Arthur Goldberg volunteered for service in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1945 and when the war in Europe ended, he began studying law at the University of British Columbia. Realizing that war in the Middle East was imminent, he began recruiting Canadian war veterans to defend Israel from the expected Arab onslaught. While recruiting, he found his own sales-pitch so effective that he decided to recruit himself.
He made his way to the Grandes Arénas refugee camp in Marseilles. He then booked passage on the ancient, decrepit Italian three-masted sailing ship, the “Marie Annique,” built in 1870; on board were some 180 volunteers, including Allan Chapnick and Ivor Fenton.
Arthur arrived in Israel in June 1948 and joined an artillery regiment. He was posted to the Galilee, where he fired French 75s and Spanish “Kakarachas” against the Syrians, and then moved to the central front and fired French 65-mm “Napoleonchiks” against the Iraqis and the Jordanians.
Not having seen any action in the south, Arthur then joined the Fourth Troop 1st Antitank regiment stationed in the Negev, serving in the campaign to liberate Eilat.
After the war, Arthur remained in Israel and married Leumit, the daughter of Yemenite parents. The family had walked for six months across the Arabian desert to reach Palestine.
Arthur, together with a fellow Canadian Machalnik, Lionel Drukker, set up a successful travel company “Sightseeing Tours and Greentours.”
Author: Arthur Goldberg
Reproduced in part with the permission of Dr. Jason Fenton from his book “Strength and Courage.”
Arthur Goldberg volunteered for service in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1945 and when the war in Europe ended, he began studying law at the University of British Columbia. Realizing that war in the Middle East was imminent, he began recruiting Canadian war veterans to defend Israel from the expected Arab onslaught. While recruiting, he found his own sales-pitch so effective that he decided to recruit himself.He made his way to the Grandes Arénas refugee camp in Marseilles. He then booked passage on the ancient, decrepit Italian three-masted sailing ship, the “Marie Annique,” built in 1870; on board were some 180 volunteers, including Allan Chapnick and Ivor Fenton.
Arthur arrived in Israel in June 1948 and joined an artillery regiment. He was posted to the Galilee, where he fired French 75s and Spanish “Kakarachas” against the Syrians, and then moved to the central front and fired French 65-mm “Napoleonchiks” against the Iraqis and the Jordanians.
Not having seen any action in the south, Arthur then joined the Fourth Troop 1st Antitank regiment stationed in the Negev, serving in the campaign to liberate Eilat.
After the war, Arthur remained in Israel and married Leumit, the daughter of Yemenite parents. The family had walked for six months across the Arabian desert to reach Palestine.
Arthur, together with a fellow Canadian Machalnik, Lionel Drukker, set up a successful travel company “Sightseeing Tours and Greentours.”
Author: Arthur Goldberg
Reproduced in part with the permission of Dr. Jason Fenton from his book “Strength and Courage.”