This article is about intentional use of suicide. For unsuccessfully avoided deaths, see suicide in the military. For further information on suicide missions that intend to cause enemy casualties, see suicide attack.
A suicide mission is a task and/or mission which is so dangerous for the people involved that they are not expected to survive and return. The term is sometimes extended to include suicide attacks, such as kamikaze pilots and other suicide bombings, whose perpetrators kill themselves and their opponents or destroy other enemy targets.[1][2]
In a military context, soldiers can be ordered to perform very dangerous tasks or can undertake them on their initiative. For example, in the First World War, French soldiers mutinieden masse in 1917, after appalling losses convinced them that their participation at the front would inevitably lead to their deaths,[citation needed] and in October 2004, during the Iraq War, 19 soldiers in the US Army refused orders to drive unarmored fuel trucks near Baghdad, calling the task a "suicide mission". Those soldiers faced investigations for breakdown of discipline.[3]
Suicide missions can also be an act of desperation, such as a last stand, or to save lives. The latter end of the Battle of Stalingrad could be seen as a suicide mission from the German perspective, as they were ordered to fight to the death with no option of surrendering nor the chance of escape.[citation needed]
Special forces units are often sent on missions that are exceedingly dangerous with the hope that their superior training and abilities will allow them to complete them successfully and survive.[citation needed] An example is a desperate attempt by two U.S. Delta Force snipers to protect a downed helicopter pilot (Michael Durant) from being killed or captured by masses of Somali militia during the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993. While the sniper team held off overwhelming numbers of Somalis long enough for the pilot to survive, both snipers were killed, and the pilot was eventually captured but then later released.[citation needed] However, even special forces groups refuse to participate in some missions. Operation Mikado, a plan for a Special Air Service raid on Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego, during the 1982 Falklands War, was ultimately not executed due in part to significant hostility from members of the SAS, who saw the mission as exceedingly risky.[citation needed]
Strafbataillon
The men of the Strafbataillon's probationary unit Strafdivision 500[de] (Penal Division 500) of the had to prove themselves through "exceptional bravery" on dangerous front-line missions. Otherwise, they faced the execution of the imposed sentence, transfer to the Emsland camps, or punishment units.[4][verification needed]
Sometimes suicide is unplanned. During the 2006 Lebanon War, Major Roi Klein and his unit took part in the Battle of Bint Jbeil. During a Hezbollah ambush, a hand grenade was thrown over the wall that was between Hezbollah militants and Klein and his unit. Klein jumped on the live grenade and muffled the explosion with his body. The soldiers reported that Klein recited the Jewish prayer, Shema Yisrael, as he jumped on the grenade. After the grenade exploded and critically wounded him, he reported his own death, yelling "Klein's dead, Klein's dead" over the radio. In the following minutes, as he lay dying, he ordered soldiers who came to administer first aid and evacuate him to focus on Lieutenant Amichai Merhavia, another soldier who had been hit (and later died also) instead. He then handed over his encoded radio to another officer, who took command of the force, and died.[5][6][7][8][9] According to The Telegraph he yelled "Long live Israel",[10] although this was probably a misinterpretation of "Shema Yisrael" (שמע ישראל).[11]
Other than as a way to cause enemy casualties, another situation in which some militaries and related bodies (such as intelligence agencies) encourage their own members to commit suicide is to avoid being captured by the enemy. The concept also often includes the use of intentional friendly fire.[12] Either to avoid disclose of military secrets, avoid the need for a prisoner exchange, or for more intangible ideological motives.[13] Individuals are encouraged by a perception that capture is a fate worse than death, and the likelihood of torture is strongly emphasised in internal propaganda. Sometimes, to the point that even civilians embrace the concept of dying (or killing people on their own side) to avoid capture.[14]
