Arms train and Etzel

It was three weeks before the end of the British Mandate. A trainload of British arms was headed towards Gaza to be transferred to the Arabs; the Etzel (Irgun) could not allow that to happen.

They ambushed the train, only to find it heavily armored and guarded by 40 British soldiers. A firefight broke out; Etzel fighters were hit. And then Gidi, the Jewish commander, stood up, and yelled towards the British:

“Captain John! You’re three weeks before the end; the train is surrounded by hundreds of our fighters! Is it really worth it to die now?”

Rabbi Noam Himelstein studied in Yeshivat Har Etzion and served in the Tanks Corps of the IDF. He has taught in yeshiva high schools, post-high school women’s seminaries, and headed the Torah MiTzion Kollel in Melbourne, Australia. He currently teaches at Yeshivat Orayta in Jerusalem, and lives with his wife and six children in Neve Daniel, Gush Etzion.