The sign is located next to the Carrier Dovecote, which is designated as a heritage site in Israel
Click for sign's details The Dovecote was photographed on the same day by the same photographer
Click for a larger image The photos that appear on the sign are shown here in enlarged format:
Note No. 1 -
Click for a larger image Note No. 2 -
Click for a larger image Note No. 3 -
Click for a larger image Bertold Levy -
Click for a larger image Oded Yarkoni -
Click for a larger image Hanan Peltz -
Click for a larger image Translation of the text on the sign:
The Battle of Bashshit and the Carrier Pigeon Loft On the night of March 30, 1948, a platoon of members from Giv’at Brenner set out to carry out a blockade near the village of Bashshit (present-day Aseret).
Mission: To prevent and disrupt forces from the village that might attempt to assist the villages of Yibna (present-day Yavne) and Isdud (present-day Ashdod), which had been attacked that morning by the Givati Brigade’s 53rd Battalion in Operation "Hashmed" ("Annihilation").
The platoon brought with them several carrier pigeons for communication with the kibbutz. They reached the assembly area for the battle safely at dusk and sent a pigeon with a note to the kibbutz (Note No. 1).
During the night, two squads from the platoon moved to the blockade positions, taking two hills facing the village - one close, the other farther away. While advancing toward the target, one of the forces was detected - the lack of intelligence prevented them from knowing the size of the enemy forces in the village.
At dawn, dozens of enemy soldiers attacked the squad closest to the village in an attempt to encircle and destroy it. The small force, displaying acts of bravery, managed to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy and retreated only at the very last moment before being surrounded, thereby preventing reinforcements from the village from reaching the battalion’s combat zone.
In this battle, three members of Giv’at Brenner were killed:
Oded Yarkoni, a 17-year-old youth who insisted on joining the fighters
Bertold Levy, 35 years old, father of three
Hanan Peltz, 29 years old
The retreating force sent a second pigeon to the kibbutz with the grim news (Note No. 2). After the battle subsided, the battalion managed under fire to recover two bodies from the retreat area. A third pigeon was sent to inform the kibbutz that the comrades were returning home with the bodies (Note No. 3).
[Photos]
Note No. 1 – Sent from the assembly area at 17:45, arrived at 21:00
Note No. 2 – Sent at 09:30, arrived at the loft at 14:00
Note No. 3 – Written at 13:20, arrived at 14:50
Bertold Levy – of blessed memory
Oded Yarkoni – of blessed memory
Hanan Peltz – of blessed memory
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