A letter from an inmate of Akko (Acre) Prison to Irgun leader
Menachem Begin, 1947

(interpreted from Hebrew)

from the book The Conquest of Acre Fortress by Jan Gitlin,
1982: Hadar

29.7.47

My Commander, Our dear Father,

Early this morning our three brothers met their heroic death
on the gallows. We already knew last night between 4 and 5 p.m.
what was going to happen. From the moment the news reached us,
we pressed against the bars of our cells and with bated breath
watched the movement around the condemned cells, but we could
do nothing. The prison Superintendent, Charleston, left yesterday
afternoon and has not been seen since. In the early evening a
party of hangmen from the Army and the Police arrived. At about
the same time, all the clothing and belongings of the condemned
men were taken away and exchanged for new ones after a thorough
search. Aziz Mizrachi, the fourth condemned man who was with
them, was removed from the cell. After this the officers entered and
informed the condemned men that the executions would take place
between four and five in the morning. Their reply was to sing
Hatikvah, On the barricades, and other songs, in powerful voices.
Then they shouted to us that the executions would start at 4
a.m., in the following order: Avshalom Chaviv, Meir Neker, Yacov Weiss.
And they added: "Avenge us!". We replied: "Be
strong of heart. We are all with you, and so are thousands of other
young Jews." They thanked us, and continued to sing. At 2 a.m.
a Sephardi rabbi was brought to them. We could not recognize him
from the distance. He stayed with them for a quarter of an hour.
At 4 a.m. Avshalom started to sing Hatikvah while we, standing
against the bars, joined him. Immediately afterwards armed police
guards, who are here all the time, took up positions alongside
the visitors' fence. close to our cells. Shortly after 4 a.m.
Avshalom was hanged. At 4.25 our attention was gripped by the
mighty sound of Meir singing, with which we also joined. He was
hanged at 4.28. At 5.00 we heard the voice of Yaacov, with which
we joined once more. Two minutes later he was hanged. The bodies
hung for twenty minutes and were carried away one by one. The
chief hangmen were Hackett, Inspector of Prisons, and Captain
Clow, Superintendent of Nablus prison, the same men who hanged
Dov Gruner and his friends. Early in the morning we informed the
prison authorities through the Arab officer that we would not
be responsible for the life of any Englishman who might enter
the courtyard today. We declared it a day of fasting and prayer.
In the morning we found written on the wall of the condemned
cell: "They will not frighten the Hebrew Youth in their fatherland
with hangings. A.C." Thousands will follow in their steps.
There we also saw the emblem of the Underground, and the three
names of the condemned men in the order of their execution. We
enclose a part of Avshalom's diary written in the cell. At the
beginning of the trial he had asked Amnon Michaelov to complete
the diary if he was unable to do so. His wish will be fulfilled.


Respectfully

Nathan 

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