The militaries of nation states often avoid equipping their troops with any means specifically designed to facilitate suicide, but sometimes imply that soldiers are obliged to resort to extreme measures to avoid capture including taking their own lives, or killing their comrades, with whatever means are available.[15][16][17] Hand grenades have been repeatedly used or suggested.[18][15][16][17] The are religious debates about whether this is acceptable.[16][17]
In 1952, three Chinese soldiers reportedly killed themselves with hand grenades to avoid capture.[18][additional citation(s) needed]
The Sicarii Jewish sect are sometimes described as carrying out "suicidal" attacks against their enemies. Riaz Hassan said that the first-century AD Jewish Sicarii sect carried out "suicidal missions to kill" Hellenized Jews they considered immoral collaborators.[13] However, they are more known for having committed mass suicide, and family murders, to avoid capture during the Siege of Masada.[19] The story of Masada is prominent in Israeli culture.[19]
Jauhar (alleged Hindu mass suicides)
Jauhar, sometimes spelled Jowhar or Juhar,[20][21] was a Rajput kshatriya women practice of mass self-immolation by women and girls[22] in the Indian subcontinent to avoid capture, sex slavery, enslavement,[23] and rape when facing certain defeat during a war.[24][25][26] Some reports of jauhar mention women committing self-immolation along with their children.[27][28] This practice was historically observed in the northwest regions of India, with the most famous jauhars in recorded history occurring during wars between Hindu Rajput kingdoms in Rajasthan and the opposing Muslim armies.[29][30][31][25] Jauhar was only performed during war, usually when there was no chance of victory. Jauhar involved Hindu Rajput women committing suicide with their children and valuables in a massive fire, in order to avoid capture and abuse in the face of inescapable military defeat.[25][32] At the same time or shortly thereafter, the men would ritualistically march to the battlefield expecting certain death, which in the regional tradition is called saka.[20] This practice was intended to show that those committing it valued their honour more highly than their lives.[citation needed]
Jauhar by Hindu kingdoms has been documented by Muslim historians of the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire.[32][33][34] Among the most often cited examples of jauhar is the mass suicide committed in 1303 CE by the women of Chittorgarh fort in Rajasthan, when faced with the invading army of the Khalji dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate.[35][36] The jauhar phenomenon was also observed in other parts of India, such as in the Kampili kingdom of northern Karnataka when it fell in 1327 to Delhi Sultanate armies.[34]
There is an annual celebration of heroism called the Jauhar Mela in Chittorgarh where the local people commemorate their ancestors.[37]
17th century Dutch in China
In the late 17th century, Qing official Yu Yonghe recorded that injured Dutch soldiers fighting against Koxinga's forces for control of Taiwan in 1661 would use gunpowder to blow up both themselves and their opponents rather than be taken prisoner.[38] However, Yu may have confused such suicidal tactics with the standard Dutch military practice of undermining and blowing up overrun positions, which almost cost Koxinga his life during the Siege of Fort Zeelandia.[39]
Jack Nissenthall
Jack Nissenthall survived his mission against the Nazis in WWII, but the plan was for him to kill himself or be killed if he was at risk of capture. Nissenthall was a British special forces operative, his mission was to investigate or destroy Germany's Freya radar station during the Dieppe Raid, accompanied by 11 Canadian soldiers from the South Saskatchewan Regiment.[40][41][42] He was provided with a cyanide pill to use for suicide if he was captured.[40][43] His 11 Canadian "body guards" were also told to kill him if necessary to avoid his capture.[40][43] Nissenthall survived, but 10 of his 11 "bodyguards" were killed or captured.[40][43]
Armed hostage takings
Armed hostage takings, particularly those planned (e.g., by a terrorist group) for political purposes, could be considered suicide missions.[citation needed] As most governments have a policy of refusing to negotiate with terrorists,[citation needed] such incidents usually end with a bloody confrontation between the hostage-takers and an armed force (e.g., police or military) attempting to free the hostages.[citation needed] Also, such hostage-takings often occur in a country foreign to the perpetrators, thereby limiting their chances of escape.[citation needed] Notable examples include the 1972 Munich massacre (after which the hostage takers and collaborators were systematically exterminated in an operation called "Wrath of God" Hebrew: מבצע זעם האל), the 1977 Landshut hijacking, the 1980 Iranian Embassy siege, the 1996 Japanese embassy hostage crisis, and the 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis.[citation needed] All of these high-profile hostage-takings ended with the hostage-takers being engaged by the military forces of the country in which the incident occurred, with the vast majority of the hostage-takers being killed in the aftermath.[citation needed]
