Avshalom Haviv

Avshalom Haviv (June 18 1926 - July 29 1947), of the Olei Hagardom, was a member of the Irgun underground caught and executed by the British in the Acre Prison Break.

Childhood and Adolescence

Avshalom Haviv was born on June 18 1926 (Tammuz 6 5486 according to the Jewish calendar) in Haifa, the son of Rivkah and Eliezer. His father was a well-known merchant. Avshalom grew and received his education in Jerusalem and resided with his family on Strauss street. In his youth he studied at the Tachkemoni School and when he was a student in high school in Beit Hakerem he was drawn towards nationalistic ideas. In his essays at the school he expressed his opinions on the achievements of the Zionist party and policy of the mandate's government. In an essay entitled "The Aspirations of an Enslaved Youth" he wrote, among other things:

:My aspiration is: one language will take hold in the land, not German, not Yiddish will be spoken in the land of Israel, but rather the language of the Tanakh, the ancient language of Hebrew. My ambition is the aliyah of all of the nation of Israel into the land of Israel and those that will dwell here on the two sides of the Jordan river, and the land that was promised to us by the English will be only ours. In this hoped-for time there will be here a Hebrew state like all states. "Amen, ken yihyeh ratson!" ["Amen, may it be your will!", a phrase used in the Jewish liturgy]

At the age of 16, he joined the Irgun underground, and received the nickname "Efraim".

His Work in the Underground

When he finished his studies he turned to a year of service in the Palmach. During this, he participated in an operation liberating detained immigrants in the Atlit detainee camp. One of the freed captives was Jacov Weiz, who would eventually be hanged with him.

When he finished his year of service in the Palmach, he began his studies in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and at the same time returned to the Irgun. Gradually, he performed more and more within the framework of the ח"ק, the Combat Corps of the Irgun, and due to this ended his studies in the academy. In many operations Avshalom was used as a machine gunner. He participated mainly in attack operations of the central secret police which was in Jerusalem and the offices of governmental income tax. Haviv also participated in the Irgun's attempt to free imprisoned members from the central prison in the Russian Compound. One of the operations in which Haviv stood out was in the bombing of "Goldsmith's Club" on March 1 1947. It was Shabbat, and Avshalom, who was traditionally religious, left the synagogue during prayer. In the operation he was commanded to cover the intruders with fire from a Bren gun. Avshalom's hand was seriously injured from the searing barrel of the machine gun but continued to fire meticulously during the entire operation.

His final operation was his order on the blocking position that scattered mines in the Acre Prison break operation on May 4. During it, he was captured with four other Irgun fighters after their position used up all of their munitions. These were Meir Nakar, Jacov Weiz, Amnon Michaelov, and Nachman ציטרבוים.

The Trial and Verdict

The trial began on Wednesday, May 28, 1947, and this after being delayed for two days due to Jacov Weiz's illness. The accused parties received the members of the court with the song Hatikvah. The judges stood up during the song, and were rebuked afterwards by the presiding judge for shaming the court. Avshalom asked to read a declaration in response to the judge's question, but was told by the President of the Court that he had to answer questions and not recite declarations. When Haviv insisted they ordered two policemen to return him by force. Meanwhile the accused parties disrupted the trial. They did not answer the judge's questions, asked their friends to answer for them, or alternatively got up from their places or pretended to doze off.