Alexandroni Brigade

Alexandroni Brigade
Brigade insignia
Active	1948 - present
Country	Israel
Allegiance	Israel Defense Forces
Branch	Infantry
Type	Reserves
Size	Brigade
Engagements	1948 Arab–Israeli War Operation Ben Nun Alef Six Day War Golan Heights Yom Kippur War 1982 Lebanon War 2006 Lebanon War

Alexandroni Brigade monument

Alexandroni Brigade Memorial in Netanya

A mass grave of 87 fallen soldiers of Alexandroni Division in "Faluja Pocket" in the Independence War

The Alexandroni Brigade (3rd Brigade) is an Israel Defense Forces brigade that fought in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Along with the 7th Armoured Brigade both units had 139 killed during the first battle of Latrun - Operation Ben Nun Alef (an attempt to conquer the Latrun area).

The unit is currently a reserve unit.

Units

• 31st Battalion
• 32nd Battalion
• 33rd Battalion
• 34th Battalion
• 37th Battalion

Katz controversy

In 1998, Teddy Katz wrote a master's thesis at Haifa University arguing that the Alexandroni Brigade committed a massacre in the Palestinian village of Tantura during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. The veterans of the brigade sued Katz for libel. During the court hearing Katz conceded by issuing a statement withdrawing his own work. He then tried to withdraw his statement, but the court disallowed it and ruled against him. A committee at Haifa University found problems with the thesis and ruled that it: "failed at the stage of presenting the raw material for the reader's judgment, both in terms of its organization according to strict criteria of classification and criticism, and in terms of the apparent instances of disregard for the interviewees' testimony". Some quotations in the thesis did not accord with interview recordings. The university suspended his degree and asked him to resubmit his thesis. The new thesis was rejected.^[1]

References

1. MERON RAPOPORT (2005-05-06). "Alone on the barricades" (PDF). Ha'aretz.

External links

• Official website (Hebrew)