History is being re-made: 60 years after the first and only operational paratroop jump in the history of the Israel Defense Forces, former and current fighters from the 890th Battalion of the Paratroopers Brigade are preparing to recreate the event that became part of the Israeli military's legacy. In September, some 60 commanders from the 890th Paratroopers Battalion are scheduled to jump near Revivim in the Negev Desert after consulting with veterans who participated in the 1956 operation. The jump at the Mitla Pass on Oct. 29, 1956 launched Operation Kadesh, in which Israel, supported by Britain and France, took control of the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip. Hundreds of paratroopers were flown into the heart of Egypt to create a reason to allow Britain and France to intervene in the burgeoning Suez Canal crisis. The operation went as planned until the night between Oct. 30 and Oct. 31. Then-head of the IDF Southern Command Rehavam Zeevi later claimed that he had instructed the ground forces of the 202nd Paratroopers Battalion, under the command of then-Col. Ariel Sharon, not to engage in combat, but Sharon asked permission to send out a small patrol to check the area and Zeevi consented. The "patrol" Sharon sent out comprised an entire brigade, which encountered Egyptian forces and engaged in a difficult, bloody battle, in which 38 Israeli soldiers were killed. To recreate the jump, commanders from the 890th Battalion reached out to veterans of the battalion who jumped at Mitla Pass and successfully contacted about 40 of them. Most of the veterans, who are now in their late 70s, agreed to help with the project. Current and veteran members of the 890th Battalion are to hold meetings during the week beginning Sept. 11. The younger fighters plan to visit veterans in their homes in groups of three or four to hear their stories. Later that week, today's battalion members will discuss battle tactics, and on Wednesday, Sept. 14, about 60 of the battalion's current commanders are slated to recreate the historic jump. The area around Revivim was chosen because of its similarity to the location of the 1956 operation. Current Commander of the 890th Battalion Lt. Col. Eliav Elbaz explained that to make the re-enactment as historically accurate as possible, the fighters will be given the original orders issued in 1956, which the battalion found in the IDF Archives. "We took maps and tried to match the [geographical] territory as closely as possible. Back then, there was no GPS. The briefing book from 60 years ago addressed how to meet [reaching a single point after the jump], how to parachute in supplies, incidents and first responses, etc," Elbaz says. Most of the surviving veterans of the 1956 jump plan to wait for the paratroopers re-enacting their historic mission on the ground at Revivim. A few will fly in the Shimshon transport aircraft that will take them up, one of whom is the grandfather of twins currently serving with his old battalion and who are scheduled to be part of the re-enactment. "The re-enactment won't be exact. Today's parachutes are different. The planes are new. The weapons are different. But the fighters have the same spirit. Today, the same as back then, the fighters have the same fears at the moment of the jump. But today, the daring that used to exist might be gone. I'm not sure that anyone today would allow a jump from this height. I don't know if they'd give the command," Elbaz says. It should be noted that for a number of years, the IDF did not have the operational capacity to utilize parachute jumps. Four years ago, former commander of the Paratroops Brigade Col. Amir Baram decided to reinstate parachute jumps as part of combat capability. Since then, the brigade has maintained combat jump preparedness, and the brigade is scheduled to hold a series of practice jumps in the next few weeks.
