Ben Dunkelman
Ben Dunkelman (1913–1997) was a Canadian Jew, the son of David Dunkelman, founder of Tip Top Tailors, which made men's clothing. Dunkelman became a war hero for his efforts in World War II, where he fought on some of the worst battlefields of the war during the allied Operation Overlord.
Deeply attached to his Jewish roots, he decided to emigrate to Israel when it gained independence from the British in the spring of 1948. He arrived in Israel at a time when the Israeli army was desperately short of officers with combat experience such as he had acquired in Europe. Dunkelman soon became the commander of the 7th Brigade, the country's best-known armored brigade. He was also in charge of Operation Dekel which lasted from July 8-18, 1948. Dunkelman led his 7th Brigade and its supporting units towards Nazareth. After little more than token resistance the town capitulated. The surrender was formalized in a written agreement, where the town leaders accepted to cease hostilities in return for promises from the Israeli officers, including Dunkelman, that no harm would come to the civilians of the town. [1]
As to what happened next is recorded by Peretz Kidron in 1974, a few hours after he heard the story from Dunkelman:
"Two days after the second truce came into effect, the Seventh Brigade was ordered to withdraw from Nazareth. Avraham Yaffe, who had commanded the 13th battalion in the assault on the city, now reported to me with orders from Moshe Carmel to take over from me as its military governor. I complied with the order, but only after Avraham had given me his word of honour that he would do nothing to harm or displace the Arab population. My demand may sound strange, but I had good reason to feel concerned on this subject.
Only a few hours previously, Haim Laskov had come to me with astounding orders: Nazareth´s civilian population was to be evacuated! I was shocked and horrified. I told him I would do nothing of the sort -in view of our promises to safeguard the city´s people, such a move would be both superfluous and harmful. I reminded him that scarcely a day earlier, he and I, as representatives of the Israeli army, had signed the surrender document in which we solemnly pledged to do nothing to harm the city or its population. When Haim saw that I refused to obey the order, he left."
The story was first published in Haolam Hazeh in July 1980.[2]
Dunkelman also stars in a video, Ben Dunkelman: The Reluctant Warrior.
Footnotes
- ^ Peretz Kidron: Truth Whereby Nations Live, p.86 in Blaming the Victims, 1988
- ^ Peretz Kidron: Truth Whereby Nations Live, p.87 in Blaming the Victims, 1988
References
- Ben Dunkelman: Dual allegiance: an autobiography, 1976, ISBN 0887801277
- Peretz Kidron: Truth Whereby Nations Live, p. 85-97 in Blaming the Victims (ed.: Edward W. Said and Christopher Hitchens), 1988