‘Beware, the bridge is going to blow up!’
Chanan Rapaport, 90, recalls his days as a fighter for the Hagana
His mission almost failed, under the light of a full moon.
Operation Markolet was the Hebrew name of the “Night of the Bridges” campaign carried out overnight on June 16, 1946, by the pre-state Jewish militia, the Hagana. It was aimed at destroying 11 bridges linking Palestine to the neighboring countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt, from where troops and weapons were reported to be heading to the Arab residents of the British Mandate area.
Nineteen-year-old Chanan Rapaport, who quickly rose up the ranks of the Palmah, the elite strike force of the Hagana, was part of one of the units sent out on the mission.
“Our targeted bridge was over the Na’aman River, close to where Nahariya is today, that brought the train from Lebanon to Haifa,” says the 90-year-old Rapaport, talking animatedly in the meticulously neat living room of his downtown Jerusalem apartment that he shares with Judith, his wife of 61 years.
The holder of a doctorate in clinical psychology, Rapaport served for 18 years (1965-1982) as general and scientific director of the Szold Institute – the National Institute for Research in the Behavioral Sciences, and advised two prime ministers – Golda Meir and Yitzhak Rabin – on Israeli societal problems. Crisply dressed and possessed with an equally sharp mind, he speaks with precise detail about events that took place more than 70 years ago.
“There was a full moon, so we crawled along at about half a meter every five minutes. Standing on the bridge were British guards who would switch every four hours. We were under orders not to kill any British during the mission,” he says.
“We had very simple explosives – TNT – in our knapsacks. As we got closer, our explosives
promised.
“We send a prayer to our soldiers, our missing soldiers and those killed but whose resting places are unknown. We will not be quiet until they return to our borders,” Rivlin concluded.
Eisenkot paid tribute to the special nature of Israeli society in remaining strong despite great sacrifices made by its citizens.
“Joint values of love for our homeland, mutual friendship and the unity of soldiers overcome all rifts. Even in the hardest moments, the IDF stands strong and draws on its strength from all those who serve it,” said Eisenkot.
“We all made our separate ways to the Western Wall through personal pain. Every person comes here with pain, longing and the memory of the fallen. In this difficult but familiar moment, we come together under a shared national pain,” he said.
“In this moment, our common identity is revealed, as a result of which we became unified as a nation and we established a state.”
On Wednesday evening, Israel will swiftly transition from commemoration to celebration, as festivities for the country’s 70th Independence Day get under way with a state ceremony at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl. •