Mista'arvim ( he, מסתערבים; ar, مستعربين, translit=musta'ribīn), also spelled mista'aravim, is the name given to

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or ...

units of the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

, Israel Border Police, and

Israel Police The Israel Police ( he, משטרת ישראל, ''Mišteret Yisra'el''; ar, شرطة إسرائيل, ''Shurtat Isrāʼīl'') is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fightin ...

who operate undercover. Such units are specifically trained to assimilate among the local

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

population. They are commonly tasked with performing intelligence gathering, law enforcement, hostage rescue and counter-terrorism, and to use disguise and surprise as their main weapons. The name is derived from the Arabic "Musta'arabi", meaning "those who live among the Arabs", which refers to the

Musta'arabi Jews Musta'arabi Jews (Musta'aribun اليهود المستعربة in Arabic; Musta'arvim מוּסְתערבים in Hebrew) were the Arabic-speaking Jews, largely Mizrahi Jews and Maghrebi Jews, who lived in the Middle East and North Africa prior ...

, Arabic-speaking Jews who lived in the Middle East since the beginning of the Arab rule in the 7th century, prior to the arrival of Ladino-speaking

Sephardic Jews Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...

following their expulsion from Spain in 1492.

Etymology

The Hebrew ''mista'arvim'' derives from the Arabic مستعربين ''mustaʿribīn'', literally "those who live among the Arabs," or simply "Arabized." Israeli Musta'ribeen are special forces who pose undercover as Arabs and operate within Arab societies to accomplish their missions. Musta'ribeen dress as Arabs, know the customs and etiquette of Arab society and speak fluent Arabic, in the appropriate dialect. Musta'ribeen have participated in public demonstrations and may support the protests as if they were demonstrators. Gary Spedding, a consultant on the Middle East, said that the activity of Musta'ribeen "allows the Israeli military and border police to identify protesters they wish to arrest and detain. Israeli affairs expert Antoine Shalhat claimed that the main missions of the Musta'ribeen "include gathering intelligence and counterterrorist operations."

Pre-statehood

A Mista'arvim unit, with the code-name ''ha-Shahar'' (The Dawn) was established secretly by the

Palmach The Palmach (Hebrew: , acronym for , ''Plugot Maḥatz'', "Strike Companies") was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of the British Mandate for Palestine. The Palmach ...

in 1943 and consisted mainly of dark-skinned native Arabic-speaking Sephardi Jews, virtually indistinguishable from Arabs generally. With the outbreak of the 1948 Palestinian War in November 1947, members of ha-Shahar were deployed as intelligence agents capable of penetrating Arab urban neighbourhoods and villages and, at times, in sabotage and assassinations. In 1948, the commander of this Arab platoon Moshe Ben-Zvi expressed interest in assisting Israeli operations of

biological warfare Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war. ...

. It appears that subsequently, on 21 May, two mista'arvim, David Mizrahi and Ezra Horin, operating out of

Dorot Dorot ( he, דּוֹרוֹת, ''lit.'' Generations) is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located on Route 334 near Sderot, it falls under the municipal jurisdiction of the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In it had a population of . History Dorot ...

and kibbutz Gevarʿam (?) were captured by Egyptian troops as they attempted to poison with

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several d ...

and

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

bacteria the wells from which Egyptian troops in Gaza drew their water supplies, in clear violation of the 1925 Geneva Protocol, an incident which lead Egypt to make a formal protest to the

Secretary General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-ge ...

later that month. In his book, '' Spies of No Country'', Matti Friedman tells the history of a pre-statehood unit operating in Syria.

Training

Training for these units consumes about fifteen months: * Four months basic infantry training at the Mitkan Adam army base – the IDF Special Training Center. * Two and a half months of advanced infantry training in the same base. * Two months of the unit's basic training, which focus on advanced urban navigation and the beginning of counter-terrorism training. * Four months Mista'arvim course, which covers everything from learning Arab traditions, language, and way of thought, to civilian camouflage (hair dyeing, contact lenses, clothing). * One-month courses – sniper, driving and different instructor courses.

Known units

The first musta'ribeen unit, known as the "Arab Department" (''Ha-Machlaka Ha-Aravit''), was established in 1942 as a unit of the

. Other musta'ribeen groups in Israel have included: * Sayeret Shaked, a unit of the

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces *Irish Defence Forces *Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 *Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations *Israeli Diving Federation *Interaction ...

, which operated undercover in the Gaza Strip in the 1970s * Sayeret Shimshon (Unit 367), which operated in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

until its disbandment in 1994 after the

Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993;

* Rimon, operating from 1987 until 2005 in Gaza * Sayeret Duvdevan (Unit 217), established in the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

in the 1980s and still operating * Yamas, a unit of the Israel Border Police * Gideonim (Unit 33), an undercover and mista'arvim unit of the

Israeli Police The Israel Police ( he, משטרת ישראל, ''Mišteret Yisra'el''; ar, شرطة إسرائيل, ''Shurtat Isrāʼīl'') is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fight ...

, still operating as of 2012 * Hermesh, operating in the Judea and Samaria Area of the

until 1994, when it was transferred to the

Kfir Brigade The 900th "Kfir" Brigade ( he, חֲטִיבַת כְּפִיר, ''lit.'' "Lion Cub Brigade"), is the youngest and largest infantry brigade of the Israel Defense Forces. It is subordinate to the 340th "Idan" Armoured Division of Israel's Central ...

References

{{cite web , author=fisher79 , title=new kitbash Israeli Unit Gideonim (Unit 33) , url=https://www.onesixthwarriors.com/forum/sixth-scale-action-figure-news-reviews-and-discussion-/637359-new-kitbash-israeli-unit-gideonim-unit-33-a.html , date=2012-08-15 , accessdate=2018-06-16 , website=onesixthwarriors.com

External links