Ghanem, Mezid

Son of Salha and Salim-Abdallah, was born in July 1928 in the village of Ein al-Assad in the Western Galilee. His mother left him when he was eighteen months old, and since then his father raised him. When he was seven, he entered the village school and completed four classes. Then he began working in the field with his father, the farmer, and also learned carpentry. Was a devoted son and supporter of his old father. At the outbreak of the War of Independence he joined the Druze unit in the Minority Corps in July 1948, trained in Nesher and participated in the liberation of the Western Galilee. During Operation “Hiram” for the liberation of the Western Galilee, the unit fought under the command of the Oded Brigade, which operated in the western sector of the operation. On the night of 28-29 October our forces attacked Tarshiha and the Druze unit was assigned to conquer the village of Yanuh. The attack on Tarshiha did not succeed, and the forces were ordered to retreat. The Druze unit took control of Yanu, but due to faults in the connection, it did not accept the withdrawal order. In the morning Kaukji’s forces recovered and with the help of some villagers attacked the unit and was forced to retreat. He fell in battle on October 29, 1948, and the next day he was buried on the battlefield. On November 30, 1954, he was taken to the eternal rest of the Druze military cemetery in the village of Ussefia on Mount Carmel.