Yehuda Arazi ( he, יהודה ארזי; 1907–1959), code name ''Alon'', was an Israeli who was active in the Haganah in Palestine during the British Mandate era.

Biography

Arazi was born in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of cant ...

to a Jewish family in 1907. He immigrated with his parents to

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

in the

Mandatory 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 ...

in 1924, studying in the Gymnasia Herzlia. While in Palestine, Arazi joined the Haganah and the

Palestine Police Force The Palestine Police Force was a British colonial police service established in Mandatory Palestine on 1 July 1920,Sinclair, 2006. when High Commissioner Sir Herbert Samuel's civil administration took over responsibility for security from Gene ...

. As a police officer, he was most notably involved as the investigating officer in the 1933 murder of

Chaim Arlosoroff Haim Arlosoroff (February 23, 1899 – June 16, 1933; also known as Chaim Arlozorov; he, חיים ארלוזורוב) was a Socialist Zionist leader of the Yishuv during the British Mandate for Palestine, prior to the establishment of Isr ...

. In 1936, Arazi was sent back to Poland to help smuggle matériel to Palestine. In 1931 he married Rivka Albin, a year later their daughter Ruth was born. She married in 1955 the Supreme Court judge

Gabriel Bach Gabriel Bach ( he, גבריאל בך; 13 March 1927 – 18 February 2022) was a German-born Israeli jurist, who was a judge of the Supreme Court of Israel and was the deputy prosecutor in the prosecution of Adolf Eichmann. Biography Bach wa ...

. His son Dan was born in 1941. In 1943 he stole 5,000 rifles from the British Police for the Haganah, and had to go into hiding. In 1945, after two years of living in hiding as a wanted man in Palestine, Arazi and his partner Yitzhak Levy travelled to Egypt by train dressed as Royal Engineers sergeants. From there, they travelled through North Africa and into Italy, where they joined the

Jewish Brigade The Jewish Infantry Brigade Group, more commonly known as the Jewish Brigade Group or Jewish Brigade, was a military formation of the British Army in the World War II, Second World War. It was formed in late 1944 and was recruited among Yishuv, Y ...

of the British Army using falsified names. He was head of the Italy branch of the

Mossad LeAliyah Bet The Mossad LeAliyah Bet ( he, המוסד לעלייה ב', lit. ''Institution for Immigration B'') was a branch of the paramilitary organization Haganah in British Mandatory Palestine, and later the State of Israel, that operated to facilitate Je ...

, the Haganah agency involved in facilitating illegal Jewish immigration to Palestine, and was involved in the “ La Spezia” affair. After the independence of

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 ...

in 1948, Arazi became a private businessman and built the Ramat Aviv Hotel. He died of brain cancer in 1959. Shortly before his death, he befriended the artist Chaim Goldberg, also a Polish Jew, who was commissioned to execute several sculptures and a fully functional water fountain for the front of his hotel. The artist established his studio in a former munitions factory that he received from Arazi, that was located behind the hotel. Arazi and the La Spezia affair gave the inspiration to

Leon Uris Leon Marcus Uris (August 3, 1924 – June 21, 2003) was an American author of historical fiction who wrote many bestselling books including ''Exodus'' (published in 1958) and ''Trinity'' (published in 1976). Life and career Uris was born in Bal ...

for Ari Ben Canaan in ''

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

''. Arazi was known as “King of Ruses”, changing disguises and identities according to needs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arazi, Yehudah 1907 births People from Łódź Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Aliyah Bet activists Jews in Mandatory Palestine Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium alumni Haganah members 20th-century Israeli Jews Israeli military personnel 20th-century Israeli businesspeople 1959 deaths Burials at Nahalat Yitzhak Cemetery