Moshe Barazani, also Barzani ( he, משה ברזני; June 14, 1926 – April 21, 1947), was an Iraqi-born

Kurdish Jew , image = File:RABBI MOSHE GABAIL.jpg , caption = Rabbi Moshe Gabai, head of the Jewish community of Zakho, with Israeli President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi in 1951 , pop = 200,000–300,000 , region1 = , pop1 ...

and a member of

Lehi Lehi (; he, לח"י – לוחמי חרות ישראל ''Lohamei Herut Israel – Lehi'', "Fighters for the Freedom of Israel – Lehi"), often known pejoratively as the Stern Gang,"This group was known to its friends as LEHI and to its enemie ...

("Freedom Fighters of Israel," aka the "Stern Gang") underground movement in pre-state

Mandate Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...

during the

Jewish insurgency in Palestine A successful paramilitary campaign was carried out by Zionist underground groups against British rule in Mandatory Palestine from 1944 to 1948. The tensions between the Zionist underground and the British mandatory authorities rose from 1938 an ...

. He is most notable for having committed suicide with a hand grenade together with

Meir Feinstein Meir Feinstein ( he, מאיר פיינשטיין; October 5, 1927 – April 21, 1947) was an Irgun member in pre-state Mandatory Palestine, during the Jewish insurgency in Mandatory Palestine. Feinstein, who was sentenced to death by the British ...

, another Jewish underground fighter under sentence of death, shortly before their scheduled executions, and is memorialized in

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 ...

today as one of the

Olei Hagardom Olei Hagardom ( he, עולי הגרדום, lit. "those who ascended to the gallows") refers to members of the two Jewish Revisionist pre-state underground organisations Irgun and Lehi, who were tried in British Mandate courts and sentenced to ...

Early life

Barazani was born in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

to a Kurdish Jewish family from

Barzan Barzan can refer to: Geography * Barzan, Iraq, a city in northern Iraq * Barzan, Iran, a village in Lorestan Province, Iran * Barzan, alternate name of Sevaldi, a village in North Khorasan Province, Iran * Barzan, Charente-Maritime, a town in Fran ...

. The family moved to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

when he was six. At an early age, he began working, initially as a carpenter's apprentice, and then in a soft drinks factory.

Underground activity

Barazani joined Lehi at an early age, following in the footsteps of his brother. Initially, he was a member of Lehi's youth division and posted propaganda leaflets, but later joined the fighting force. He participated in numerous sabotage operations, laying mines to destroy British vehicles and taking part in railway sabotage. On March 9, 1947, Barazani was sent on a mission to assassinate a senior British officer, Brigadier A.P. Davies, with a grenade. He was stopped and searched by a British patrol which found him near the Schneller Camp, a British installation in Jerusalem. A grenade was found in his pocket, and he was arrested. On March 17, 1947, he was tried before a military court on charges of illegal weapons possession and conspiracy to murder, convicted, and sentenced to death.

Suicide

Graves of Moshe Barazani and Meir Feinstein, 2014

While awaiting execution in the Central Prison in Jerusalem's

Russian Compound The Russian Compound ( he, מִגְרַשׁ הָרוּסִים, ''Migraš ha-Rusim'', ar, المسكوبية, ''al-Muskubīya'', russian: Русское подворье в Иерусалиме) is one of the oldest districts in central Jer ...

, he met

Irgun Irgun • Etzel , image = Irgun.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = Irgun emblem. The map shows both Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan, which the Irgun claimed in its entirety for a future Jewish state. The acronym "Etzel" i ...

fighter

, who had also been sentenced to death. On April 21, 1947, shortly before their scheduled executions, they committed suicide with an improvised

grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...

which had been smuggled inside a hollowed-out orange. The two embraced each other with the live grenade lodged between them. The story of Feinstein and Barazani became a celebrated tale in

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a Nationalism, nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is ...

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. B ...

, leader of Irgun and later prime minister of Israel, was buried next to them on the

Mount of Olives The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet ( he, הַר הַזֵּיתִים, Har ha-Zeitim; ar, جبل الزيتون, Jabal az-Zaytūn; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Jeru ...

in accordance with his will. To commemorate the 60th anniversary of Barazani's death, a state ceremony was held at the

Museum of the Underground Prisoners Museum of Underground Prisoners is a museum in Jerusalem, commemorating the activity of the Jewish underground—Haganah, Irgun and Lehi—during the period leading up the establishment of the State of Israel. History of the building The museu ...

in Jerusalem in 2007.'The good jailer' returns Irgun hero's Bible 60 years later

Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...

, April 19, 2007

References

External links

Moshe BarazaniThe last words of Barazani and Feinstein
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barazani, Moshe 1926 births 1947 suicides Kurdish Jews Iraqi Kurdish people Lehi (militant group) People from Baghdad Iraqi Jews Olei Hagardom People who committed suicide in prison custody Prisoners who died in British military detention Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives Iraqi emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Prisoners sentenced to death by the British military Suicides by explosive device Deaths by hand grenade Iraqi people who died in prison custody Palestinian people who died in prison custody