Golani Brigade
The
Golani Brigade חטיבת ×'×•×œ× ×™ (also known as Brigade No. 1) is an Israeli
infantry brigade that was formed
February 28,
1948 when the
Levanoni Brigade in the upper
Galilee was divided in two smaller brigades. It is one of the most highly decorated infantry units in the
Israel Defense Forces.
After the
1948 Arab-Israeli war, the Golani Brigade participated in a number of reprisal raids in the first part of the 1950s. In 1951 against
Syria. In October
1955 in a joint operation with the
Paratroopers Brigade against
Egypt.
In the
1956 Sinai Campaign the brigade's task was to capture the area around the city
Rafah in the
Sinai desert.
The symbol of the brigade is a green olive tree with its roots on a yellow background. The colors green and yellow symbolize the green hills of the Galilee, where the brigade was stationed at the time of its creation and the olive tree is known for its strong roots that penetrate and firmly hold the land, reflecting the brigade's connection with the State of Israel's heritage, thus this symbol was chosen. The yellow background on which the tree stands reflect's the Brigade's role in the south of the country in 1948, when it took Eilat, Israel's southernmost city. Early Golani soldiers were farmers and new immigrants, so the strong connection to the land (earth) was important to symbolize. For this reason, Golani's soldiers are designated by brown berets, which they earned from Sayeret Golani's role in the
Entebbe Operation in 1976 in Uganda. The brown symbolizes the brigade's connection with the soil of the Land of Israel. This is in stark contrast to other Israeli infantry brigades, who display bright colors (purple, bright green, red) and snappy symbols.
In the upper
Galilee located north of
Haifa at the
Golani Junction stands the Golani Brigade Museum commemorating the brigade and its heroes.
The Golani brigade has earned a reputation for its die-hard soldiers, esprit de corps, and initiative; elements of the Golani brigade are frequently employed for particularly difficult tasks requiring highly-skilled infantry. On the good side, these qualities are expressed in braveness, toughness and quick response - producing excellent warriors who can handle the hardest situation. Golani is known for its high "warrior comraderie" among the "regular regiment" troops and enjoy a very good reputation among Israeli public. On the bad side, these qualities are expressed in recklessness and lack of discipline. During the late 1990's, two Golani company-size units revolted against their officers, left their posts in the field, and went home. The reasons were complex, essentially due to the immaturity of both the junior officers who lacked leadership skills and their subordinates who felt very humiliated. The unique culture in Golani requires all soldiers address commanders by first name not by rank or Sir, like in the rest of the IDF. Over 70 were jailed and both companies, one known as the "Mustangs" containing many former Sayeret Golani fighters, were disbanded.
The Golani Brigade's equipment includes a number of heavy
IDF Achzarit armored personnel carriers, which is built around a remanufactured T-55 tank chassis with a new 850-hp engine. The Achzarit is a very heavily-armored vehicle designed for the requirements of urban fighting, after Israeli M-113 APCs proved insufficiently armored against car bombs, mines, and rocked-propelled grenades.
Golani's recon company or Sayeret Golani is one of the most respected SF units in the IDF with one of the most difficult training regimens that begins in an area known as area 100 in the upper Galilee. This unit in conjunction with Sayeret Matkal re-took the Hermon position in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. This unit's soldiers are so dedicated that in 1994 one of the operators who was a team leader (a second lieutenant designated to lead the smallest size unit within the recon) extricated himself from a Hezbollah minefield, after half his right leg was blown-off -- yes, he first applied the tourniquet to his leg himself so as not to endanger any of the other soldiers in his team. He is now a senior commander in the IDF.
In 1976, elements of the Golani Brigade were sent to Entebbe in Uganda to rescue 246 Jewish hostages on Air France flight 139, hijacked by PLO terrorists who boarded during an Athens stopover. The operation was a success, but its mission commander was killed (Yoni Netanyahu brother of Binyamin Netanyahu).
As of 2004, Golani operates within the northern border of Israel and in
Samaria (north part, mainly
Jenin). During 2004, Golani battalion reinforced the
Givati Brigade in the
Gaza Strip.
In July 2006 Golani took part in the
2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict and the fierce
battle of Bint Jbeil where it lost 9 troops, and killed 40-100
Hezbollah fighters. The results of this operation are still contested and the number of casualties has not been confirmed by officials.
* Barak Battalion - Gdud 12
* Gideon Battalion - Gdud 13
* "Golani Buds" - includes platoons being trained for all of its units.
* The
Egoz Reconnaissance Unit (a company)
* The First Breachers' Battalion (HaBokaim HaRishon) - Gdud 51
*
1948-
1949,
Moshe Mann,
Mishael Shaham,
Nahum Golan*
1986-
1988,
Gaby Ashkenazi*
1989-
1991,
Yair Nave*
1993-
1995,
Moshe Kaplinskyky*
1995-
1997,
Meir Klifi*
1997-
1998,
Gadi Eizenkot*
1999-
2001,
Shmuel Zakai*
2001-
2003,
Moshe Tamir*
2003-
2005,
Erez Zokerman*
2005-
current,
Tamir YadaiBold textBold textList of Israeli military operations in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that the Golani Brigade participated in
*
Operation Assaf*
Operation Dekel (only elements of the brigade participated)
*
Operation Hiram*
Operation Horev*
Operation Ovdah*
Operation YiftachList of Palestinian towns and villages captured by the Golani Brigade in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
See also
*
List of Israeli military operations in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war*
Sayeret Golany at isayeret.com - The Israeli Special Forces Database
*
Golani Engineering Battalion - site of Golani reservists
* http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Society_&_Culture/golani_brigade.html
*[
1] - Sayeret Golani in the battle of Bint Jbail
