Ad Halom ( he, עַד הֲלוֹם) is a site at the eastern entrance to the city of
Ashdod,
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, where three bridges cross the
Lakhish River
Lakhish River ( he, נחל לכיש, ''Naḥal Lakhish'') is a river in Israel that flows into the Mediterranean Sea at the city of Ashdod. It is also known as Wadi Kabiba (inland section) and Wadi Sukhrir (Ashdod section) in Arabic. History
The b ...
.
Battle
Ad Halom (lit. "no further" or "up to here") refers to the northernmost point reached by the Egyptian army in
Operation Pleshet
Operation Pleshet ( he, מִבְצָע פְּלֶשֶׁת, ''Mivtza Pleshet'', lit. "Operation Philistia"), named after the geographical region where it took place, was an Israeli military operation during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was car ...
, one of the battles of the
1948 Arab–Israeli War. Since then, the term is used in Hebrew to emphasize the last line of defense that must not be defeated. The term was also used in the name of the company "
Adallom".
On May 29, 1948, Israel dispatched four
Avia S-199 aircraft. It was the first combat operation of the Israeli/
Machal Air Force. The mission was flown by
Lou Lenart
Louis Lenart (April 24, 1921 – July 20, 2015) was a Hungarian-born American-Israeli fighter pilot. His exploits during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War were documented in the 2015 film ''A Wing and a Prayer (2015 documentary), A Wing and a Prayer''.
...
, U.S.A.,
Ezer Weizman
Ezer Weizman (; he, עֵזֶר וַיצְמָן ''Ezer Vaytsman''; 15 June 1924 – 24 April 2005) was the seventh President of Israel, first elected in 1993 and re-elected in 1998. Before the presidency, Weizman was commander of the Israeli Ai ...
,
Modi Alon
Mordechai "Modi" Alon (17 January 1921 – 16 October 1948) was an Israeli fighter pilot who with the formation of the Israeli Air Force in May 1948, assumed command of its first fighter squadron. Flying the Avia S-199, Alon participated in the ...
, Israel, and
Eddie Cohen, South Africa, to attack the Egyptians between the Arab village of
Isdud
Isdud ( ar, اسدود) is a former Palestinian village and the site of the ancient and classical-era Levantine metropolis of Ashdod. The Arab village, which had a population of 4,910 in 1945, was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. T ...
and the bridge over the
Lachish River. Cohen was shot down by anti-aircraft fire, becoming the first casualty of the fledgling
IAF.
The
Givati Brigade blew up the bridge and defended the river bank from a
pillbox Pillbox may refer to:
* Pill organizer, a container for medicine
* Pillbox hat, a woman's hat with a flat crown, straight upright sides, and no brim
* Pillbox (military)
A pillbox is a type of blockhouse, or concrete dug-in guard-post, norm ...
during
Operation Barak
Operation Barak ( he, מבצע ברק, ''Mivtza Barak'', lit. ''Operation Lightning'') was a Haganah offensive launched just before the end of the British Mandate in Palestine. It was part of Plan Dalet. Its objective was to capture villages Nor ...
. The
Egyptian Army later took up positions at the site, which saw two battles in mid-1948.
The Egyptian forces were later defeated in
Operation Yoav
Operation Yoav (also called ''Operation Ten Plagues'' or ''Operation Yo'av'') was an Israeli military operation carried out from 15–22 October 1948 in the Negev Desert, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Its goal was to drive a wedge between th ...
; the pillbox and defensive wall remain as memorials of the events.
Egyptian monument
At the
Camp David Accords, Israel and
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
convened for a monument dedicated to the fallen Egyptian soldiers to be erected at the site, in exchange for the Israeli memorials to fallen Israeli soldiers from the
Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is ...
being protected and preserved by the Egyptian authorities. The inscriptions on the four edges are in
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
,
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
,
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and ancient
Egyptian hieroglyphs
Egyptian hieroglyphs (, ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt, used for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with some 1,000 distinct characters.There were about 1, ...
.
Bridges
Jisr Isdud, one of the three bridges at Ad Halom and sometimes known as Ad Halom Bridge,
[Petersen, A. (2008): ''Bridges in Medieval Palestine'', in U. Vermeulen & K. Dhulster (eds.)]
History of Egypt & Syria in the Fatimid, Ayyubid & Mamluk Eras V
V. Peeters, Leuven was built over the
Lakhish River
Lakhish River ( he, נחל לכיש, ''Naḥal Lakhish'') is a river in Israel that flows into the Mediterranean Sea at the city of Ashdod. It is also known as Wadi Kabiba (inland section) and Wadi Sukhrir (Ashdod section) in Arabic. History
The b ...
