Hayot Hanegev (the Negev Animals)
The unit initially emerged out of the Haifa Reserve Forces which had comprised of students (from the Technion – the Israeli Institute of Technology), as well as other members of the Palmach from Haifa and the settlements of the Valley of Jezreel. Their commander was Marek, a member of kibbutz En Hamifratz, who was replaced by Simcha Shiloni at the beginning of 1947. Following the increase of Bedouin and regional Arabic harassments to the water line and transportation in the Negev Region, the Haifa Reserve Forces were sent on the 20th of December 1947, to back-up the second battalion.
The unit initially emerged out of the Haifa Reserve Forces which had been comprised of students (from the Technion – the Israeli Institute of Technology), as well as other members of the Palmach from Haifa and the settlements of the Valley of Jezreel. Their commander was Marek, a member of kibbutz En Hamifratz, who was replaced by Simcha Shiloni at the beginning of 1947. Following the increase of Bedouin and regional Arabic harassments to the water line and transportation in the Negev Region, the Haifa Reserve Forces were sent on the 20th of December 1947, to back-up the Second Battalion. Upon reaching the headquarters of the Second Battalion in Kibbutz Nir-Am, one unit was sent to the Nirim – Revivim zone and was later combined with the Eighth Battalion; the second unit, under the command of Simcha Shiloni, was sent to Kibbutz Mishmar Hanegev and there joined with members of the Mishmar Hana (Mem-noon) (the Mobile Guard). This unit was the initial seed out of which Hayot Hanegev unit later developed. Before heading to Mishmar Hanegev they were armed with guns, a small amount of hand-grenades, and two machine guns. Their first and foremost mission was to secure the eastern water line and the roads connecting the Negev settlements of Nir- Am, Dorot, Rukhama, Shoval, Mishmar Hanegev and Hazerim. Amongst their other missions, the unit carried water to Hazerim and Bet- Eshel since the water line was disconnected in its southern branch. For patrols and transport the unit used an open pick up van. After a while they received an armored vehicle, and several months later, two more. The armored vehicles were locally manufactured, each constructed upon the chassis of a truck and containing a shielded cabin for ten people. These armored vehicles provided Hayot Hanegev with greater mobility and protected them from light gun fire.
Now might be the proper place to quote Simcha Shiloni's etymological version of the unit’s appellation: "…At its formative period, the unit sought out a symbol for itself. The symbol its men decided upon was the camel. Besides, during the winter of 1947 – 1948 we used to dress in a very sloppy manner. Most of us had beards and messy hair, we didn’t bathe very often… and we were frequently told that we "looked like animals". I don't know who it was that started it and how; the camel is a common beast found in the Negev, and we looked a bit like animals, so somehow we became Hayot Hanegev (the Negev animals)…”
During the month of April 1948, Hayot Hanegev's men worked day and night to allow free transportation in the Negev roads and to sabotage the enemy's traffic routs and transportation. On the first week of April, after ten days during which the Negev was disconnected from the center of Israel, a force of armored vehicles tracked out a bypass route to the east to the villages of Brier and Hulik’at. On the night of the 12th of April, Hayot Hanegev, joined by the Bari Unit, attacked Heil Hashchrur's (the Arab Liberation Combat Forces) camp in the airfield near Gaza. Getting ready for the Egyptian invasion, the division relocated itself in Kibbutz Gevim at the beginning of May 1948, and the heart of the activity shifted to the eastern fighting zone facing the regular Egyptian army. Hayot Hanegev combined with Bari Unit and became a company. At the time the unit welcomed four defecting soldiers from the evacuating British army; Simcha Shiloni was appointed as commander of the company alongside Mono David (Dodke) Magen and Eliyahu Finemeser who were appointed as commanders of the two units. On the 12th of May Hayot Hanegev took part in the Second Battalion’s operation and conquered Brier and its neighboring villages. On the night of the 14th of May the unit blew up the Abu- Kayak Bridge, and on the 23rd the warriors evacuated approximately forty injured and sick persons from Kibbutz Yad Mordechai. In the framework of Operation Pharaoh the Unit attacked a battery on the south of Bet Hanun loosing two of its fighters: the Unit’s commander David Magen, and the saboteur Yosi Antwarg. On the 2nd of June, the unit led the attack on the village Ishdud as part of the Negev Brigade’s Operation Pleshet. The forces suffered many casualties, seven of whom were from Hayot Hanegev, and among them, Lofti, the British, and Yehoshua Peker, were killed. The forces were given an order to retreat to Kibbutz Nizzanim and from there the Unit was transferred to rest and reorganize in a camp near Bee’r Tuvia.
