During the first months of 1948, Mizrachi operated in the Jerusalem Corridor, gathering information on Arab irregular forces commanded by Abd al‑Qadir al‑Husayni, whose units were attempting to cut off Jewish access to Jerusalem.
By Hezy Laing
Baruch Mizrachi remains one of the most remarkable and least‑known figures of Israel’s 1948 War of Independence, an Arab‑born convert to Judaism whose loyalty to the emerging Jewish state cost him his life.
Born in 1926 in an Arab village near Hebron, Mizrachi grew up fluent in Arabic, Hebrew, and English, a linguistic versatility that later made him invaluable to the Haganah and the Shai, the organization’s intelligence arm.
After formally converting to Judaism under the supervision of Jerusalem’s Chief Rabbi Zvi Pesach Frank, he joined the Haganah in early 1947 and was quickly recruited into intelligence work because of his ability to move seamlessly between Arab and Jewish communities.
During the first months of 1948, Mizrachi operated in the Jerusalem Corridor, gathering information on Arab irregular forces commanded by Abd al‑Qadir al‑Husayni, whose units were attempting to cut off Jewish access to Jerusalem.
His reports were delivered directly to David Shaltiel, the Haganah commander in Jerusalem, and were credited with helping Jewish convoys navigate the increasingly dangerous road between Tel Aviv and the besieged city.
In April 1948, while traveling near Bethlehem on an intelligence assignment, Mizrachi was stopped by members of the Arab Liberation Army, who suspected him of collaborating with Jewish forces.
Although he carried forged documents, he was recognized by an acquaintance from his childhood, arrested, interrogated, and executed as a traitor to the Arab cause.
He was twenty‑two years old when he was killed, making him one of the youngest intelligence operatives to die in the service of the pre‑state Jewish forces.
After the war, his body was recovered and buried on Mount Herzl, Israel’s national military cemetery, where he became one of the few Arab‑born Jews commemorated among Israel’s fallen soldiers.
Since the early 1950s, an annual memorial ceremony has been held at his grave every Yom HaZikaron, attended by representatives of the IDF, the Ministry of Defense, and members of the Mizrachi family, along with historians who study early Israeli intelligence.
Researchers such as Yehuda Lapidot and Motti Golani describe Mizrachi as a symbol of the complex identities that shaped the 1948 conflict, a man who crossed cultural boundaries and paid for it with his life.
His story continues to resonate as a reminder of the diverse individuals who fought for Israel’s independence and the sacrifices they made.
