Ashdod in Rehovot, Southern District, Israel — West Asia (the Levant in the Middle East)
The Day that Saved Israel
Photographed By Jerry Klinger
1. The Day that Saved Israel Marker
Erected 2023 by The Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation with support from World Machal, the Israeli Air Force Association and the City of Ashdod.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Wars, Non-US. In addition, it is included in the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation. series list. A significant historical date for this entry is May 29, 1948.
Location. 31° 46.911′ N, 34° 40.181′ E. Marker is in Ashdod, Southern District, in Rehovot. Marker can be reached from National Route 4. The marker is on the right-hand side of the main walkway to the Ad Halom Memorial and Bridge. Touch for map. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 6 other markers are within 18 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies. The Canaanite Fortifications of Ashqelon (approx. 17.1 kilometers
this page online
More about this marker. The small memorial is very important. It is the only memorial in the park that interprets the significance of the Day that Saved Israel when the "miracle" of Israeli fighters appeared.
The Memorial is designed and fabricated by famed Israeli artist and sculptor Sam Philipe.
Regarding The Day that Saved Israel. The "miracle of Ad Halom" were the four Eagles that emerged from the evening’s twilight and totally terrified the surprised Egyptians. Israel was not supposed to have an Air Force. Israel did not have an Air Force on May 28, the day before Ad Halom. That night, the pieces of former Nazi Messerschmidts were flown in by Machal pilots from Czechoslovakia. The pieces were hastily assembled into fighter/bombers and sent immediately into the sky to attack the Egyptians. They were the entire fighter capability
Photographed By Jerry Klinger
2. The Day that Saved Israel Marker
Before dusk set in, the Egyptians believed correctly they could and would easily destroy the defenseless Jews. The attack terrorized, confused, and broke the back of the Egyptian advance giving the ground forces the edge they needed to stop the Egyptians, turning the tide of the war.
Ad Halom was the day that saved Israel.
Also see . . .
1. Israel Memorial Day: The Miracle of Ad Halom.
"An Egyptian column of some 500 vehicles was making its way up the Coastal Road towards Tel Aviv. The column was confronted by a bold company of Givati soldiers who had miraculously exploded the sturdy Turkish bridge over the Lachish River at the Southern entrance of Ashdod to delay the Egyptian advance. Barely 20 miles separated the enemy from its objective.(Submitted on May 21, 2023, by Jerry Klinger of Boynton Beach, Florida.)
With no time to waste before the Egyptians could circumvent the bombed-out “Ad Halom” (“up to here” in Hebrew, the northernmost point of the Egyptian thrust into Israel) bridge, Israel tried its first aerial attack. Lou Lenart, an experienced American volunteer, was selected to lead the historic mission. He was joined by Moddy Alon, Ezer Weizman, and Eddie Cohen.
Each plane swooped down on the enemy with two 70-kg bombs. They tried to strafe the Egyptian column despite heavy ground fire. Unfortunately, the Messerschmitts’ untested 20 mm cannonsand machine guns jammed quickly, and the few rounds that they fired didn’t inflict much damage. But the psychological effect was enormous. The surprised Egyptians thought they were being hit by a massive air bombardment. They panicked and scattered all over the adjacent sand dunes. By the time they regrouped, they had lost the offensive.Photographed By Jerry Klinger, 20233. The Day that Saved Israel Marker
Israel’s outnumbered Givati forces seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack...they stopped the advance in its tracks.
2. Youtube historical interpretive video by an Israeli guide. (Submitted on May 21, 2023, by Jerry Klinger of Boynton Beach, Florida.)
3. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) in the War of Independence.
The IAF was a unique Air Force in three respects – it was born at the same time as the State of Israel in May 1948; it was born in the heat of battle; and over 95% of the combat-trained air crews were World War II veterans who came as volunteers from 16 foreign lands, mainly from the Anglo-Saxon countries, to help Israel in its War of Independence.(Submitted on May 21, 2023, by Jerry Klinger of Boynton Beach, Florida.)
4. Successful but scrappy: Air Force marks 75 years since its 1st-ever strike mission. Donated by the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation
The(Submitted on May 30, 2023, by Jerry Klinger of Boynton Beach, Florida.)daring airstrike at the Ad Halom site, close to the modern coastal city of Ashdod, is thought to have prevented the Egyptian army from marching on Tel Aviv just two weeks after Israel declared itself a state, changing the course of the war.Photographed By Jerry Klinger4. The Day that Saved Israel Marker
Additional keywords. Israel War of Independence, Eagles, Angels, Miracle, Sam Philipe
Credits. This page was last revised on June 3, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 21, 2023, by Jerry Klinger of Boynton Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 167 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on June 3, 2023, by Jerry Klinger of Boynton Beach, Florida. 2, 3, 4. submitted on May 21, 2023, by Jerry Klinger of Boynton Beach, Florida. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
