אליהו גולומב

Eliyahu Golomb (1893-1945), leader of Jewish defence in Palestine and main architect of the Haganah, the secret military organization for defense of the Yishuv, the Jewish settlement in Palestine, between 1920 and 1948, born in Volkovysk, Belarus (then part of the Russian Empire). Golomb came to Erez Israel, then under Otttoman rule, in 1909. He was pupil in the Herzliya High School's first graduating class in 1913. He then began to organize agricultural training courses and worked in Kibbutz Deganyah Alef. When World War I broke out in 1914, Golomb opposed the enlistment of Jews as officers in the Turkish Army and instead insisted on the creation of an independent Jewish defense force within the British army. He successfully opposed the plans of the British commander to send the volunteers to fight outside the country. In 1918 he became a founder of the Jewish Legion which he hoped would form the basis of a permanent official Jewish militia. After his demobilization he became a member of the committee entrusted with organizing the Haganah and in 1920 was active in sending aid to the defenders of the northern outpost of Tel Hai.

In contrast to the policy of HaShomer, Golomb believed that defense was the concern of the Jewish population as a whole and should not depend on a small elite. He saw the Haganah as an integral part of the Zionist movement, and thus objected to the existence of more radical defense organizations, such as the Irgun. Along with Berl Katznelson, Golomb spent much time working with Ze'ev Jabotinsky of the Revisionist party trying to unify defense efforts among Jews. In 1922 he was sent abroad to purchase weapons for the Haganah and was arrested by the Vienna police. Until 1924 he organized pioneering youth in Europe. During the Arab Revolt of 1936--1939 Golomb was one of the initiators of the field units ("plugot sadeh") which confronted Arab terrorists. He supported active defense and retaliation but opposed reprisals against the general Arab population. Although supporting the enlistment of Jews in the British Army during World War II and the parachuting of Jewish agents into Nazi-occupied Europe, Golomb never forgot the necessity for the removal of the British mandatory power from Erez Israel. He became a founder of the Palmah, the commando arm of the Haganah and foundation of the Israel Defense Forces, and trained many of its future commanders.

He was one of the leaders of Ahdut HaAvodah party (later Mapai) and the Histadrut. His Tel Aviv home was turned into a Haganah museum.