The term "Black Widows" probably originates from these women being widows of men killed by the Russian forces in Chechnya (the connotation of black widow spider is intended). The Black Widows wear black dresses and dark clothing that covers their bodies from head to toe.[49] This attire is supposed to symbolize their personal losses from the Chechen wars.[49] The women took part in hostage taking, women were needed because amongst the Islamists it was culturally unacceptable for men to be with female hostages.[50]
The Sicarii Jewish sect are sometimes described as carrying out "suicidal" attacks against their enemies. Riaz Hassan said that the first-century AD Jewish Sicarii sect carried out "suicidal missions to kill" Hellenized Jews they considered immoral collaborators.[13]
The Order of Assassins (Arabic: حَشّاشِین, romanized:Hashishiyeen, Persian: حشاشين, romanized:Ḥaššāšīn) were from a sect of IsmailiShi'a Muslims. They assassinated two Caliphs, as well as many viziers, Sultans, and Crusade leaders over 300 years,[51] before being annihilated by Mongol invaders. Hashishiyeen were known for targeting the powerful, using the dagger as a weapon (rather than something safer for the assassin such as a crossbow), and for not attempting to escape after completing their killing.[52]
Muslim Acehnese from the Aceh Sultanate performed suicide attacks known as parang-sabil against Dutch invaders during the Aceh War (1873–1904).[verification needed] It was considered part of personal jihad in Islam. The Dutch called it Atjèh-moord, (lit. Aceh murder).[53][54][55] The Acehnese work of literature the Hikayat Perang Sabil provided the background and reasoning for the Atjèh-moord as Acehnese suicide attacks upon the Dutch.[56][57][58][verification needed] The Indonesian translations of the Dutch terms are Aceh bodoh, Aceh pungo, Aceh gila, or Aceh mord.[59]
Atjèh-moord was also used against the Japanese by the Acehnese during the Japanese occupation of Aceh.[60] The AcehneseUlama (Islamic Scholars) fought against both the Dutch and the Japanese, revolting against the Dutch in February 1942 and against Japan in November 1942. The revolt was led by the All-Aceh Religious Scholars' Association (PUSA). The Japanese suffered 18 dead in the uprising while they slaughtered either up to 100 or over 120 Acehnese.[61][62] The revolt happened in Bayu and was centred around Tjot Plieng village's religious school.[63][64][65][66] During the revolt, the Japanese troops armed with mortars and machine guns were charged by sword wielding Acehnese under Teungku Abduldjalil (Tengku Abdul Djalil) in Buloh Gampong Teungah on 10 November and Tjot Plieng on 13 November.[67][68] In May 1945 the Acehnese rebelled again.[69]
Moro people who performed suicide attacks were called mag-sabil, and the suicide attacks were known as parang-sabil.[75] The Spanish called them juramentados. The idea of the juramentado was considered part of jihad in the Moros' Islamic religion. During an attack, a juramentado would throw himself at his targets and kill them with bladed weapons such as barongs and kris until he was killed. The Moros performed juramentado suicide attacks against the Spanish in the Spanish–Moro conflict of the 16th to the 19th centuries, against the Americans in the Moro Rebellion from 1899 to 1913), and against the Japanese in World War II.[76]
The Moro (Spanish: juramentados) launched suicide[verification needed] attacks on the Japanese, Spanish, Americans and Filipinos, but did not attack the non-Muslim Chinese as the Chinese were not considered enemies of the Moro people.[77][78][79][80][81] The Japanese responded to these suicide attacks by massacring all known family members and relatives of the attackers.[82]
According to historian Stephan Dale, the Moro were not the only culture who carried out suicide attacks "in their fight against Western hegemony and colonial rule". In the 18th century, suicide tactics were used on the Malabar Coast of southwestern India, and in Aceh in Northern Sumatra as well.[83][84][clarification needed]
Hunger strikes are another use of self harm, and actual or potential suicide, that is used by some militant groups.[examples needed]
Failed and aborted suicide attacks
Sometimes suicide attacks are seen as heroic or successful even if the original goal – causing substantial enemy casualties or damaging to their military – is not completed as planned.
