The Disappearance of Alexander Rubowitz: A Wartime Mystery Unsolved

Year: 1947. Location: Rehavia, Jerusalem. Scenario: Abduction by British Intelligence.

Alexander Rubowitz, a young teenager of 16 and a half, disappeared after leaving his home one day 66 years ago. His parents and family turned over every stone in their efforts to uncover his fate, but to no avail. The only person who could have shed light on the mystery took his secret to the grave. Over the years, the family has pieced together almost all the unknown details that led to Alexander's tragic death. Yet one question remains unresolved to this day—where is the boy?

Rubowitz, from a devout family living on David Yellin Street, joined the Lehi group at a very young age. "The adults were involved in the fighting. Teenagers, aged 15 and 16, used to paste underground posters and engage in reconnaissance and surveillance of the British," recalls his childhood friend, Ezra Yachin.

The last time Alexander was seen alive was on the 17th of Iyar, 1947. At 6:30 PM, he left to post Lehi leaflets around Rehavia Garden. He did not notice the car lying in wait. By the time a group of men jumped out, it was too late. After a brief struggle, he was dragged into the vehicle, which sped away.

Alexander Rubowitz's fate might have remained a total mystery if not for a series of coincidences. Two children playing nearby witnessed the abduction and reported that Alexander managed to knock off one of the attackers' hats during the struggle. By some miracle, the hat ended up with a yeshiva student named Kaminetzky, who found it on a neighborhood Lag BaOmer bonfire. At the urging of Rabbi Charlap, the revered rabbi of the Shaarei Chesed neighborhood, the student handed the hat to Alexander's family. Inside the grey felt hat, the owner's name was inscribed: Farran.

Roy Farran was among the most decorated soldiers of the British Army. His book on his World War II exploits sold 300,000 copies. Even his admirers admitted he was "somewhat irresponsible," yet all agreed there was no greater patriot. In 1946, Farran was sent to the land of Israel to combat "Jewish terrorists." The British spared no effort to cover up the abduction and murder. A notebook allegedly containing Farran's confession was destroyed by higher orders. Farran was put on trial, but a special panel of judges was flown in from Britain to ensure the desired outcome.

"Only after decades of painstaking work did we manage to piece the puzzle together," Alexander's nephew, Tzvi Rubowitz, tells us. Among other evidence, family investigators uncovered a British Army logbook kept by soldiers manning the military checkpoint on the road to Jericho. On the night of May 6, they recorded the passage of a police car at 9:20 PM. The driver was named 'Ferran.' When the car returned past the checkpoint near midnight, Alexander Rubowitz was no longer inside.
The Lehi never forgave Farran for his deeds. Fifty grams of dynamite were hidden in a fancy Shakespeare book and sent to his British residence. Unfortunately, Farran was in Scotland at the time, and his brother Rex, who opened the package, was fatally injured by the explosion. "It was a disappointing failure," says Lehi veteran Yaakov Heruti. "We were after the murderer, not his brother"..

Farran went on to settle in Canada, where he worked as a journalist. By the late 1970s, he was elected as the district attorney of Alberta. Every attempt to persuade him to reveal where he buried the body was met with stubborn refusal. He steadfastly refused to contact the Rubowitz family until his death about seven years ago.

The street named after Rubowitz overlooks the Judean Desert, where he disappeared on that dark night over 60 years ago. Somewhere in the vast wilderness, the mystery of Alexander Rubowitz awaits its full resolution.