The 3rd "Alexandroni" Brigade (Hebrew: חטיבת אלכסנדרוני, Hativat Aleksandroni) is an Israel Defense Forces brigade which has fought in many of Israel's wars.[1]

Alexandroni Brigade
חטיבת אלכסנדרוני
Brigade insignia
Active1948–present
Country Israel
Allegiance Israeli Ground Forces
BranchInfantry
TypeReserves
Size5 battalions
Part of91st Division, Northern Command
Engagements
Commanders
Current
commander
Colonel Gil Werner

Organization

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  •   3rd Infantry Brigade "Alexandroni" (Reserve)
    • 7012th Infantry Battalion
    • 8101st Infantry Battalion
    • 9203rd Infantry Battalion
    • (6609th) Reconnaissance Battalion "Alexandroni"
    • 5280th Combat Engineer Battalion
    • Logistic Battalion
    • Signal Company

Role in Tantura massacre

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During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, around 40–200 Palestinian Arab villagers from Tantura were killed in a massacre perpetrated by the Alexandroni Brigade, which at the time was one of six field forces of the Haganah.[2] 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.[3][4]

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.[5]

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The Alexandroni Brigade". Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  2. ^ "The Tantura Massacre, 22–23 May 1948". Journal of Palestine Studies. 30 (3): 5–18. 2001. doi:10.1525/jps.2001.30.3.5.
  3. ^ "UK study of 1948 Israeli massacre of Palestinian village reveals mass grave sites". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Executions and Mass Graves in Tantura". Forensic Architecture. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  5. ^ "'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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