The Irgun and Lehi militant groups were very influential for later movements.[89] The two groups collaborated on at least one intended suicide attack during their insurgency against the British (before the 1948 Palestine war).[90] However, two of their own militants were the only casualties of their best documented plan.[87] A Lehi militant and an Irgun militant blew themselves up in Jerusalem Central Prison, using improvised grenades that had been constructed by another Lehi prisoner.[91] The explosives were disguised as oranges to hide them from the guards, and smuggled in with the prisoners' food.[87] The two militants are praised in The Revolt, written by Irgun commander Menachem Begin.[92]
Both militants had been sentenced to death by hanging.[87][93][90] The British military had responded to attacks from the Irgun and Lehi by reintroducing the death penalty for terrorism.[94] The Lehi militant, who was about 21, was sentenced to death for carrying a grenade during a British imposition of martial law.[95][96] Sympathetic sources say he was on a mission to assassinate Brigadier A.P. Davis, the commander of the Ninth Division, with a Mills grenade.[97] But during the British War on terror in Palestine, merely carrying a weapon was sufficient for a death sentence. The Irgun militant had been sentenced to death alongside another Irgun militant for their role in the bombing of Jerusalem Train Station[he].[98][99] The other militant later had his sentence commuted to life in prison. There was heated debate about the age of the Irgun suicide militant when he was sentenced. His mother and brother claimed he was 17, too young to be executed according to the law of the British authorities.[86][95][100][101][102] The court claimed he was 23, since the boy had served in the British military during World War II, and the authorities refused to believe they had recruited a minor who was lying about his age.[95]Yehuda Lapidot and the IDF say he was born on 5 October 1927.[103] Surviving relatives disagree, maintaining that he was born in July 1929.[86] In his book, The Revolt, Irgun commander Menachem Begin praised the both of the condemned militants for reacting to their death sentence with alleged enthusiasm, "These two wonderful young men greeted the sentence with the singing of Hatikvah".[104]
The original plan, which the Lehi called "Operation Samson", was to carry the concealed grenades with them as they were taken to the gallows then use them to carry out a suicide attack against the executioners.[93][105] But the explosives detonated early, while the two of them were alone together in their cell.[87] Allegedly when the pair learned that Rabbi Goldman[he] would be present at the time of the execution, they changed the plan and committed suicide alone together shortly before they were scheduled to be taken to the gallows.[106] In The Revolt the Irgun commander alleged previous executed militants had not been allowed to see a Rabbi in their last moments.[107]
Another version of the story is that the person the militants were unwilling to harm was actually one of the British prison guards.[90][105][87] Before they blew themselves up, the Irgun boy gave his Bible to the guard, the Bible was illustrated by Gustave Doré and had been given to the militant by his older brother.[86] Some allege the book showed signs of being repeatedly opened on the page depicting Samson's suicide. Foreign newspapers reported that they wrote "Mene! Mene! Tekel Upharsin!" from Daniel 5:25, on the walls of their shared death row cell, shortly before they blew themselves to pieces.[108][109]
Israeli newspapers quote the father of the Lehi militant, years after the event, thanking the militant who constructed the bombs for "saving the honour of Israel".[110]
The Irgun commander, Menachem Begin praised the suicides but claimed that it did not count as a suicide, he said the deaths were entirely the fault of the British.[111] Begin, wrote about the deaths in the May 1947 issue of Herut, the Irgun's illegal underground newspaper. Begin referred to his own militant by his amputated left arm (Hebrew: מאיר הגדם, lit.'Meir the Stump'), and the Lehi militant's father[he] who was a Kabalist Rabbi.[112] The proclamation also included four Irgun men executed in Acre the week before, but named only Dov Gruner and used only his first name.[112][b]
"a force stronger than any weapon, more formidable than any armor, was created in the homeland. That night the legend was born. The legend of Acre and Jerusalem … Meir and Moshe crushed their bodies, but who would crush the legend of Meir the Stump, the legend of Moshe son of the Kabbalists, the legend of that death, which was unparalleled in the annals of the wars of liberation?"
