Etzioni Brigade The Etzioni Brigade ( , " Hativat Etzyoni " ) , also 6th Brigade and Jerusalem Brigade , was an infantry brigade in the Haganah and Israel Defense Forces in the 1948 Arab – Israeli War . It was founded in late 1947 as the Field Corps unit responsible for the defense of Jerusalem and its surroundings , where it operated during the war along with the Harel Brigade . Its first commander was Yisrael Amir , who was replaced by David Shaltiel . The brigade participated in operations in the city of Jerusalem itself , including Yevusi , Kilshon , the battles of Ramat Rachel , Kedem and Yekev . Founding and organization . The Etzioni Brigade was founded as part of the Haganah command ' s November 7 , 1947 decision to create four infantry brigades based on the HISH — Levanoni , Alexandroni , Givati and Etzioni . In all , three battalions were envisioned and two initially deployed : the 61st " Moriah " Battalion , and the 63rd " Mikhmas " Battalion . The 62nd " Beit Horon " Battalion was added in May 1948 , and the 63rd was disbanded during the same month . Guard Corps and Gadna units in the Jerusalem area , totaling five battalions , were also subordinated to the brigade . Altogether , on May 15 , Moshe Zadok of the Manpower Directorate reported the strength of the brigade to be 3 , 166 . The Jerusalem region , and hence the brigade ' s theater of operations , stretched from the Dead Sea in the east , Atarot in the north , Gush Etzion in the south and Hartuv in the west . According to Plan Dalet , Etzioni ' s job was to " Take key positions on the Jerusalem – Tel Aviv road and establishment in the city of Jerusalem " . Yisrael Amir , who had held a number of staff positions before the war , was appointed to command the brigade on the recommendation Moshe Sneh . Command disputes and reorganization . Before the Haganah ' s reorganization of its infantry forces in February 1948 , the brigade was divided into two battalions ; the first was responsible for northern Jerusalem , Motza , Atarot and Neve Ya ' akov , and was commanded by Zalman Mart . The second was responsible for the Old City and Gush Etzion , under Shalom Dror . The brigade was , however , unprepared for the battles to come , and its commander Yisrael Amir did not cooperate with the rest of the units in the area . David Shaltiel , who replaced Amir as brigade commander in the same month , reorganized the forces and divided Jerusalem into five regions , four of them going to the Guard Corps , with the Old City and southern neighborhoods going to the operational battalions ( 61st and 63rd ) . The reorganization did not help however , and in March 1948 , Shaltiel commented that the unit had severe supply and discipline problems , and at that pace Jerusalem would not hold out even until May 15 . Shaltiel ' s method of command also worsened the discipline issues , until in June 1948 the 61st Battalion rebelled and was subsequently subordinated to the Harel Brigade until August 1948 . In May 1948 , Yisrael Galili created a staff unit in Etzioni that was based in Tel Aviv , responsible for the Jerusalem region ' s outlying and isolated settlements . The command change also did not help cooperation between the different units in the Jerusalem area . Shaltiel insisted that the regional command should be responsible for all units in its area , including the Harel units which according to Shaltiel only took orders from the Palmach HQ in Tel Aviv . Shaltiel was also at odds with the Haganah high command over his unilateral agreements with the Irgun and Lehi , which were not approved by the command . Finally , the political and cultural leaders of Jerusalem did not accept the brigade ' s authority on security issues , especially under Shaltiel . Jerusalem ' s civilian population refused to provide Etzioni with necessary fuel and manpower , and Dov Yosef , the head of the Jerusalem council , send a personal complaint to David Ben - Gurion about Shaltiel ' s recruitment practices . Moshe Dayan replaced David Shaltiel as the regional commander of Jerusalem on July 25 , 1948 , although he failed to affect significant territorial changes in the area . Dayan ended his tenure in February 1949 . Operations . As the Etzioni Brigade had a smaller operational ( Field Corps ) force than the other brigades , it never left the Jerusalem theater . In all , it suffered between 592 and 651 killed in action in the battles for Jerusalem and Gush Etzion , more than any other brigade ' s KIA in the entire war . Because of the lack of manpower and training among the Guard Corps units , during the first stages of the war Etzioni was mostly confined to guard duties , with no reserve units for initiating attacks . The Etzioni Brigade participated in Operation Yevusi ( April – May , 1948 ) , the first operation in Haganah history that was carried out by more than one brigade ( the other one being Harel ) . The 61st Battalion captured the Katamon neighborhood on May 2 – 3 and connected with the previously isolated Mekor Haim . Upon British withdrawal from Jerusalem in May 1948 , after Operation Shfifon in the Old City , Etzioni , assisted by Irgun and Lehi paramilitaries , initiated Operation Kilshon to capture the areas formerly held by the British . Sheikh Jarrah and the areas between Yemin Moshe and Rehavia were taken on May 14 , followed by the German and Greek colonies , Baka , Camp Allenby , and most of " Bevingrad " on May 15 . Abu Tor was captured on May 17 – 18 , ending the operation . After Kilshon , Etzioni made further small gains by capturing the Notre Dame Monastery next to the New Gate on May 17 – 18 . A simultaneous attack at the Tower of David failed . Following the Jordanian Arab Legion ' s capture of Sheikh Jarrah and entrance to the Old City , all Israeli units in Jerusalem engaged it , including Etzioni , especially in northern Jerusalem between Sanhedriya and the Notre Dame . An attack by the Legion on Mount Scopus was repelled mostly by Etzioni troops stationed there . The brigade was also a major participating in the battles of Ramat Rachel . On May 22 , the kibbutz was taken and looted by Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood forces after heavy shelling , but at 17 : 00 , a unit from the 61st Battalion retook the village and handed it over to its Guard Corps units . This failed , and on May 23 , the Arabs again captured the village ; Etzioni recaptured it on the same night , leaving 75 defenders ( 50 Irgun and 25 Etzioni ) . The third joint Muslim Brotherhood – Arab Legion attack came on May 24 , and was mainly fended off by Irgun units . Etzioni and Harel reinforcements finally drove the Arab forces out and also captured the Mar Elias Monastery to the southwest . During the Battles of the Ten Days , Etzioni was set to significantly expand Jewish control of Jerusalem and its surroundings , including capturing the Old City . However , in northern Jerusalem the initiative was held by the Arab Legion , which attacked Mandelbaum and Musrara and drew IDF units to the area . Despite this , Etzioni and regional Gadna units managed to take the Zion Gate , al - Maliha and Ein Karim on July 10 – 16 . Etzioni ' s 62nd Battalion participated in Operation Kedem on July 16 – 17 , with the objective of taking over the Old City in a frontal assault ( due to a lack of time imposed by the impending ceasefire ) , but failed to breach its walls . Despite some successes , the operation came to a halt with the announcement of the ceasefire . After the second truce of the war , Etzioni participated in Operation Yekev , meant to capture the mountains of Beit Jala , but failed in its mission and retreated . They also took part in Operation Ha - Har which cleared villages west of Jerusalem . After the 1948 Arab – Israeli War . The 6th Etzioni Brigade was disbanded following the war , in light of the IDF ' s overall reorganization that only left three standing brigades in summer 1949 . It was re - created as a Central Command reserve brigade in 1955 . In September 1958 it was transferred to the southern command and re - designated as the 14th Brigade . In 2010 , the reserve 408th Infantry Brigade was renamed to Etzioni Brigade and given the number 6 .