Nordin (Nord), Israel

Born in Amsterdam in 1922 to a religious family in Amsterdam, Holland. He studied at a technical school and specialized in mechanics. He was a member of the Zionist Scouts and Hehalutz, and he worked as a mechanic on fishing boats and was the first Dutch Jew to do fishing. He worked in agriculture in Beit Hashita and Ein Harod after making aliyah in early 1935. After a while he found work in drilling wells in the Yokneam area, where he missed the sea and succeeded in becoming a marine mechanic in a shipping company. As a mechanic in the British Coast Police, he was one of the few Jews who worked in this position, and in 1939 he was drafted into the ranks of the Haganah. In the course of his work with the Coast Police, he was assigned a dangerous mission. He had to sabotage the ship Sinbad II, which he was working on, which was modern, sophisticated and well equipped, and was used by the British in the detection and deterrence of illegal immigrant ships. On August 23, 1939, he arrived in his uniform, with his personal weapon being dismantled, and when the explosion broke out the ship was split in two, and the ship’s commander was killed by the force of the explosion. He later received a medal from the British King for his courage. The British did not suspect Israel of carrying out the operation, but decided not to employ Jews in the Coast Police. Israel continued to operate in the framework of the Hagana’s special operations, and on 21 May 1941 he was sent with twenty-two senior members of the Haganah on a daring commando operation, which was later known as “23 Sailors of the Boat”. They sailed aboard the boat The Lion of the Sea, to sabotage oil refineries in the port of Tripoli, Lebanon. The ship did not reached its destination. On that day, the French stepped up patrolling patrol boats near the shore. They apparently discovered the boat before it reached the shore and blew it up. The 23 soldiers and their British commander were killed, and their burial place is unknown. He died at the age of 29. This fallen hero is a “maklan” – a hero whose burial place is unknown.