The story of their deaths frequently featured in political speeches of the Irgun commander and his political successors in the Likud party.[113][114][115][116][117][118] In 2007, The Jerusalem Post described the double suicide as "One of the best-known stories of heroism leading to the creation of the State of Israel".[119] In 2007, prison guard's son returned the Bible to the militant's nephew, in a ceremony with a speech by Ehud Olmert.[88][116] Olmert claimed the reason they abandoned the planned attack was mercy for the guard.[116] In 2009 the Likud-led government introduced controversial changes to the high school curriculum that included a study unit focused on the suicides and other martyred pre-state militants.[120] In 2010 two Arab IsraeliKnesset members (KM) were ejected from the chamber after heckling a speech by Benjamin Netanyahu memorializing the militants (the 2 suicides and 10 who were hung). Another KM, and Nissim Ze'ev, yelled "Haniyeh is waiting for you in Gaza".[121]
↑ According to The Revolt, the plan was originally devised for Dov Gruner, top left. But before it could be crried out, he was relocated to Acre Prison, where he was executed alonside the other three on the top row.[123]
↑ Ulrich Baumann et al. (editor): Was damals Recht war… Soldaten und Zivilisten vor Gerichten der Wehrmacht. Berlin 2008, ISBN 3-89809-079-5, Page 188.
↑ דרור פויר (26 January 2009). תמות נפשי עם פלישתים[My soul will die with the Philistines]. Globes www.globes.co.il. שבצה"ל החמירו את נוהל "חניבעל" והנחו את החיילים למנוע בכל מחיר מקרה של "גלעד שליט 2". כלומר: אם אתה חייל ומנסים לחטוף אותך, עליך להתנגד. לא הולך? עליך להתאבד ולקחת כמה שיותר לוחמי חמאס אתך (מג"ד מגולני ממליץ על שימוש ברימון אישי…) … אם זהו הלך המחשבה, למה שלא יקחו את נוהל "חניבעל" וישדרגו אותו עוד קצת ויהפכו אותו לנוהל "שמשון"? למה לחכות שיבואו חוטפים כשאפשר לקחת את החיילים ולשלוח אותם ישר להתאבד, בבחינת תמות נפשי עם פלשתים, ולסגור עניין.
↑ Mary Storm. Head and Heart: Valour and Self-Sacrifice in the Art of India. Routledge.
↑ Pratibha Jain, Saṅgītā Śarmā, Honour, status & polity
↑ Mandakranta Bose (2014), Faces of the Feminine in Ancient, Medieval, and Modern India, Oxford University Press, ISBN978-0195352771, p. 26
↑ Malise Ruthven (2007), Fundamentalism: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, ISBN978-0199212705, p. 63; John Stratton Hawley (1994), Sati, the Blessing and the Curse, Oxford University Press, ISBN978-0195077742, pp. 165–166
↑ Ceresa, Alessia (2009). New technology: terrorism and an international prevention-repression strategy. New York: Nova Science Publishers. pp.125–126. ISBN9781606921357.
