Barazani & Feinstein
Moshe Barazani, a Lehi fighter, was accused of attempting to harm a British Army Officer and was sentenced to death. Meir Fineshtein, an Etzel (Irgun) fighter, was caught following the sabotage in the Jerusalem railway station. During the action, Meir was injured in a British ambush and lost his arm. The soldiers found him bleeding in hiding in the nearby Makor Haim neighborhood. He was sentenced to death.
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Moshe Barazani |
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Meir Feinstein |
The two, who shared one cell, determined to emulate the hero Samson, and to take with them the group of officers who were supposed to observe the hanging. At their request, two improvised grenades made by their fellow prisoners and concealed in an orange peel were transferred to their cell.
On the evening before their hanging, Rabbi Goldman came to visit them. He sat and spoke with them for a long time. The Rabbi promised to return in the morning to be with them in their last hour, at the time of the execution. The two understood that they could not carry out their plans and harm the group of officers while there was a Rabbi among them. They therefore decided to emulate King Saul and take their own lives, so long as the hand of British rule did not touch them. Prisoners have related that, after the rabbi left the death cell, the loud clear singing of "Shema Yisrael" was heard coming from it and, upon the last words of the song - "..and I shall deposit not only my spirit, but also my body, the Lord is with me and I am not afraid" - the sound of an explosion was heard. The two are buried outside the Compound.
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