Following the Operation Pleshet the Pshita (foray) Battalion was assembled and equipped with jeeps and armored vehicles. Hayot Hanegev was converted in to the Zachlam (half truck) Company, a motorized infantry under the command of Simcha Shiloni. This was the end of the Unit’s independence under the name Hayot Hanegev, but their legacy lived on, and during the War of Independence the image of the camel came to symbolize, and to be imprinted on the shirt of every warrior from the Negev Brigade.
Now might be the proper place to quote Simcha Shiloni's etymological version of the unit’s appellation: "…At its formative period, the unit sought out a symbol for itself. The symbol its men decided upon was the camel. Besides, during the winter of 1947 – 1948 we used to dress in a very sloppy manner. Most of us had beards and messy hair, we didn’t bathe very often… and we were frequently told that we "looked like animals". I don't know who it was that started it and how; the camel is a common beast found in the Negev, and we looked a bit like animals, so somehow we became Hayot Hanegev (the Negev animals)…”
During the month of April 1948, Hayot Hanegev's men worked day and night to allow free transportation in the Negev roads and to sabotage the enemy's traffic routs and transportation. On the first week of April, after ten days during which the Negev was disconnected from the center of Israel, a force of armored vehicles tracked out a bypass route to the east to the villages of Brier and Hulik’at. On the night of the 12th of April, Hayot Hanegev, joined by the Bari Unit, attacked Heil Hashchrur's (the Arab Liberation Combat Forces) camp in the airfield near Gaza. Getting ready for the Egyptian invasion, the division relocated itself in Kibbutz Gevim at the beginning of May 1948, and the heart of the activity shifted to the eastern fighting zone facing the regular Egyptian army. Hayot Hanegev combined with Bari Unit and became a company. At the time the unit welcomed four defecting soldiers from the evacuating British army; Simcha Shiloni was appointed as commander of the company alongside Mono David (Dodke) Magen and Eliyahu Finemeser who were appointed as commanders of the two units. On the 12th of May Hayot Hanegev took part in the Second Battalion’s operation and conquered Brier and its neighboring villages. On the night of the 14th of May the unit blew up the Abu- Kayak Bridge, and on the 23rd the warriors evacuated approximately forty injured and sick persons from Kibbutz Yad Mordechai. In the framework of Operation Pharaoh the Unit attacked a battery on the south of Bet Hanun loosing two of its fighters: the Unit’s commander David Magen, and the saboteur Yosi Antwarg. On the 2nd of June, the unit led the attack on the village Ishdud as part of the Negev Brigade’s Operation Pleshet. The forces suffered many casualties, seven of whom were from Hayot Hanegev, and among them, Lofti, the British, and Yehoshua Peker, were killed. The forces were given an order to retreat to Kibbutz Nizzanim and from there the Unit was transferred to rest and reorganize in a camp near Bee’r Tuvia.
Following the Operation Pleshet the Pshita (foray) Battalion was assembled and equipped with jeeps and armored vehicles. Hayot Hanegev was converted in to the Zachlam (half truck) Company, a motorized infantry under the command of Simcha Shiloni. This was the end of the Unit’s independence under the name Hayot Hanegev, but their legacy lived on, and during the War of Independence the image of the camel came to symbolize, and to be imprinted on the shirt of every warrior from the Negev Brigade.