War of Independence

Residents considered fleeing, but escape was impossible—just sea and dunes, and snipers... 17 fell to sniper fire. Arabs attempted infiltration, were spotted and shot, but how could a small neighborhood hold out, surrounded by a sea of hostility?

A compass and Bren machine gun shells, believed to have belonged to one of the fallen heroes in the historic battle at the Judean Hills, were unearthed behind a sheltering rock.

On this day, the 15th of Sivan, 71 years ago, an IDF shell sank the Irgun's ship, the Altalena.

A descendent of old Jerusalem families, one of the first to venture outside the city walls. Dr. Simcha Mendelbaum, the sole survivor of the Battle of the Bevingrad Fortress, shares his memories from the 1948 war, recounts his ties with Rabbi Aryeh Levin, and his life's work dedicated to the beloved city.