Palyam ~Palmach/Hagana ~ Medal, Document & Songs Book 1963 Israel ~ RARE

Palyam - The Naval Company Of The Palmach/Hagana, 1943 - 48 RARE!The naval operations of the Hagana (the military arm of the Yishuv -- the Jewish community in British-ruled Eretz Israel - Palestine) revolved around Aliya Bet (a.k.a. the 'Ha'apala') -- the large scale clandestine enterprise of the Yishuv to bring ma'apilim (the Hebrew word for the immigrants participating in Aliya Bet) to Eretz Israel during the British Mandate, in defiance of British policies that severely limited Jewish immigration. As early as 1939, training of seamen for commanding Aliya Bet ships started under the auspices of Ha'Mossad Le'aliya Bet -- an offshoot of the Hagana established in 1939 to organize all Aliya Bet operations. During WW-II most of the trainees were assigned to special sabotage units of the British army. Among the first ones to join the British army were twenty three seamen (known in Israeli history as Kaf-Gimel Yordei Ha'sira) who tragically disappeared without a trace in May 1941, together with a British officer, on their way by boat to a sabotage operation on the Lebanese-Syrian coast. Even before the end of WW-II in Europe, arrangements were made for a full-scale resumption of Aliya Bet once the war is over. At the end of 1943, the Naval Palton of the Palmach (Hagana's elite forces) was established. In anticipation of future demand related to Aliya Bet, the group grew and, towards the end of WW-II, became the Palmach's 10th Company, named Palyam. When the Palmach was organized into battalions, the Palyam was attached to the Palmach's Staff Battalion (The 4th Battalion). Diameterof medal 35 mmThe book contains 46 pages with illustrations and songs