Hativa Sheva Armor Brigade
Insignia of the 7th Brigade
Active1948–present
Country Israel
BranchArmy
TypeArmor
Part ofNorthern Command
Garrison/HQCamp Katsabia
Engagements
Decorations
Gold Medal of Military Valor of the Italian Republic[1]
Commanders
Current
commander		colonel Yiftach Norkin
Notable
commanders		Avigdor Kahalani, Shmuel Gonen, Yanush ben gal

The 7th Armored Brigade (Hebrew: חטיבה שבע, Hativa Sheva) is a military formation of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Formed during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and still in operation, it is the oldest armored brigade in the IDF.[2] Since then, the brigade has taken part in all the IDF's main operations, and stands today as one of 3 main armoured brigades of the IDF.

History

The brigade has historical ties to the earlier Jewish Brigade, which was raised during World War II.[3] The brigade took part in all of Israel's wars. During the Battles of Latrun in 1948, the 3rd Alexandroni and 7th Brigades together suffered 139 casualties. It fought in the Six-Day War under the command of Colonel Shmuel Gonen (Gorodish).

In the Yom Kippur War, under the command of Colonel Avigdor Ben-Gal, it was stationed at the defense line of the northern part of the Golan Heights, sharing the defense with the Barak Armored Brigade, where it successfully repulsed heavy attacks by much larger Syrian forces.

During the 1948 War, the 7th Brigade primarily consisted of Sherman tanks and mounted infantry. Early on, the 7th also contained an artillery element. During the 1960s, the brigade was equipped with British Centurion tanks modified in Israel. These were gradually superseded in the late 1970s by the Israeli-made Merkava main battle tanks, of which several versions have since been employed.

The 7th Brigade once belonged to Israel's Southern Command. The 7th was based in the Golan Heights as part of the 36th Armored Division from the end of the Yom Kippur War until February 2014.[4]

Reputation

In 1948, the brigade's reputation was as one of the crueler combat forces of the period.[5] Israeli historian Ilan Pappé writes: "In many of the Palestinian oral histories that have now come to the fore, few brigade names appear. However, Brigade Seven is mentioned again and again, together with such adjectives as 'terrorist' and 'barbarous.'"[5][6]

7th Brigade memorial
7th Brigade monument
7th Brigade during a military exercise on the Golan Heights

The 7th Brigade was initially equipped with jeeps and cars with a few machine guns in July 1948, when the experienced Canadian officer Ben Dunkelman took over. He sized up two approaching Egyptian battle groups equipped with half-tracks, US M4 Sherman tanks and other vehicles. Dunkelman attacked both of them by surprise at night, when the crews were out of their vehicles. The Egyptian soldiers fled, allowing the 7th Brigade to appropriate their arms and vehicles.[7]

Brigade organization 2023

Disbanded units:

Brigade commanders

Source:[8]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 7th Armored Brigade (Israel).
  1. ^ "Brigata ebraica". President of Italy. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  2. ^ Matan Galin (20 December 2012). "Improving with age: the 7th Armored innovates". Israeli Defense Forces (www.idf.il).
  3. ^ Gross, Judah Ari (3 October 2018). "73 years on, Italy awards Jewish Brigade medal of valor for fighting Nazis". Times of Israel. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  4. ^ Lappin, Yaakov (2014-02-23). "Amid raging conflict in Syria, IDF deploys new division to border – Defense – Jerusalem Post". Jpost.com. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  5. ^ a b Dan Freeman-maloy (Winter 2011). "Mahal and the Dispossession of the Palestinians". Journal of Palestine Studies. 40 (2): 43–61. doi:10.1525/jps.2011.XL.2.43. JSTOR 10.1525/jps.2011.XL.2.43.
  6. ^ Ilan Pappé, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2006). Page. 158
  7. ^ Dunkelman, Ben (1984). Dual Allegiance: An Autobiography, Goodread Biography. ISBN 0-88780-127-7
  8. ^ "7th Brigade Commanders". Archived from the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved March 21, 2010.
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