Yitzhak Sadeh

Infobox Military Person
name=Yitzhak Sadeh
lived=1890-1952


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nickname=HaZaken (the old man)
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allegiance=Israel
branch=Palmach
serviceyears=
rank=Commander
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Yitzhak Sadeh ( _he. יצחק שדה, born Isaac Landsberg in Lublin, Russian Empire in 1890, died Tel Aviv, Israel in 1952), was the commander of the Palmach, one of the founders of the Israel Defense Forces at the time of the establishment of the State of Israel and a cousin of British philosopher Isaiah Berlin.

He was honored with a medal from the Russian army for his bravery during World War I. During 1917-1919, he assisted Joseph Trumpeldor in the founding of HeHalutz (The Pioneer) movement. In 1920, Sadeh became an "oleh" by making "aliya" to Eretz Israel. where he became one of founders and leaders of Gdud Ha'avoda (The Work Battalion).

In 1921, Sadeh was a Haganah (Defense) commander in Jerusalem, and during the 1929 riots he took part in the battle defending Haifa.

As the 1936 riots started, Sadeh established in Jerusalem the Nodedet (Wandering Troop or Patrol Unit) that confronted the enemy in their villages and bases. He demanded that his troops "leave the defences" and initiate military operations.

In the summer of 1937 as the Commander of the Jewish Settlement Police, he founded the FOSH (Hebrew abbreviation, FO'SH, for Plugot Sadeh or Field Companies), the commando arm of the Haganah. It was an elite Jewish strike force, whose members were hand-picked by Sadeh. The force was established during the Great Arab Revolt of 1936-1939 in what at the time was the British Mandate of Palestine.

Among other activities, Sadeh commanded the operation of settling Kibbutz Hanitah on an isolated hill on the southern border of Lebanon. In 1941, he participated in the founding of the Palmach (acronym for Plugot Mahatz and Haganah's enlisted military forces of volunteers), serving as Chief Commander until 1945. During that year, he was appointed to be Haganah's Chief of the General Staff and, among other activities, was in charge of the movement's operations against the British Forces during the British Mandate of Palestine and in operations that brought clandestine Jewish immigrants to Israel. He was also instrumental in founding the Gadna in 1941 and became the program's first unofficial commander.

In the beginning of the Israel War of Independence, in 1948, Itzhak Sadeh commanded the defense of Kibbutz Mishmar Ha'emek, which was attacked by the Syrian forces that surrounded the kibbutz in an attempt to divide the country in two. Sadeh was promoted to the rank of aluf (brigadier). He established the first armored brigade of the IDF, which eventually led critical battles such as the capture of the Lod airport and the Iraq-Suidan fortress facing Kibbutz Negba, near Ramlah.

Afterward, he participated in the Operation Horev in the Negev, when the forces under his command reached the entrance of El-Arish in the Sinai desert.

When the War of Independence ended and the Palmach was dismantled, Sadeh left military service, in 1949. He wrote essays, stories and plays. The book "Misaviv Lamedura" (Around the Bonfire) includes a collection of articles he wrote under the pen name Y. Noded (Y. Wanderer).

Prior to his August 1952 death, he had become a charismatic and colorful figure, whose nickname in the Palmach was HaZaken (The Old Man). The kibbutzim Nir Yitzhak and Mashabei Sadeh in the Negev are his namesakes as are moshav Sde Yitzhak and numerous streets throughout Israel (often named "Aluf Sadeh", lit. "General Sadeh").

Sadeh was a promoter and educator in the field of Jewish sport. When in Russia, he participated in wrestling meets and became the wrestling champion of St. Petersburg. As an active sportsperson, he recognized physical education as having important cultural and educational values. As a member of the Hapoel (The Worker) board, he set policies and established guidelines and created the Hapoel slogan, Alafim and not Alufim (Thousands not Champions). Today, thousands of sportspeople and soldiers take part in Hakafat Hatavor (Around Mount Tavor Run), devoted to the Sadeh's ideals.

References

*Bowyer Bell, John (1996). "Terror Out of Zion". Transaction Publishers. ISBN 1-56000-870-9
*Laffin, John (1984). "Israeli Army in the Middle East Wars, 1948-73". Osprey Publishing. ISBN 0-85045-450-6

External links

* [http://www.giga.co.il/hatavor/ Organization devoted to ideals of Sadeh]

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