Last Living Voices of the Black Sabbath Raid Recount Refusing to Betray the Underground

Shabtai Meshulam, who turns 97 in two months, is among the last surviving former underground fighters who were detained in the British Mandate's sweeping Black Sabbath operation on June 29, 1946. The raid was Britain’s largest arrest action against the Yishuv leadership and underground groups, aimed at breaking the military strength of the Palmach and retaliating for the Jewish resistance movement’s sabotage campaign, especially the Night of the Bridges.

Meshulam was born in Thessaloniki, Greece, and came to Mandatory Palestine with his parents in 1933 after anti-Jewish persecution began. He grew up in Tel Aviv, studied at the Takhkemoni school, joined the HaNoar HaOved youth movement, and was recruited to the Haganah at age 15 and a half. He recalled that British soldiers and a detective came to his family’s home on Kishon Street, forced him to walk with a rifle butt striking his back, and took him to the British police office on Jaffa Street for questioning.

At the interrogation, he said, British officers showed him photographs and asked whether he recognized anyone or belonged to a youth movement. He replied that he was in HaNoar HaOved and deliberately avoided identifying anyone. “I made myself small and not important,” he said. “I acted stupid. I came determined not to inform on anyone.” He added, “To me, silence and not talking was the only solution.” He was released the same day, because the British saw he was not a useful source and he was still under 17.

Military historian Moshe Kashi said Meshulam, born in 1928, was recruited by Shimon Peres and was wounded during one of the underground operations. Kashi said about 2,700 people were arrested in the Black Sabbath raid, including senior Yishuv leaders such as Moshe Sharett and David Remez, and many detainees were sent to camps in Latrun and Rafah. Meshulam later served in the young IDF medical system under Prof. Chaim Sheba and helped establish Hospital 13, now Assaf Harofeh. He said, “It is a pity my generation is being forgotten.”