The Jewish Infantry Brigade Group, more commonly known as the Jewish Brigade Group or Jewish Brigade,Medoff (2002), page 111 was a military formation of the British Army in the Second World War. It was formed in late 1944 and was recruited primarily among Jews of the Yishuv from Mandatory Palestine. It was mostly commanded by Anglo-Jewish officers. The Jewish Brigade served in the latter stages of the Italian Campaign, taking part in the Spring 1945 offensive in Italy. It was disbanded in 1946.
After the war, some members of the brigade assisted Holocaust survivors to illegally emigrate to Mandatory Palestine as part of Aliyah Bet, in defiance of British restrictions. Other members formed the vigilante groups Gmul and the Tilhas Tizig Gesheften, which assassinated Nazi war criminals.
The training and combat experience provided by the brigade would prove instrumental in building the Israel Defense Forces and fighting the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Numerous veterans of the brigade went on to serve as senior Israeli military officers.
In 2018, Italy posthumously awarded the brigade's members the Gold Medal of Military Valor for their role in the Italian Campaign, Second World War.
Background Anglo-Zionist relations
After the First World War, the British Empire replaced the Ottoman Empire as the preeminent power in the Middle East. This change brought closer the Zionist Movement's goal of creating a Jewish state. The Balfour Declaration indicated that the British Government supported the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine in principle, marking the first official support for Zionist aims. It led to a surge of Jewish emigration in 1918–1921, known as the "Third Aliyah".Goldstein, Joseph (1995). Jewish History in Modern Times, pp. 122–123
The League of Nations incorporated the Declaration in the British Mandate for Palestine in 1922. Jewish immigration continued through the 1920s and 1930s, and the Jewish population expanded by over 400,000 before the beginning of the Second World War.
In 1939, the British Government of Neville Chamberlain appeared to reject the Balfour Declaration in the White Paper of 1939, abandoning the idea of establishing a Jewish Dominion. When the United Kingdom declared war on Nazi Germany in September 1939, David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, stated: "We will fight the White Paper as if there is no war, and fight the war as if there is no White Paper."Blum, Howard. The Brigade. p. 5.
Origins of the Jewish Brigade
Chaim Weizmann, the President of the Zionist Organization (ZO), offered the British government full cooperation of the Jewish community in Mandatory Palestine. Initially, the British authorized the enlistment of Palestinian volunteers in the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) and in the Royal Pioneer Corps, on condition that an equal number of Jews and Arabs was to be accepted. The Jewish Agency promptly scoured the local Labour Exchange offices to recruit enough Arab unemployed as "volunteers" to match the number of Jewish volunteers, and others were recruited from the lower strata of the Arab population, offering cash bounties for enlistment.For the whole history of the 1915–1943 units formed in Palestine, see Marcel Roubiçek, "Echo of the Bugle", Franciscan Printing Press, Jerusalem 1975
The quality of the recruits was, not surprisingly, abysmally low, with a very high desertion rate particularly among the Arab component, so that at the end, most units ended up formed largely by Jews. The volunteers were formed in a RASC muleteers unit and a RASC Port Operating Company, and in the pioneer companies 601 to 609. Of the pioneer companies, all but two were lost in Greece, with most forced to surrender after being unable to evacuate in time. The last two companies were returned to Palestine and disbanded there.For the whole history of the 1915–1943 units formed in Palestine, see Marcel Roubiçek, "Echo of the Bugle", Franciscan Printing Press, Jerusalem 1975
From 1942, a large number of further Palestinian Arab-Jewish mixed units were formed, with the same mixed ethnic composition and the same quality problems encountered in the Pioneers Companies. These included six RASC (Jewish) Transport Units,Numbered 148, 178, 179, 405, 468, and 650. a women's Auxiliary Territorial Service and a Woman Territorial Air Force Service,Respectively 3,500 and 500 strong. and several auxiliaries in local units of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Royal Engineers, and Royal Army Medical Corps. Jewish volunteers were also recruited to serve in coastal artillery batteries defending Palestine. Jewish logistical and engineering personnel from Palestine were deployed in the Battle of France, Invasion of Greece, North African campaign, and in the Italian campaign even before the arrival of the Jewish Brigade. A small number of Jewish personnel from Palestine also served in the Pacific theater. While deployed to do support tasks, some personnel from these units were equipped with weapons and engaged in combat when needed.Beckman, p. 38-45[https://wwv.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%206216.pdf The Meeting Between the Jewish Soldiers from Palestine Serving in the British Army and “She’erit Hapletah”]In Captivity
The British recruited Jews as commandos in small numbers. In 1940 No. 51 Commando was formed for volunteers from Palestine, composed predominantly of Jewish volunteers with a minority of Arabs as well. The unit fought in East Africa against the Italians. In 1942, the Special Interrogation Group, a commando unit composed primarily of German-speaking Jews from Palestine, was deployed in North Africa. In addition, Jews from Palestine also enlisted in the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, and British Merchant Navy.
