See the British Mandate era pillboxes that dot Israel, evoking its checkered past
The cement guard posts, so-called because of their cylindrical shape, represent an intriguing and often beautiful piece of pre-state Israeli history
In the middle of May 1948, as Israel got ready to declare its independence, the Arab states surrounding the country prepared to invade.
Egypt to the south had its eye on Tel Aviv, so Jewish leaders decided to make it hard to reach. They gave orders to blow up a bridge above the Lachish Stream, which flows into the Mediterranean Sea at the port of Ashdod. Thus when Egyptian troops advanced north along the Mediterranean coast towards Tel Aviv two weeks after Israel declared independence, they were stopped short at the newly defunct Ad Halom (No Further) Bridge.
Ad Halom pillbox
Today, Ad Halom Bridge is found inside Park Lachish Ashdod, a large and beautiful recreational area on the banks of the Lachish Stream. Right next to the bridge, there is a pillbox erected by the British military during Arab riots from 1936-1939. It is one of dozens of pillboxes built by the British to prevent attacks on railroads and bridges in Mandate Palestine. Quite a few remain whole, and can be found all over the country, often within modern-day forests and nature trails.
Pillboxes, which came into use during World War I in several European countries, were created in all kinds of shapes from hexagonal to round. Those built in Israel were all cylindrical, which is probably why, if you ask any of the natives, they will tell you that they are so-called because they resemble little round boxes holding pills.
Made of thick concrete, five meters (16 feet) high and generally with a round, flattish top, pillboxes gave defenders maximum protection. Doors were made of armor-plated steel, and the only other openings were slits through which its defenders could shoot a variety of weapons. They were usually two stories high, with observation points on the second floor accessible from a ladder or staircase. From the pillboxes located on hillsides, there was an excellent view of the happenings below.
Pillbox near Yusha fortress
There is a pillbox near the Yusha fortress, which today serves as the touching Camaraderie Museum dedicated to 28 soldiers who fell in 1948. Like seven other northern police stations designed by Sir Charles Tegart, an Irishman who served earlier as a police commissioner in British-controlled India, it was constructed by the British in the late 1930s as a defense against dangerous Arab gangs.
Along with the fortress the British erected a pillbox. It is found, today, inside the Palmach Trail in Nebi Yusha Forest.
Three bloody battles took place in 1948 between the Palmach — the Israeli pre-state military force — and the Arabs who controlled the fortress. During the second, 22 Jewish soldiers were killed but the rest of their force found shelter in the pillbox until they were rescued. It wasn’t until the final, third battle, that on May 16 Israeli forces took control of the fortress. Twenty-eight Jewish soldiers were killed in battle, which gave the fortress its second name: Metzudat Koah, the Fortress of Strength, also known as the Fortress of the 28.
Mevo Hama pillbox
In 1941, during World War II, the British worried about a French and/or German invasion from the north. So they built a defensive line along the length of the Golan Heights at a number of strategic points that included quite a few pillboxes.
After the British left in 1948 and Israel was declared a state, Syrian troops manned one of the pillboxes erected on the Golan Heights and repeatedly shot at settlers tilling their fields below. This finally came to an end after the Golan Heights were taken by Israeli forces in 1967.
That pillbox is, today, found in the Jewish National Fund’s Mevo Hama Forest. It is open, and from inside, it becomes clear how easily the Arabs could target area settlements. That’s because the Syrians had a phenomenal view of the southern portion of the Sea of Galilee, Tiberias, Poria, the flowing Yarmuk River and the rich, green, fertile fields farmed by the settlers.
Pillbox in Yarkon National Park
Beginning at an area north of Petah Tikva, in central Israel, the Yarkon River passes through Tel Aviv and flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The largest coastal river in Israel, the Yarkon became horribly polluted in 1955 when its springs were diverted to the Negev.
Fortunately, in the early 1990s, Israel’s environmental organizations got together and thoroughly cleaned up the sources of the Yarkon River. Today they form the nucleus for a remarkable 3,250-acre two-part National Park. Part of the park includes a splendid foliage-lined path next to the sources of the river, filled with gorgeous anemones in early spring.
Above the path, there is a railroad bridge. Known as the “Jewish Line” because so many pioneers worked on the railroad, the train connected Petah Tikva with the main Haifa-Lod railroad. It was crucial to Jewish farmers in the area, who utilized the train for shipping their abundant citrus fruits to the port in Jaffa. It is still there today, on the same spot from which it was intended to protect the railroad and bridge from Arab terror.
Jerusalem
At least five pillboxes were built in Jerusalem during the Arab revolt. Erected on thoroughfares leading north and south out of the city, and along the railroad line, they permitted the British National Guard to monitor the comings and goings of passersby.
Three remain whole, although two of them were moved a few meters from their original spot so that construction could proceed on major byways. Those two were beautifully restored, with excellent signs, located as they are on intersections in the city’s neighborhoods they look a bit out of place. Nevertheless, they serve as a quaint reminder of a different era in our checkered history and all three have been declared worthy of preservation.
Most colorful is the pillbox located within a little park on a busy intersection off Herzog Street, dedicated to the memory of the Night of the Murdered Poets. That night, on August 13, 1952, 13 Jewish intellectuals were executed by a firing squad in Moscow’s Lubyanka prison after being imprisoned and tortured for three years.
The pillbox fairly bursts with red, the color of the uniform worn by the British National Guard; even the bench in front of the pillbox is a brilliant shade of red.
A second Jerusalem pillbox stands atop a short flight of steps on Hebron Road in the shadow of towering apartment buildings in the Talpiyot neighborhood. It was strategically located between Ramat Rahel, a once isolated kibbutz to the south that Arabs burned to the ground in 1929 (but which was subsequently rebuilt) and an army camp in the other direction. The camp, Mahane Allenby, was built by the Ottoman Turks who ruled Palestine from 1517-1917 and later manned by the British army.
At this writing, it is impossible to get close to the third remaining pillbox, which is covered in green shrubbery and sits within an abandoned nursery on Emek Refaim Street in the German Colony. The beautiful houses in the colony, founded by Christian Evangelists in 1873, now host Jewish residents and dozens of shops.
In 1898, a train began running between Jaffa and Jerusalem, with the railroad tracks located parallel to Emek Refaim. During the Arab revolt, the British erected a pillbox on the corner to protect the train. It is not clear what will happen to the pillbox in future, as no one seems to know what is planned for the plot on which it stands.
A slightly smaller version of a pillbox called a “mini-pillbox” is found at the Convent of St. Anthony, a massive complex built in 1936. Established by Franciscan nuns, it was intended as a Catholic school for Arab girls called the Collegio St. Antonio, and also housed the women who were their teachers.
WWII broke out only three years after Collegio St. Antonio was opened. Since the building and its occupants were Italian, and Britain was fighting Italy during the war, the convent and school were shut down. After confiscating the compound as enemy territory, the British established a Supreme Military Tribunal on the top floor.
Many prisoners tried in this British court were members of the Jewish underground, including some who were given the death penalty. So the British took no chances. They fortified the building, sealed the windows, and set up guard posts like the mini-pillbox on the property. After the British evacuated the country in 1948, the IDF used the convent as a convenient base from which troops left to participate in battle for the city.
Aviva Bar-Am is the author of seven English-language guides to Israel. Shmuel Bar-Am is a licensed tour guide who provides private, customized tours in Israel for individuals, families and small groups.