↑ Acosta, Benjamin (2012). "Assassins". In Stanton, Andrea L.; Ramsamy, Edward (eds.). Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. Sage. p.21. ISBN978-1-4129-8176-7. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
↑ McKenna, Thomas M. (1994). "The Defiant Periphery: Routes of Iranun Resistance in the Philippines". Social Analysis: The International Journal of Social and Cultural Practice. 35 (35): 11–27. JSTOR23171780.
↑ Yoram Schweitzer (21 April 2000). "Suicide Terrorism: Development and Characteristics". International Institute for Counter-Terrorism. Archived from the original on 27 May 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2015. ... a very specific kind of attack. It does not deal with the very high-risk terror operations that leave only little chance of survival to their perpetrators. Such attacks as the Japanese Red Army's (JRA) attack at Lod airport in 1972, Abu Nidal's attack on a synagogue in Istanbul in 1986 and the PFLP-GC hand-glider attack on an army barracks in Kiryat Shmona in 1987 fall outside the scope of this paper. Also excluded were the self-inflicted deaths of members of terrorist organization … a politically motivated violent attack perpetrated by a self-aware individual (or individuals) who actively and purposely causes his own death through blowing himself up along with his chosen target … the perpetrator's ensured death is a precondition for the success of his mission."
1 2 3 4 כל הדרך לגרדום: ימיו האחרונים של מאיר פיינשטיין. Makor Rishon (in Hebrew). 27 July 2017. מאיר פיינשטיין נולד וגדל בירושלים. אם שואלים את אתר הזיכרון הרשמי של חללי צה"ל או את ויקיפדיה, תאריך הלידה שלו הוא 5 באוקטובר 1927. לדברי אחיינו, המועד הנכון הוא יולי 1929.
1 2 3 Sheleg 2007: "Of course, we needed the condemned men's approval," (the Lehi veteran) recalls. "Moshe agreed right away, but since there was an Irgun man with him we had to request their approval, too. We asked the person responsible for Irgun prisoners in the jail, Yehoshua Tamler, what he thought, and he said they needed the consent of the top command. We had to wait a few days, despite fearing that they would be taken to the gallows in the meantime, until approval arrived from the commander of the Irgun, Menachem Begin."
1 2 Klein, Yair (3 May 2022). היום בהיסטוריה: פיינשטיין וברזני מקדימים את התליין[Today in History: Feinstein and Barzani outrun the executioner]. srugim.co.il (in Hebrew). Israel. Archived from the original on 30 June 2025. תמות נפשי עם פלשתים — ברזני ופינשטיין עירקי ואשכנזי ישבו ביחד בתא הנידונים למוות וחיכו בשלווה ליום מותם. איש לח"י אליעזר בן עמי העלה את רעיון שמשון תמות נפשי עם בריטים. והכין לשניים תפוז נפץ כדי שביום התלייה גם התליינים יתפוצצו.[My soul will die with the Philistines — Barzani and Feinstein, Iraqi and Ashkenazi, sat together in the death row cell and calmly awaited the day of their death. A Lehi member, Eliezer Ben Ami[he], came up with the idea of Samson dying with the British. And he prepared an explosive orange for the two of them so that on the day of the hanging, the executioners would also explode.] (Note: "today in history" refers to the anniversary in the Hebrew calendar)
↑ "Death for Terrorist In Palestine". Bundaberg News Mail. Jerusalem via London and Bundaberg. The Jerusalem correspondent of the Associated Press, London. 27 March 1944. Archived from the original on 31 May 2025. … the death sentence has been reintroduced in Palestine for certain terrorist of fences, Including carrying fire arms, ammunition, and bombs, also interfering with essential services. Reimposition of the death sentence follows a number of recent outrages including an attack on police headquarters at Jerusalem
↑ "Two More Palestinian Jews Sentenced to Death; Seven Now Stand in Shadow of Gallows". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 4 April 1947. Archived from the original on 11 May 2025. Feinstein was sentenced to death following a government "expert's" testimony that he was at least 18 years old. The death sentence may not be imposed on anybody under that age. His brother attempted several times to tell the court that he was only 17, but he was refused permission to testify. Since the defendant's birth certificate was missing, the "expert" was ordered to estimate his age.
