Grandma's army

  More than 40,000 Jews enlisted into the British Army during World War II to fight against the Nazis. Over 700 were killed during active duty.    Th roughout the war, Jews served in various positions. Palestinian Jewish volunteers cooperated with British intelligence units and sent its personnel out on various commando missions in the Middle East.  Another example of this cooperation was the dropping of 37 brave men and women (among them Hannah Szenesh), who volunteered to parachute into Nazi-occupied Europe. Their mission was: to gather intelligence; rescue Allied forces who had fallen into enemy territory; and try to save Jews in Europe. Due to Arab opposition to the proposed Jewish homeland in Palestine, the British initially refused to establish a separate fighting unit of Jewish volunteers from Palestine. However, wartime manpower requirements and the strategic need to defend the Middle East induced the British to permit the formation of 15 Palestinian Jewish battalions. Thes

  THE ORIGINS OF GRANDMA’S ARMY – IV News of the Nazis' plan to conquer the Middle East spread rapidly as France, which controlled Lebanon and Syria, came under pro-Nazi Vichy's rule, and German General Rommel made his way through North Africa's shores to the Suez Canal.   Th is resulted in the establishment of the  Palmach , the Haganah's official military branch. The Palmach   was created as a force to protect and defend the Jewish people in Israel, in the event of a Nazi invasion. It was an integral part of the Haganah . Every Palmach member was loyal to the Haganah as well.                                                                                                        The British initially sponsored the Palmach and provided its members with weapons , as well as military training. The Palmach operated using methods of guerrilla warfare, combat patrols, reconnaissance, strike and sabotage. They even had a "German Platoon", in which German-spea