When members of the Rodges group (Kfar Avraham) were transferred to Tirat Zvi, difficult times befell Kfar Yavetz, particularly in terms of security. During those days, violent riots and unrest erupted throughout the Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel, and the surrounding Arab communities joined forces in an attempt to eliminate the Hebrew settlement in the Tel Mond bloc.
Night after night, Arab gangs rained down heavy fire on Kfar Yavetz. In desperation, the residents turned to Keren HaYesod (the Jewish National Fund’s security wing) for help. In response, a reinforcement of ten young men was sent to assist in the settlement’s defense.
The residents of Kfar Yavetz maintained close contact with the neighboring settlements: Tel Mond, Ein Vered, Kfar Hess, and Kfar Harutz. The regional Haganah headquarters was located in Tel Mond. Every night, Kfar Yavetz sent flare signals to Tel Mond to receive instructions, warnings, and alerts about enemy activity. In 1936, volunteers from Tel Aviv and Petah Tikva arrived to help the settlers defend their lives and their young community.
Chazani and his comrades spent their nights in the guard posts - tense and alert - after long, hard days of labor. Chazani recalled:
“One night, while patrolling near a guard checkpoint, I found myself falling asleep mid-walk, with a loaded pistol in hand…
“One Friday night, we were surrounded by a ring of fire, and all access to us was cut off. There was no way to send help. We feared a serious breach of the fence by a gang that had entrenched itself on a hill overlooking our position. Around that time, we had invented the homemade canister launcher - a noise-making explosive, the first version of the Davidka. The Arabs believed we had an atomic bomb. But then a directive was issued banning the use of this device after a tragic accident involving it in ‘Mitzpeh’.
“When I realized there was no way out, I decided to break the order. I took the ‘atomic rifle,’ crawled out of the command post under a hail of bullets, and when I reached the right spot, I aimed the rifle and fired. The bomb hit directly and shattered the enemy assault. Eventually, I was brought before a disciplinary court for violating orders. The judge, Akiva Govrin, issued a stern reprimand. Then he patted me on the shoulder…”
Years later, when Govrin and Chazani met again in the Knesset, Govrin reminded him how he had saved “the offender” Chazani from harsh punishment…
The “Haganah House” on the land of the Shechterman family was heavily fortified and served as a shelter, refuge, and safe haven for women and infants. Chazani and his comrades demanded an increase in settlers and the development of additional agricultural lands. But the Jewish Agency’s Settlement Department and the Jewish National Fund could not fulfill these requests. The surrounding Arab population, following the directives of their national leadership, refused to sell even a single parcel of land.
The people of Kfar Yavetz had hoped to settle 100 more families, but that dream was never realized. The HaPoel HaMizrachi agricultural center offered them alternative locations for settlement: Kfar HaRoeh, Hibat Zion, and Kfar Pines. In 1942, the “Geulei Teiman” (Redeemed of Yemen) organization, made up of HaPoel HaMizrachi members from Nahliel (near Hadera), took their place.
From: Shaul Meislish, “The Father of Religious Settlement – The Life Story of Michael Chazani.”