↑ Feinstein, Benjamin (1 April 1947). "Letter to: The President, Military Court Jerusalem"(PDF). www.infocenters.co.il. Karem Quarter, Jerusalem. p.10. Archived from the original(PDF) on 11 May 2025. Now regarding the age of my brother Meir. So far the Prosecutors has tendered the following evidence on the subject: 1. A Birth Certificate issued by the Health Department, Government of Palestine, stating that the age of my brother Meir is 17 years 8 months. 2. My mother's sworn affidavit to the same effect. Medical Report by the Government Medical Officer, who was instructed to examine my brother at the request of the prosecutor, stating that my brother's age is 17½ yearв. Evidence by two military doctors that the age of my brother is 23-26 years.
↑ Begin, p.330 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFBegin (help): "The wearers of the crimson gallows-dress grew in number. In March, Moshe Barazani, a member of the F.F.I, was sentenced to "be hanged by the neck till he was dead." Early in April three British officers again donned their caps while one of them uttered the formula to Meir Feinstein, a member of the Irgun. These two wonderful young men greeted the sentence with the singing of Hatikvah."
1 2 Sheleg 2007: (Yoram Tamir director of the Museum of Underground Prisoners) "…says the Lehi had envisioned a suicide operation during the hanging of one of their men prior to this incident: "They called it Operation Samson, in an allusion to the suicide of the biblical figure." Eliezer Ben Ami[he], who prepared the makeshift orange grenades while he was imprisoned along with the two men, confirms that the plan was to turn their ascent to the gallows into an action that would harm the British authorities."
↑ Begin & The Revolt harvnb error: no target: CITEREFBeginThe_Revolt (help): "More weeks passed after Dov Gruner donned the crimson uniform of death. At the end of March his solitude in the condemned cell was broken. He was joined by three more soldiers of the Irgun, Yechiel Drezner (who had been arrested and sentenced as Dov Rosenbaum), Mordechai Alkoshi and Eliezer Kashani. They had been arrested on the night of the whippings. (quoting a 16 April 1947 ratio broadcast) 'This morning at Acre JailDov Gruner, Dov Rosen-baum, Mordechai Alkoshi and Eliezer Kashani were executed by hanging'. They had not even been permitted the ministrations of a Rabbi in their last moments."
↑ "HANGMAN DEFEATED BY CONDEMNED MEN IN PALESTINE". Grey River Argus. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 23 April 1947. p.5. Archived from the original on 9 May 2025. The Jewish terrorists Feinstein and Barazini were to have been executed at dawn to-day. However, they blew themselves to pieces shortly before midnight. The two men occupied the same cell. They were visited by Rabbi Jacob Goldman[he], Jewish chaplain to prisons, and he administered to them the last rites. Tile men committed suicide shortly after he left. Rabbi Goldman was immediately taken to the police headquarters. Feinstein and Barazini are reported to have inscribed the Biblical words, "Mene! Mene! Tekel Upharsin!" on the walls of their ceil before killing themselves with hand grenades. The words quoted are those mentioned in the Book of Daniel, chapter five, verse twenty-five.
↑ Klein 2022: Hebrew: אביו של ברזני פגש את אליעזר בן עמי נשק לו ואמר "הצלת את כבוד עם ישראל"., lit.'Barzani's father met Eliezer Ben Ami[he], kissed him, and said, "You saved the honor of the people of Israel".'