(Wadi Sukrir/Wadi Fakhira) during the
Mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
period in the 13th century.
[ After numerous armed raids in the area during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, the British authorities set up a series of pillboxes in the area, one of them next to the bridges.] After its destruction in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the bridge was reconstructed and upgraded.
A railway bridge was added to the west of Jisr Isdud when the coastal railway (Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
–Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
) was laid.
The four-lane Highway 4 required the addition of another parallel bridge, to the east of Jisr Isdud, and also known as Ad Halom bridge.
Railway station
The Israel Railways
Israel Railways Ltd. , dba Israel Railways ( he, רַכֶּבֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Rakevet Yisra'el''), is the state-owned principal railway company responsible for all inter-city, commuter, and freight rail transport in Israel. Isra ...
started to operate a passenger line to Ashdod in the mid-1990s.
The new railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
was established in 2004. In 2005 the line was extended to Ashkelon
Ashkelon or Ashqelon (; Hebrew: , , ; Philistine: ), also known as Ascalon (; Ancient Greek: , ; Arabic: , ), is a coastal city in the Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border wit ...
.
The short distance between the railway and poor planning of the Ad Halom junction on Highway 4 cause traffic jams. The first stage of new Ashdod Interchange, intended to solve the problem, was opened in October 2008.
File:גשר_עד_הלום_לאחר_סערות_החורף.jpg, Jisr Isdud after a winter storm
File:Adhalom3.jpg, Ad Halom commemoration wall
File:Ad Halom pillbox.jpg, British Mandate-era pillbox
File:Ashdod-Ad-Halom-83.jpg, The Egyptian monument
See also
*List of Roman bridges
This is a list of Roman bridges. The Romans were the world's first major bridge builders. The following list constitutes an attempt to list all known surviving remains of Roman bridges.
A Roman bridge in the sense of this article includes an ...
*Barid The ''barīd'' ( ar, بريد, often translated as "the postal service") was the state-run courier service of the Umayyad and later Abbasid Caliphates. A major institution in the early Islamic states, the ''barid'' was not only responsible for the o ...
, Muslim postal network renewed during Mamluk period (roads, bridges, khans)
**Jisr al-Ghajar
Ghajar ( ar, غجر, he, ע'ג'ר or ) is an Alawite-Arab village on the Hasbani River, on the border between Lebanon and the Israeli-occupied portion of Syria's Golan Heights. In , it had a population of .
History
Early history
Control ov ...
, stone bridge south of Ghajar
**Daughters of Jacob Bridge
Daughters of Jacob Bridge ( he, גשר בנות יעקב, ''Gesher Bnot Ya'akov''; ar, جسر بنات يعقوب, ''Jisr Benat Ya'kub''). is a bridge that spans the last natural ford of the Jordan at the southern end of the Hula Basin between ...
(Jisr Banat Yaqub), Mamluk bridge on the upper Jordan River
**Al-Sinnabra
Al-Sinnabra or Sinn en-Nabra, is the Arabic place name for a historic site on the southern shore of the Sea of Galilee in modern-day Israel. The ancient site lay on a spur from the hills that close the southern end of the Sea of Galilee, next to ...
Crusader bridge, with nearby Jisr Umm el-Qanatir/Jisr Semakh and Jisr es-Sidd further downstream
**Jisr el-Majami
Jisr el-Majami or Jisr al-Mujamieh ( ar, جسر المجامع, Jisr al-Majami, Meeting Bridge or "The bridge of the place of assembling", and he, גֶּשֶׁר, ''Gesher'', lit. "Bridge") is an ancient stone bridge, possibly of Roman origin, o ...
bridge over the Jordan, with Mamluk khan
**Jisr Jindas
Jisr Jindas, Arabic for "Jindas Bridge", also known as Baybars Bridge, was built in 1273 CE. It crosses a small wadi, known in Hebrew as the Ayalon River, on the old road leading south to Lod and Ramla.Petersen, 2001, p183/ref> The bridge is name ...
, Mamluk bridge over the Ayalon near Lod and Ramla, Israel
** Yibna Bridge or "Nahr Rubin Bridge"
** Jisr ed-Damiye, bridges over the Jordan (Roman, Mamluk, modern)ed during Mamluk period (roads, bridges, khans)
References
Bibliography
* (ARP II, p
186
* (p
422
*
{{Commons category, Adhalom
Ashdod
Buildings and structures in Ashdod
Bridges in Israel
1948 Arab–Israeli War
Mamluk architecture in Israel