There was no designated all-Jewish, combat-worthy formation. Jewish groups petitioned the British government to create such a force, but the British refused. At that time, the White Paper of 1939 was in effect, limiting Jewish immigration and land purchases. The British authorities initially hesitated to recruit Jews from Palestine into infantry roles.
The core of what would later become the Jewish Brigade was formed when the British began recruiting Jewish volunteers from Palestine into the Royal East Kent Regiment ("the Buffs"), to be used as guards for military facilities including prisoner of war camps in Palestine. The recruits were given training that emphasized discipline but included little live-fire practice. Arab volunteers were recruited into separate companies. In August 1942 the Palestine Regiment was formed. The existing Buffs companies were absorbed into the Palestine Regiment. Recruitment continued, but it was plagued by the same mixed recruiting and its associated low-quality problems. The regiment was derisively called the "Five Piastre Regiments", due to the large number of Arab "volunteers" who had enlisted just for the cash bonus provided by the Jewish Agency. The Palestine Regiment ultimately came to consist of three Jewish and one Arab battalion. It had the role of guard duty in Palestine, Egypt, and Libya. The volunteers, eager for a chance to engage in combat against the Germans, were frustrated with being relegated to guard duty and morale plummeted.For the whole history of the 1915–1943 units formed in Palestine, see Marcel Roubiçek, "Echo of the Bugle", Franciscan Printing Press, Jerusalem 1975.Beckman, p. 37-38
By contrast to the infantry battalions, other units that would later become part of the brigade were formed prior and came with previous experience. In 1940, during the Axis bombing campaign against Mandatory Palestine, the British decided to recruit Jews as anti-aircraft gunners following a particularly deadly Italian air raid against Tel Aviv. In October 1940, the 1st Palestine Light Anti-Aircraft Battery was formed, and it became operational in 1941. The unit defended Palestine from further air attacks and served with British forces elsewhere in the Mediterranean. The 743rd Artisan Works Company of the Royal Engineers was formed in September 1941. It initially served in Palestine, building military bases and fortifications, before providing support to British forces in North Africa. In addition, the 178th General Transport Company of the Royal Army Service Corps, which was formed in February 1941, also served with British forces in North Africa and subsequently Italy. It was also among the first units to widely use Hebrew and Zionist insignia.Rocca, Samuele: The Fighting Experience of the Jewish Brigade Group and Its Influence on the Creation of the IDF
From the start of the war, the Jewish Agency had sought to establish a Jewish army to fight alongside the Allies. The first negotiations between Zionist leaders and British officials took place as early as September 1939. From 1940 to 1941, the Zionist leadership requested that a full division composed of Jews from Britain, the dominions, and refugee communities be formed, but this was rejected in October 1941. The Zionist leadership then focused its efforts on the recruitment of Jews in Palestine.
After early reports of the Nazi atrocities of the Holocaust were made public by the Allied powers in the spring and early summer of 1942, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill sent a personal telegram to the US President Franklin D. Roosevelt suggesting that "the Jews... of all races have the right to strike at the Germans as a recognizable body." The president replied five days later saying: "I perceive no objection..."
In February 1944, negotiations between the Jewish Agency and British officials over a Jewish fighting force resumed. British officials opposed creating a large Jewish fighting force, fearing that it would bolster Jewish national claims, provoke Arab opposition, and become the basis for Jewish rebellion against British rule. As a compromise, they proposed forming a brigade group instead of a larger force. Disagreements persisted, especially due to the British considering the deployment of the planned Jewish force to the Far Eastern theatre, which was opposed by the Jewish Agency. Chaim Weizmann bypassed the negotiations and appealed directly to Churchill. Churchill agreed to form a Jewish fighting force, preferring that it be a smaller brigade rather than a full division. He formally recommended the formation of such a brigade and that it be deployed to fight in Italy to the Secretary of State. According to Rafael Medoff, Churchill consented because he was "moved by the slaughter of Hungarian Jewry [and] was hoping to impress American public opinion." On 9 August, the War Cabinet approved Churchill's proposal. On 29 August, Churchill announced the British government's agreement to form a Jewish brigade group to Parliament.
Jewish Brigade Creation
On 20 September 1944, an official communique by the War Office announced the formation of the Jewish Brigade Group of the British Army. The Jewish Brigade Group headquarters was established in Egypt at the end of September 1944. The formation was styled a brigade group because of the inclusion under command of an artillery regiment.