Every so often, popular culture highlights the story — true or apocryphal — of an underground resistance group, yet somehow the story of the Jewish Brigade Infantry Group (JBG) has been passed over. Until now. Happily, Professor Gianluca Fantoni has sketched the history of the JBG and analyzed its modern significance.
On the eve of World War II, in September 1939, the Yishuv’s Jewish Agency asked the British government for permission to form an army of Palestinian Jews. Their alleged mission was the defense of Palestine, although the thought of a more muscular Jewish presence was not unappealing to many in the community. Winston Churchill was supportive, but other officials were concerned about the implications for post-war policy. Eventually, the British allowed Palestinian Jews and Arabs to join a venerable British regiment, the “Buffs,” which performed mostly auxiliary, non-combat functions. These soldiers formed the core of the Palestine Regiment in 1942, which in turn formed the basis for the JBG in 1944.
Using photos, Fantoni details the JBG’s military battles in Italy and their movements through Western Europe, giving readers a sense of their tactical skills and their bravery. Unlike their predecessors, who mainly did guard duty, JBG soldiers were armed, carried their own flag, and were deployed outside of Palestine fighting fascism. While the JBG was unique as an all-Jewish brigade, it was different in other respects as well: on occasion, JBG soldiers lifted weapons, trucks, and other supplies from the British to smuggle back to Palestine, and helped Jewish civilians avoid the quota system to enter Palestine. Fantoni uses the story of an illicit shipload of refugees docked in northern Italy to frame each chapter.
Not all members of the JBG used their power for good — Fantoni describes the nakam, or vengeance campaigns, that some soldiers pursued.
Apart from covert operations, the JBG was determined to set a cultural example. As they traveled, they set up makeshift Hebrew schools, extracted Jewish children from wartime hiding places, and used their own rations to feed the undernourished. By posting Jewish stars on their trucks, celebrating Jewish holidays, and speaking Hebrew everywhere, they were telling survivors that Jews had endured, and that Palestine could be their new home. Eventually, many demobilized JBG soldiers formed the core of the Jewish military in subsequent Arab-Israeli wars, although that is not the focus of Fantoni’s work.
Fantoni’s work begs the question: does the story of the JBG offer insights for the modern day? His big takeaway? Do not accept deterministic interpretations of history; events can turn out differently. Bringing out stories from other perspectives and memories — this is an important job of historians, and Fantoni does it admirably.
Bettina Berch, author of the recent biography, From Hester Street to Hollywood: The Life and Work of Anzia Yezierska, teaches part-time at the Borough of Manhattan Community College.
