Closure: Private Dov (Barla) Broder, z"l, who fell in Operation Medina during the War of Independence and whose burial place is unknown, was located after an intensive investigation that lasted more than a decade, by the IDF's branch for locating the missing in the casualty unit.
Meeting of the head of the Israel Defense Forces with the widow of the late soldier Dov Broder // Credit: IDF Spokesperson
Since the battles of May 1948 during the War of Independence, there has been a grave in the Segula cemetery in Petah Tikva where the burial was defined as anonymous. In 2006, an investigation by the missing persons branch began in order to locate the identity of the deceased buried in this grave.
Interrogate witnesses from the battle and examine documents
In 2023-2006, a variety of investigative activities were carried out to locate the identity of the unknown person, including a meticulous examination of relevant documents and testimonies from the period, questioning witnesses from the battle, analyzing the course of the battle and examining the evacuation of the casualties to Beilinson Hospital afterwards, performing anthropological examinations, and more.
Summarizing the findings that arose in the investigation over the years, it is possible to create an almost complete sequence from Dov's recruitment as an armored driver, the course of the battle and the damage to the armored vehicle, the evacuation to Beilinson Hospital and the burial in Segula. This sequence eventually led to the identification of the anonymous martyr as the late Dov (Barla) Broder.
A document of the "Alexandroni" Brigade, according to which the late Dov did not return from Operation Medina, was used by the investigators in the investigation,
On May 13, 1948, the 33rd Battalion of the Alexandroni Brigade embarked on Operation Medina. Dov took part in the battle as an armored driver, and while he was sent to help cover up another force, his force came into an encounter and the armored vehicle he was in was hit. As stated, Dov's body has not been located or identified among the dead and he is considered a martyr whose burial place is unknown. This is until the investigation was recently completed.
His family, including his 95-year-old widow, Batya Broder, received an update Saturday night on the conclusion of the investigation from the head of the Manpower Division, Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor.
In the near future, the circle will be closed and a ceremony will be held to reveal the tombstone of the fallen, during which, after 75 years, the name of the late Dov (Barla) will replace the inscription "Unknown" that was on the grave until now.
"75 years after the fall of the late Dov Broder in the War of Independence, we located his burial place.
This is closure and a moral and moral debt of the IDF and the State of Israel to Dov, who gave his life for the rebirth of Israel, to his widow and family members who lost what is dearest to them," said Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor, Head of the Manpower Division.
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