Simha Haruvi
Simha Haruvi (Hebrew: שמחה חרובי, 14 May 1917 – 24 December 2020), also known as Simha Bokser, was an Israeli Halutz, a key Hagganah commander in the Haifa District of Wadi Salib and Wadi Nisnas during Israel's War of Independence. He is known for being one of the 43 Hagganah prisoners (מ"ג_אסירי_ההגנה) jailed by the British in the Acre Prison, along with Moshe Dayan and Moshe Carmel.
Early Life
Simha Bokser (his birth name) was born on May 14, 1917 in Zamość, Zamosc County, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland, to father Avraham Bokser and mother Ester Bokser (maiden name Stern).
Simha grew up an orphan following the murder of his father, when Simha was a year old, by a neighbor who had just joined the Polish police force with his son and took it on himself to execute a Jew he suspected of aiding the enemy. The Polish government compensated his mother with a local monopoly to distribute newspapers and to sell old books. In the summer of 1935, shortly after his 18th birthday, Simha immigrated to Palestine with his mother and younger brother, joining his older sister, who immigrated one year prior, and older brother who immigrated in 1923. His mother returned to Poland four months later and perished in the Holocaust.
Hagganah
Simha Bokser (as he was named in the Hagganah) was best known for his deeds during his time in the Hagannah -- the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1935 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.
In 1935, upon arriving as a new immigrant in Palestine, he joined a Kibbutz and worked in construction and then in the orange groves. In October 1935, at the age of 18, he was recruited to the Hagannah and swore allegiance in the middle of the night in an orange grove, facing a box of fruit and swearing on a gun and the Hebrew bible. During the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, the Haganah worked to protect British interests and to quell Arab rebellion.
Simha joined the “Gapirim”, a local police force without uniform or salary. This allowed him to train with a British Lewis gun.
Special Night Squads
Although the British administration did not officially recognize the Haganah, the British security forces cooperated with it, and the forces were trained and led by Colonel Orde Wingate. In 1938, Simha served in the Special Night Squads commanded by Orde Wingate. His unit was stationed in Kfar Yona under the joint command of Sergeant Israel Carmi and Captain Bruce of the British Army. He developed a strong friendship with Captain Bruce and was invited to a Christmas dinner at Captain Bruce's residence in December 1938. In January 1939, he was transferred to Tel Tzur.
Hagganah Leader's Course and the Acre Prison
The Haganah Leader's course (Course Mem Mem) was held at Yavniel. It began in August 1939 and had 60 students to be trained as future leaders in the Hagganah. This was only the second cohort in that course. The first cohort included as students Efraim Katzir and Yigal Yadin.
The head of the course was Raphael Lev (Hebrew: רפאל לב). Raphael Lev was born in Austria. In World War I he had fought for Austria-Hungary as a captain. As a leader of the Social Democrat paramilitary Schutzbund, he had taken part in the Austrian Civil War (1934). In 1938, he immigrated to Palestine, and given his vast military knowledge, in 1939 he was appointed to head the Hagganah Leader's Course. The lectures by Lev were given in German and were translated to Hebrew. His second in command was Moshe Carmel, known then as Moshe Zalitsky from kibbutz Na'an. The other instructors were Yigal Alon, Moshe Dayan,Dov Neeman,Yaakov Salomon and Eliyahu Hershkovich.
On 3 October 1939, Moshe Dayan was the commanding instructor for Haganah Leader's courses held at Yavniel when two British Palestine Police officers discovered illegal Polish rifles. Leading a group of 43 men through Wadi Bira the following morning, Arab members of the Transjordan Frontier Force arrested them. Moshe Carmel was the group's deputy commander. Not present at the time were Yigal Alon and Moshe Dayan (who had been sent out as a scout along with Mordechai Soknik.
While members of the group of detainees who spoke English were subject to torture, most of the group were treated with dignity. Prior to trial, they were housed in the ancient citadel attached to the prison, rather than the prison itself and spent most of their time on the roof of the citadel, taking solace in the etched names of those who preceded them including Ze'ev Jabotinsky. Given their previous alliance with the British and the need for seasoned soldiers by the British Army now fighting World War II, the prisoners were confident they would be released.
To their shock and dismay, on 30 October 1939, most of the group were sentenced to 10 years in prison. Avshalom Tao was sentenced to life in prison. They were then transferred to the prison along with criminals, and were subject to especially humiliating conditions, including sleeping on the floor and being served rotten food. They were only allowed to see family once every two months and were denied basic necessities like candles and toilet paper.
Among the Jewish prisoners, Hagganah and Etzel alike, Simha found many well-known scholars and used their knowledge to further his education and prepare for matriculation exams, as he had not had the chance to attend high school in Poland. Among these scholars were Avraham Poshinsky from the Hebrew University (Engineering), Mordechai Polos from the Technion (Mathematics), Aryeh Rotenberg and Tzvi Brener (English), as well as Yehuda Orshansky.
On 16 February 1941, after Chaim Weizmann's intervention in London, they were all released. Upon his release, Simha reported to the Haifa commander-- Misha Plutkin-- and volunteered to continue his service in the Hagganah in Haifa.
Wadi Salib and Wadi Nisnas
In November 1947, Simha was appointed a regional commander of the old commercial center, a neighborhood between Kings st and Jaffa st. Following a period of Arab protests, Simha was assigned military instructor duty. Around that time, Arab unrest resulted in gun fights and the Jewish population in Hadar HaKarmel and most families fled to higher elevation synagogues and schools and barricaded inside. The Hagganah mounted no defense. Simha complained to Shlomo Tavori (whom he knew well), the second in command in Haifa, and was directed to Yaakov Lublini, the top Haifa commander. Lublini responded to the complaint by appointing Simha as the commander of Wadi Salib.
The City's defense was divided into three large districts. Mount Carmel, Hadar HaCarmel, and the Lower City. Hadar HaCarmel in turn was divided into three fronts-- Wadi Salib, Hebrew: ואדי סאליב, (under Simha's command, January 1948 to March 1948), Wadi Nisnas (under Simha Haruvi's command, April 1948), and Rushmiya, known today as Romema. Simha Haruvi's territory was on the lower northeastern slope of Mount Carmel, between Hadar HaCarmel and the city's historic center and CBD.
Mapai and Abba Hushi
Following the War of Indpendence, Simha served as an elected representative in Mapai Haifa until October 1964. An article in the Israeli newspaper Herut on October 7, 1964, details his achievements and fall from power. During his time in office, he was dedicated to exposing corruption, both in wealth absorption by the party bosses, and in outright election fraud. This put him in direct confrontation and a warpath with Abba Hushi, one of Israel's most powerful politicians at the time, a fight which Simha ultimately lost. He was expelled from the party in 1964.
Death
Died December 24 2020 in Kfar Saba, Israel.
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