Yitzhak Sadeh Yitzhak Sadeh ( , born Isaac Landoberg ; Lublin , Russian partition of Poland , 1890 – Tel Aviv , Israel , 1952 ) , was the commander of the Palmach , one of the founders of the Israel Defense Forces at the time of the establishment of the State of Israel and a cousin of British philosopher Isaiah Berlin . Biography . Sadeh was awarded a medal from the Tsarist army for his bravery during World War I . Between 1917 – 19 , he assisted Joseph Trumpeldor in the founding of HeHalutz ( " The Pioneer " ) movement . In 1920 , Sadeh made " aliyah " to Eretz Israel , where he became one of founders and leaders of Gdud HaAvoda ( " The Work Battalion " ) . In 1921 , Sadeh was a Haganah ( Defense ) commander in Jerusalem . During the 1929 riots he took part in the battle defending Haifa . When the 1936 – 1939 Arab revolt in Palestine began , Sadeh established the Nodedet ( " Wandering Troop " or " Patrol Unit " ) in Jerusalem , that confronted the Palestinians in their villages and bases . He demanded that his troops " leave the defences " and initiate military operations . In the summer of 1937 , as commander of the Jewish Settlement Police , he founded the FOSH ( Hebrew abbreviation , FO ' SH , for " Plugot Sadeh " , lit . Field Companies ) , the commando arm of the Haganah . It was an elite Jewish strike force , whose members were hand - picked by Sadeh . The force was established during the Great Arab Revolt in what at the time was the British Mandate of Palestine . Among other activities , Sadeh commanded the establishment of Kibbutz Hanita on an isolated hill on the southern border of Lebanon . In 1941 , he was instrumental in the founding of the Palmach ( acronym for " Plugot Mahatz " , lit . Striking Companies ) , the Haganah ' s enlisted military forces of volunteers ) . The purpose of this clandestine elite unit was to prepare to undertake a guerilla war in the event of the Axis forces entering Palestine . During the 200 days of dread , Sadeh worked on the Carmel Plan , which was a detailed strategy to withdraw the entire Jewish community in Palestine to Carmel , forming a giant enclave to withstand the invaders . He was Commander of the Palmach until 1945 , when he was appointed as the Haganah ' s Chief of the General Staff and , among other activities , was in charge of the movement ' s operations against the British Forces during the British Mandate of Palestine and in operations that brought clandestine Jewish immigrants to Israel . He was also instrumental in founding the Gadna in 1941 , and became the program ' s first unofficial commander . The 1948 War . At the beginning of 1948 Yitzhak Sadeh was in commanded of Haganah training camp at Mishmar Ha ' emek . In early April he successfully defended the kibbutz against a full scale attack by the Arab Liberation Army . In the counter - attack that followed his troops conquered a large section of the Jezreel Valley . At the end of April he commanded two Brigades in a series of attacks on strategic areas in and around Jerusalem , Operation Yevusi . During the truce in June he was responsible for the establishing the first armored brigade of the IDF . In July this Brigade played an important part in Operation Danny , capturing Lod airport , and in October , Operation Yoav , the taking of the Iraq Suwaydan fortress blocking the road to the Negev . In December 1948 he participated in Operation Horev in the Negev , when the forces under his command crossed the Egyptian border and threatened El - Arish as well as the Egyptian army in the Gaza Strip . Later life . When the War of Independence ended and the Palmach was dismantled in 1949 , Sadeh left military service . He wrote essays , stories and plays . The book " Misaviv Lamedura " ( Around the Bonfire ) includes a collection of articles he wrote under the pen name Y . Noded ( Y . Wanderer ) . Prior to his death in August 1952 , he had become a charismatic and colorful figure , whose nickname in the Palmach was " HaZaken " ( The Old Man ) . He is buried at Kibbutz Givat Brenner . Sadeh was a promoter and educator in the field of Jewish sport . When in Russia , he participated in wrestling meets and became the wrestling champion of St . Petersburg . As an active sportsperson , he recognized physical education as having important cultural and educational values . As a member of the Hapoel ( The Worker ) board , he set policies and established guidelines and created the Hapoel motto , " Alafim lo Alufim " ( Thousands not Champions ) . Today , thousands of sports people and soldiers take part in the Mount Tavor Race , devoted to the Sadeh ' s ideals . Honors . In 2005 , he was voted the 121st - greatest Israeli of all time , in a poll by the Israeli news website " Ynet " to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis .