Before telling the story, it behooves us to list some names: Moshe Levy, Moshe (Bogey) Yaalon, Shaul Mofaz, Matan Vilnai, Doron Almog, Yisrael Ziv, Gadi Shamni, Motta Gur, Nechama Tamari, Meir Har-Zion, Micha Ben-Ari. Now memorize some names that will soon be much talked about: Hagi Mordechai, Motti Baruch, Amir Baram. What more can be said? The path to a glorious military service in the Israel Defense Forces, and subsequently in political life, runs through the Sayeret. Not Sayeret Matkal, the elite special forces commando unit, but Sayeret Tzanhanim, the elite unit of the Paratroopers unit. Fifty-five years is quite a long time. When Meir Har-Zion, whom Moshe Dayan once called the best soldier who has ever arisen in the IDF, founded the unit in 1955, he aimed high. He took a group of elite combat troops who cut their teeth in the legendary Unit 101 and created a new elite force. Since then, the unit has taken part in thousands of operations, ambushes and missions. It has often been called the second-best unit in the army, after Sayeret Matkal . Others, however, say that it is tops. It has earned a reputation as an illustrious outfit that accepts the most complex missions and carries them out with no difficulty. But the 81 names that are engraved on the stone wall at Beit Lid prove that the fame and glory were bought with blood. In recent years, the luster has dimmed somewhat as other elite units have taken most of the other challenging missions. Yet, still, soldiers give it their all to win one of 15 spots in the unit. And even after they are accepted, a quarter of them are cut after failing to withstand the grueling training. Nothing like the Sayeret Wednesday morning, 1 a.m. We are near the casbah in Hebron. September is here, and it is cold. The concern over September is also here. Nobody wants to set the ground on fire a few days before the important speeches at the United Nations, said company commander Avi Cohen, a 26-year-old from Efrat. This was not the mission that we were originally intent on joining, but due to operational constraints, the planned arrest of a Palestinian was canceled. So we are accompanying the troops on a specific operation that was classified. We can say that special technological means were being used. Due to the sensitive nature of their classification, only the soldiers who are operating the machinery and their direct commanders are aware of them. The other soldiers in the unit are not. The waiting period before the unit embarks on the mission takes quite a while. The troops do not appear more tense than usual. For the umpteenth time, they are going over their maps and making sure their equipment is in place before heading out. They are also playing matkot (a form of beach tennis) with the commanders and throwing a surprise birthday party for one of the units soldiers, with the company clerk arranging a cake. First Lt. Eyal Almog is the commander of the unit force that we are accompanying. Almog is a young officer, not yet 22, and the grandson of the former commander of the Israel Navy, Maj. Gen. (res.) Zeev Almog. His father served as company commander in Sayeret Matkal, but Almog chose to make his own path. He has no regrets either. Theres nothing like the Sayeret, he says. Before heading out, the soldiers wryly ask that we do not take their pictures. It brings us bad luck, one of them said. We have a custom that we dont have our picture taken before heading out on a mission. For the task of class sergeant to serve as his top deputy, Almog tapped Dwit Adnau, a 21-year-old from Jerusalem. He immigrated to Israel at age nine with his mother and younger brother, just two years after his father passed away. His tiny family lived in an immigrant absorption center for more than a year before moving into their own home. At the moment, his mother is not working and is living off National Insurance Institute stipends. The IDF is helping her financially since her son is serving in a combat unit. It was clear to me from the start that I wanted to enlist in a combat unit, Adnau said, moments before he would lead his soldiers in the night operation. By serving in the army, I feel as if I am protecting my home, my family. The state has given me a full life. I wanted to get to Sayeret Tzanchanim, because unlike Maglan, [the elite field unit] which operates primarily in times of war, we are active in routine security duty. And in contrast to Duvdevan, which only operates during routine security duty, we are also active during war. I wanted something that offered action all year round. The people around me are terrific, we really are a family. There are no better people than them. Everybody knows everyone else, everyone knows everything about each other. The Sayeret is my family. At 1:30 a.m., the order is given. The soldiers pack together into two armored vehicles for a 20-minute ride to the Hebron market. After arriving at their destination, Cohen, the company commander, gathers his troops for one last briefing. The soldiers don dark face masks to blacken their faces, help one another gather their equipment, and take one last look at the aerial photographs which they had to memorize just a few hours before the operation. This is an operation that has been initiated solely by us, said Cohen. After the short briefing to the commanders, he arranges the soldiers in the shape of the Hebrew letter het and sounds off a series of warnings and cautions before sending the troops into a heavily populated area. Even though there are usually no instances of unruliness in this area, there were some today, he said, trying to get the troops into a proper frame of mind. We are entering a threatened area, he said. If you see that you have wandered into a problematic and difficult area, then switch settings. If someone problematic emerges, tell him to hurry back home. The use of stun grenades and tear gas [is only allowed] with my permission. While on the move, pay attention to the dimension of
Height! troops yell out in a chorus. We do not want to stir up this area, he said. We are in a difficult time, and the goal is to preserve quiet. You know what the situation looks like. Just one spark can set everything aflame, and I dont want this to be us. These young men made it to the Sayeret after a series of demanding, grueling tryout tests. In order to gain entry into this exclusive club, they needed first to pass the physical and psychological unification course. Then they were required to do a special course after their induction which included soldiers from the Sayeret Tzanchanim, Maglan and Duvdevan units. The soldiers who are ranked first usually go to Sayeret Tzanchanim, which has the first opportunity to draft the troops. They arrive with a great deal of motivation so it really isnt hard to get them moving, Sayeret commander Maj. Elad Shushan said. The troops understand their missions and the importance of what they are doing, and they themselves ask for more training. My challenge is primarily professional in nature. Shushan will celebrate his 30th birthday in two weeks. He has been married to Inbal for eight months now. His wife is also climbing the ladder of a military career, serving as commander of the combat information gathering platoon (formerly known as field intelligence). They met when they were enrolled as students in the military education program at university. Shushan began his military career in high school at the IDF boarding school in Haifa. In November 2000, he enlisted in the Sayeret Tzanchanim and made his way up the ranks until becoming commander. He intended to finish his tour of duty as officer in the operations branch of the Paratrooper Battalion 202 at the same time as Inbal completed her post so that they could both take a joint vacation after military service. Inbal goes home as often as I do, about 11 days on duty and three days at home, he said. Sometimes we go home together, but sometimes it doesnt work out because of security concerns. There are stretches where we dont see each other for weeks. This is hard, but on the flip side there is an advantage to it because we understand one another. If I cant talk on the phone, she doesnt get angry with me. When the situation is reversed, I accept it as well. The dog that wont stop barking The clock reads 2:30 a.m. The soldiers are weaving through the casbah in Hebron. The soldiers enter in operational formation -- quietly, in one straight line, their weapons at their sides, and protective of their flanks. Every tunnel entrance and opening is checked with their rifles. After they make sure that the area is safe, they enter quietly. It seems that everything is going smoothly, until an unexpected problem appears. The soldier in charge of opening the front gate to the casbah does not arrive on time, and the Sayeret troops believe that he is asleep. While waiting, they are dealt another surprise (once again unrelated to the Palestinians). Dozens of Golani combat soldiers in their dress uniforms arrive at the scene without a commander, apparently having just concluded a tour in the city of the Forefathers. The undisciplined Golani troops begin yelling toward the Sayeret soldiers, who are trying to enter the casbah quietly. Aside from the Golani troops and the sleeping guard, the operation goes off without a hitch. Inside the casbah, the Sayeret fighters are charged with carrying out specific instruction. Sgt. Major Amir said he felt that the soldiers accompanying us were feeling the pressure. We got to the area late, and they need to get a lot of things done before the Palestinians wake up for their morning prayers, he said. There is a lot of pressure on them, particularly due to time constraints. The soldiers are young, but it's obvious that they are well-trained. Almog, the commander, is at the fore. Cohen, the company commander, walks alongside them as they march in a straight line. If the need arises, he issues instructions to the soldiers through the walkie-talkie to which each of the troops is connected through an earpiece. For average citizens, the maze-like, crowded casbah is not a pleasant place to be in at night, especially with the dark, narrow alleyways and the eerie silence. As we get closer to one of the homes, Amir explains to us that we will soon hear an annoying dog that does not stop barking every time someone approaches it. Within seconds, the dog in question begins barking, thus notifying all of the sleeping residents near the casbah that we are there. This does not particularly disturb the troops, who are now afforded an opportunity to talk among themselves as the dog drowns out their conversations. Suddenly, flashes of light appear in a window. Amir hurriedly points his gun at the suspicious area, but immediately pulls it back down. Its just a lit television. After a few minutes, we continue to the next spot. Once again, there is silence. The only thing that can be heard is the quiet footsteps. Then, another dog begins to bark. The soldiers once again stop and tend to their two-way radios. After an hour, the troops leave the casbah. Cohen gathers the troops for a brief summation before returning to his post. Overall, he said they performed satisfactorily, but there is room to improve. Cohen said that he expects everyone to give at least one lesson learned. In hindsight, the company commander said that while everything went well, the troops should still do better next time. All in all, this is a young group of soldiers, he said. I trust them 1,000 percent, but in another month they will be much more professional. This is a complex period of time, and I dont tell the soldiers to be more sensitive for no reason. Its not easy to ask a 19- or 20-year-old kid to be sensitive. We are training a great deal in preparation for the events that are expected to take place this month. We are especially training to be more sensitive to the situation. The situation is fragile, and I didnt tell them what I told them for no reason before we began the operation. We went into the middle of a village, and I always think about what would happen if anyone in an [Israeli] town suddenly saw someone with a black mask and gun near their house in the middle of the night. That is why I instructed the soldiers to cut off contact in the event of riots. I dont want to be the person who sets the area on fire. The casbah in Hebron is a very complex area, said Shusan. In recent years, troops from the Nahal Brigade who were in the middle of house searches were killed there. This is a complex area. We moved through there very quietly and without exposing ourselves. This was one of the quiet operations in which we left the area without anyone knowing that we were there. No media attention Despite the fact that the unit displays abilities that are on par with units like Duvdevan and Sayeret Matkal, some soldiers feel that the units luster is partially fading. There are quite a few units that are competing among themselves for the most difficult operations and the most secret activities. Something bad has happened in the last 10 years, one of the soldiers said. Ten years ago, there was no question as to which unit a soldier wanted to enlist in. It was clear to everyone that Sayeret Tzanchanim was the top choice. Today people are going off to other units, like Maglan and Duvdevan, because there have been news stories about those units. Amir agrees. There are many operations that we do that do not attract media attention, he said. Other units go to schools and market themselves. We dont do that enough. Four years ago, I too didnt think this was necessary because I didnt feel there was a need to show movies about the unit to young people before enlistment. Today, I understand that this is a mistake, and that this is something that needs to be done. In any event, we are not lacking in motivation. On the other hand, there are those in the unit, like Cohen, who are opposed to drawing attention to the Sayeret and its exploits. There has always been the perception that our people are patronizing, he said. I dont know why this is. There is something special in this unit. People passed a number of tests to get here, and perhaps they do not know how to express this in a positive way. I dont want public relations, because whoever is good doesnt need any of this stuff. Sayeret Tzanchanim is the elite unit of the Paratroopers Brigade, and the training for soldiers is much longer and more complex than that of all other troops in the brigade, said Shushan. The main thing is that the troops are of an extremely high quality on a personal level, and the means at our disposal are more plentiful and more advanced than those of the company commander in the battalion. The physical fitness of our fighters is better, and they are trained to carry heavy weight at long distances. We are thought of as the brigades raid specialists. We also have capabilities that others, like Maglan and Duvdevan, do not. On the other hand, we do not bypass missions. Wherever were needed, we go, even if it means we have to be at the forefront. During the second intifada, the Sayeret took a serious blow when the army decided to subjugate it to the Paratrooper Brigades patrol battalion. A similar move took place in the other infantry brigades of the IDF. According to Lt. Gen. (res.) Shaul Mofaz, the former IDF chief who made the decision, this was necessary in order to better cope with the intifada. When the Sayeret fights alongside anti-tank and combat engineering companies, it doubles our strength force, he said. Today, the patrol battalion is a very high quality outfit that knows how to fight together. Im not going to lie, Paratroopers Brigade commander Col. Amir Baram said. The transition to a patrol battalion hurt the Sayeret. But I try to preserve its relative independence. The elite units of the other infantry brigades were damaged far more than we were. The paratroopers have this brand known as Sayeret Tzanhanim, and it is important that we protect it. The Sayeret Tzanhanim has special and significant abilities that other units do not have. Every good unit needs to fight for its place, just as the Paratroopers Brigade needs to fight for its spot alongside the other brigades, even though its place is supposedly more secure. Competition is healthy and good. Baram is also not impressed by comparisons to the early days of the Sayeret. There is always the tendency to talk about the era of giants like Meir Har-Zion, etc. he said. I think that the generation of today is wonderful. Its stronger, and its more technologically advanced. These are people who combine a high level of intelligence with a superb level of physical fitness. This unit receives the brigades most complex missions. As a brigade commander, I am very careful to maintain the unit commanders place. In my eyes, he is the first of the company commanders. This is a man who has the potential to be a brigade commander of the paratroopers. He is certainly capable of being battalion commander. I appoint the best of the best to these positions. The unit is quite long in the tooth, the brigade commander said. Still, he believes it has a lot left to give. This is an excellent unit that is capable of operating in every locale. If they deploy us on the southern border, well be able to work well. If they put us on Mt. Hermon or on the Golan Heights, well know what to do. If we put these troops in the Gaza Strip right now, theyll be the most professional ones out there. This is a unit that knows how to adjust itself, and in the changing Middle East, its a good thing we have units like this that can do everything. From the Iraqi border to the Gaza Strip In the beginning, the IDF had two special units: Sayeret Matkal and Sayeret Tzanhanim, said Minister and Maj. Gen. (res.) Matan Vilnai, who commanded the latter from 1967 to 1968. I wasnt a soldier in the Sayeret, because at the time they only accepted kibbutzniks. A friend brought over a friend. When they interviewed me and they saw what I was capable of, they asked me which kibbutz I was from. I told them that I was from Jerusalem. They responded that Jerusalem was not a kibbutz, and they didnt accept me. Ironically enough, I came back to the unit as its commander. The person who did not accept me was my deputy. Under Vilnais command, the unit took part in many operations that were conducted deep inside enemy territory, including the large-scale operation at Naj Hamadi in Egypt in October 1968. Fourteen combat troops were landed deep in the heart of enemy territory dressed as Egyptian soldiers. Their task was to sabotage a key, strategic site. The operation was crowned a success and earned widespread media coverage. Earlier that same year, the unit took part in a raid on the Jordanian village of Karameh, where they targeted PLO headquarters, at the time led by Yasser Arafat. When the troops reached their intended target, they were greeted by dozens of terrorists who engaged them in a lengthy gunfight. Arafat and his top associates managed to escape. The operation was considered a failure due to the large number of casualties among our forces -- 28 killed and three missing. During the Yom Kippur War, the unit, then headed by Shaul Mofaz, was designated for a special task. After the Syrians were stopped in their tracks on the Golan Heights and the IDF entered Syrian territory, Iraq was quick to send a supply of weapons to aid the Syrians. The IDF high command took the decision to destroy this weapons shipment. The unit was sent to the Syrian-Iraqi border, a full 350 kilometers away from the Israeli frontier. Its job was to ambush an Iraqi armored force that was moving toward the front. We conducted an ambush there against the forces leading the tanks, Mofaz said. Our execution was quite successful, and the air force destroyed the convoy. As a result of the operation, the reinforcements for the Syrians were minimized substantially. The next day, the unit was dispatched to the Syrian city of Homs, just north of Damascus. Its task was to destroy the Soviet arms shipments that landed in Syria. This time, however, 25 of the units fighters were discovered by the Syrians, who proceeded to surround them and open fire. The Syrians surrounded us, and we tried to escape but we all had heavy packs on our backs because we were supposed to blow up bridges and stop the convoy, Mofaz said. With great courage, an Israel Air Force helicopter pilot entered the area and rescued us while absorbing massive fire from the Syrians. The helicopter absorbed dozens of bullets, but it managed to take off and land in Israel just as the fuel tank was emptied. In 1976, the Sayeret fighters were among the forces sent to Entebbe. Their job was to help rescue the hostages kidnapped by terrorists. During the Litani Operation in 1978, the unit was commanded by Lt. Gen. (res.) Moshe (Bogey) Yaalon. Our job was to hit a PLO target in the vicinity of Ras-Biada, he said. Then we continued to Tyre, which was the furthest point northwest that the army reached. Yaalon also commanded the unit during the Shalechet operation, in which the units fighters took rubber boats belonging to the Shayetet 13 navy seal unit. Their job was to hit the PLOs naval forces. The Sayeret was also active during the First Lebanon War in 1982. Its soldiers led the entire contingent of the paratroopers. The unit earned rave reviews. During the IDFs stay in Lebanon, the unit participated in hundreds of night ambushes in the security zone in southern Lebanon. Under the command of Yossi Bachar and Hagi Mordechai, it was also responsible for the liquidation of dozens of terrorists. Today, Bachar and Mordechai are colonels in the IDF. The most traumatic event during these years was the killing of Sayeret commander Maj. Eitan Blachson in an ambush in Lebanon in February 1999. Blachson commanded a unit force that was ambushed by a group of terrorists. He and two other officers, 1st Lts. David Granit and Liraz Tito, were killed. Five other soldiers were wounded. Blachsons death caused a deep rift among the troops. The unit was rehabilitated thanks to the work of Baram. They called me at 2 a.m. to tell me that at 7 a.m. that same day I would take over command of the unit, Baram said. The Sayeret was in very bad shape. It is not an everyday occurrence for the Sayeret commander to be killed, and others are also killed and wounded. There were many crises there, and the challenge was considerable. Not only did we have to succeed in this or that mission, but we also had to restore peoples faith in the unit and bring back its self-confidence. But this is a great unit, with outstanding people. We very quickly carried out successful operations deep in Lebanon. Then came May 2000, when we left Lebanon and moved to Judea and Samaria. Even in the new century, the unit was at the front. In 2002, it took part in the raid on the Balata refugee camp near Nablus. It also took part in Operation Defensive Shield. Before 2006, the soldiers carried out arrests of wanted Palestinians all across Judea and Samaria. During the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006, the unit took part in a number of famous battles, including the one in Bint Jbeil, Maroun a-Ras, and Aita a-Shab. Two of the units fighters earned citations for taking a two-way radio from a Hezbollah fighter. The radio later helped the IDF hit a number of terrorists during the battle at Maroun a-Ras. The brothers of the two soldiers who earned citations are today serving in the unit. During Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, the unit led the entire Paratroopers Brigade into the territory, engaging in gun battles in the Al-Atatra region, the Shati refugee camp, and Beit Lahiya. We spotted a lot of rocket launchers and we took care of a number of them in a short amount of time, said Shushan. During the operation, he served as the commander of the units training company. At the start of 2011, the unit spent months on the Gaza front, carrying out penetrative operations west of the security fence. These operations were more complex than the routine security patrols that the unit was accustomed to. During this years Naksa Day, the units fighters were placed in command posts, where their task was to prevent the entry of civilians into Israeli territory. The unit earned praise for its professional performance in Majdal Shams. In the last three months, the unit has been deployed in Judea and Samaria. Given the extraordinary circumstances surrounding September, it was placed at the forefront. In recent weeks, the unit took part in the arrest of 13 Hamas cells in Judea and Samaria.
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