↑ Begin (8 December 1964). הישיבה הארבע-מאות-ושמונה-עשרה של הכנסת החמישית יום שלישי, ג׳ טבת תשכ״ה (8 דצמבר 1964) הודעת הממשלה על מיזוג עדות - דיון. מאגר כתבי מנחם בגין - מרכז מורשת בגין (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 11 August 2022. והשניים בהם, מאיר פינשטיין, שאבותיו באו מאירופה, ומשה ברזני, שהוריו באו מבבל, עשו מעשה שלא היה כמוהו במלחמות השחרור. משפחתם הלוחמת עשתה כל מאמץ כדי להצילם מידי התליין, אבל ביום אחד הוברר כי לא תשיג עוד ידם להוציאם מידיו. שני לוחמים אלה, האחד מן האצ״ל והשני מן הלח״י, האחד אשכנזי והשני ספרדי, החליטו שלא יפלו בידי התליין, אלא גם במותם יילחמו, וכך עם רימון מוסתר בבגדיהם ילכו אל מקום ההוצאה להורג ויפעילוהו בנוכחות כל התליינים. בא אליהם הרב וביקש מהם שירשו לו ללוותם לגרדום, אך הם, ביודעם את רצונם, את תכניתם ואת שאיפתם, התחננו לפניו שלא יבוא בבוקר השכם ללכת עמם בדרך האחרונה. הוא עמד על שלו והם על שלהם. ומשנפרד מהם, לאחר ששלושתם שרו את האדיר בשירי התהילה — ״אדון עולם אשר מלך בטרם כל יציר נברא״ — והתייחדו עם בוראם, כדי לא לפגוע בו, ברב, בעת ההוצאה להורג, לחצו בין לבותיהם את רימון היד, וכך גמרו חייהם בתא המוות. חיבוק אחים כזה של שני יהודים צעירים, של שני לוחמים, אשר בגלל מורשת הגולה נדבק בהם עדיין התו המפריד של אשכנז וספרד — זהו הסמל המובהק ביותר והמקודש ביותר של אהבת ישראל, ללא הבדל מוצא וללא הבדל עדה.
↑ Netanyahu (9 March 2010). "PM Netanyahu's Speech at the Knesset Special Session in Memory of the Jewish Prisoners Hung from the Gallows". www.gov.il/en. Which of us does not remember the almost unbelievable story of Moshe Barazani and Meir Feinstein? Grenades were smuggled to their prison cells in a basket of oranges. Their original plan was to blow themselves up together as they were being hung. However, it then became clear to them that one of the rabbis of the Jewish community intended to be there as they were executed. In order not to endanger him, the two decided that after his visit, they would take their fate into their own hands. They embraced firmly and exploded the grenades up against their hearts. It is doubtful that anyone could invent such an unbelievable story, a story which expresses supreme heroism, sublime love for country and people. Yes, love of country, love of the homeland, love for their people.
An unnamed "senior university historian" said, "There are moral and philosophical questions that should be addressed when you teach 14-year-olds about people who chose to die rather than accept a pardon or negotiate with the British authorities … The new program embraces martyrdom and worships the victim for being a victim".
"In a letter announcing the new program, (Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar) wrote, 'I hope the program, recounting Olei Hagardom's devotion to the struggle for Israel's independence, will bolster the students' ties with their people and heritage … and that their devotion will serve as an ideological model for our youth'."
↑ Begin 1951, pp.338–339 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFBegin1951 (help): "During our battle for Dov Gruner's life, the idea was mooted of "perishing with the Philistines" in case our efforts fatted. Dov was asked whether he would be prepared to choose "Samson's death" when the executioners appeared to lead him to the gallows... the idea is not of death at your own hand. A fighter should not take his own life. But where all hope has failed, our ancient hero in the hands of the Philistines showed us the way. Where there is no choice except death, a fighter might try to give his enemy "one last blow". But Gruner, Drezner, Alkoshi, and Kashani were transferred to Acre before preparations could be completed for shattering the pillars of the gallows. In the Jerusalem condemned cell there remained one-armed Meir Feinstein of the Irgun and Moshe Barazani of the F.F.I. They determined, as they wrote in their last moments, to avenge the blood of their four comrades."
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