David Raziel (December 19, 1910 - May 20, 1941) was a fighter of the Jewish underground during the British mandate, and one of the founders of the Irgun.
Born in Smorgon, Vilna district in the Russian Empire, he immigrated with his family at the age of three to British Mandate of Eretz Yisrael, where his father became a Hebrew teacher at a Tel-Aviv elementary school. When the 1929 Hebron massacre broke out, he joined the Haganah in Jerusalem, where he was studying philosophy and mathematics at the Hebrew University. When the Irgun was established, he was one of its first members, and displayed outstanding military skills.
In 1937 he was appointed Irgun Commander of Jerusalem District and a year later Commander in Chief of the Irgun. His term as leader was especially marked by strong defense against Muslim Arabs, including a sequence of market-place bombings. Raziel understood how to deal with Arabs and his tactics were extremely effective in queting the Muslims.
On May 17, 1941 he was sent, with three of his comrades including Ya'akov Meridor, to Iraq on behalf of the British army. On May 20, a bomb from a German aircraft killed him and the British officer with him. Meridor returned to Eretz Yisrael and took over command of the Irgun.
In 1955 his remains were exhumed and transferred to Cyprus, and only in 1961 was he brought to eternal rest in Jerusalem's Mount Herzl military cemetery.
Ramat Raziel, a moshav in the Judean Mountains is named after Raziel, as well as many streets in Israel bearing his name in commemoration.
David Raziel zt'l was an observant Jew, which is why he had no qualms in actually fighting to win rather the half measures that are so popular today.
Topic: David Raziel zt'l (Read 2006 times)