 found by the British. He also describes the fate of his fellow freedom fighters who were either killed by the British mandate troops or the Jew-hating Arabs.
Idealistic and also in the throws of youthful love, he shares with us the story of the girl he fell in love with who was also a LECHI member - and what happened to her.
After WWII, the British were even more lustful in finding Jewish underground members because of their aiding Holocaust survivors trying to make it to the shores of the Land of Israel. The British were strict with their policy of curtailing Jewish immigration to Israel. In his book, Elnakam, Yakhin shows notices sent out by the underground which stated: "Since the arrival of the immigrant ship, 'Exodus 1947' and the banishment of its immigrants, the Israel Freedom Fighters have begun a systematic campaign against the enemy forces, its vehicles and installations." The notice then goes on to show a list of strikes against British army patrols and bases. It is an impressive list of actions and Yakhin describes many of the scenes that could be scenes in a real action movie.
Yakhin also relates the heart wrenching story of his best friend who was kidnapped in broad daylight by the British and never seen or heard from again. British denials of any wrong doing filled and fueled news paper articles for quite some time. It wasn't until much later that the truth came out that he had been murdered by the British who tried to cover it up.
The book ends with his telling how he was fighting in the streets of Jerusalem in one of the major battles for the Old City, the area of Jerusalem where the Temple once stood and the Western Wall continues to stand. It is the holiest place in the world for the Jewish people. In this fierce battle to liberate Jerusalem and at great losses of his friends and other (now) Israeli fighters, an explosive shell was fired in front of him and exploded. As he turned to shield himself, shrapnel cut though his helmet going through the back of his neck up through, and out of his eye. Rushed with the other wounded fighters to the hospital, he had to have surgery without being given anethstesia. Throughout the several hour ordeal, awake on the operating table as they worked on him, he kept repeating to himself in the grips of immense pain, "A LECHI Man doesn't groan". He ended up losing an eye from his massive head wound and has a glass eye until this day.
Yakhin is still active to this day. Though over 80 years old, he lives in an old Jewish neighborhood which, since the Jordanian occupation of eastern Jerusalem, is now occupied by hostile Arabs. The apartment building he lives in is inhabited by a group of Jewish families and married couples who aren't afraid to re-establish their Jewish roots there.
An excerpt from his book, Elnakam:
"No sleep for you tonight," says Tanchum. "You're to go to the Abu-el Bassal quarter and mark the movements of the army there. What we need is information about the movements of military vehicles in the path joining the Beit Yaakov and Zichron Yoseph quarters."
We went to look for the place best suited for the look-out base, finally choosing the brick factory in Sadoff's yard, where I could hide all night behind a pile of bricks and observe the movements of the vehicles on the path. I didn't go home this time to tell my parents that I was "sleeping at a friend's place," I simply couldn't face the fearful look in their eyes, knowing full well how anxious they would be. Obviously, they would not be slow in making a connection between my absence and the acts against the Brits, and their feelings, when I failed to return that night were not hard to imagine. On the other hand if I didn't let them know in advance, they might comfort themselves with the thought that I had been caught breaking curfew and arrested. This wasn't pleasant, but implied a fine at the most.
So – no going home. As curfew time approached I was ensconced behind my pile of bricks. Each of the neighbors nearby took a last look at the yard before lowering their shutters and locking their doors, an