4]

Units

  • 31st Battalion
  • 32nd Battalion
  • 33rd Battalion
  • 34th Battalion
  • 37th Battalion
  • 9203rd Infantry Battalion
  • 5280th Combat Engineer Battalion (Reserve)

References

  1. ↑ "The Alexandroni Brigade". Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  2. 1 2 "UK study of 1948 Israeli massacre of Palestinian village reveals mass grave sites". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  3. ↑ "Executions and Mass Graves in Tantura". Forensic Architecture. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  4. ↑ "'Tantura' director: Israelis have been lied to for years about alleged 1948 massacre". Times of Israel. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
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