Introduction by General Ariel Sharon, continued

Combat commanders are tested mainly when they are asked to carry out an assignment independently, when there is no higher officer of a higher rank around to help and rescue them if necessary from the battlefield, an officer who will notice them during a battle. The greatest effort is demanded of an independent officer. He leads his men, fights himself, heads the attack, and brings his men back to their base safely after the battle. An officer in this situation decides whether or not the mission will be carried out and decides how it will be carried out.

Introduction by General Ariel Sharon

Meir came to us when Unit 101 was established. He had been a corporal in the Nahal who could not find peace there for his stormy spirit, for his desire to be active, for his belief that we must and could find a way to overcome the Arab terrorist activity. Within a short time he became the most daring fighter in Unit 101 and the paratroopers, and an excellent scout, perhaps the best that the IDF has ever known.

He outshone the others by far in leadership qualities. His achievements on the battlefield were many. He commanded several operations himself, and played a major role in others. Meir Har-Zion became a symbol of a fighter in the paratroop units and in the army as a whole.

Memoir Chapters: Table of Contents

Memoir Chapters: Meir Har-Zion

Set by Naomi Frankel

Drawings & maps by Sol Baskin

1. Introduction by Naomi Frankel

2. About Meir Har-Zion's book by General Ariel Sharon

3. Dialogue on Mount of the Winds

4. Travel diary

5. Dialogue at midnight

6. Military diary

7. Ahuzath Shoshana

8. The Reprisal Raids: A lecture by Moshe Dayan (1955)

Pirkei Yoman, Meir Har-Zion

The following is the beginning of a (rough!) translation of Meir Har-Zion's military memoir Pirkei Yoman (Memoir Chapters).

About the Author:

Meir Har-Zion, a farmer born in 1934, grew up in Rishpon, at age 13 moved to Ein-Harod. Married with seven children. Servied in the IDF during the years 1952-1956 and since 1959 has lived at Ahuzath Shoshanna next to the Star of the Jordan, east of the moshav of his homeland and above Kibbutz Neve Or in the Jordan Valley.

Ancient predecessor to the reprisal raids

Reprisal raids were nothing new to the Israelis, even 60 years ago when Arik and his men conducted the bulk of their night operations. The following is an excerpt from the second book of the Maccabees about an incident in the town of Joppa (shown at left) by one of Unit 101's most illustrious predecessors:

"The people of Joppa went so far as to perpetrate the following outrage: they invited the Jews living among them to go aboard some boats they had lying ready, taking their wives and children. There was no hint of any intention to harm them; there had been a public vote by the citizens, and the Jews accepted, as well they might, being peaceable people with no reason to suspect anything. But once out in the open sea they were all sent to the bottom, a company of at least two hundred.

When Judas heard of the cruel fate of his countrymen, he issued his orders to his men and, after invoking God, the just judge, he attacked his brothers' murderers. Under cover of dark he set fire to the harbor, burned the boats and put to the sword everyone who had taken refuge there."

- 2 Maccabees 12.3-6

Link to Israeli hymn - Arise and Shine

This song is a translation of Isaiah 60.1-2 in the Hebrew Bible. It seems an appropriate tribute to the astonishing efforts of the heroes of the reprisal raids.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jEq404VLIQ

Picture after Syrian raid

A tired, exultant, and 28-year-old Arik celebrates with his troops after the conclusion of a raid on Syria, 1 December 1956. This was the very end of the era of the reprisal raids, concluded to be a failure by many in the upper echelons of the Israeli government. Nonetheless, their tactics and spirit influenced countless special operations groups to this day, as well as the entire IDF.

Source: The Guardian, UK.