A resident of Moshav Herut in the Sharon region has discovered a crate of old weapons in his fields – apparently from pre-State days.
Inside the crate were several rusted pistols and a sub-machine gun, found in an avocado field following the recent heavy rains in the region. A policeman called to the site said the find was of historic value. He said that when such weapon stashes are found, they must not be touched and the police must be called.
The 300-family farming community is located east of the Raanana-Netanya route, and includes many acres of orchards and fields. It was founded in 1930 by the Herut Yehuda (Freedom for Judah) group, whose name commemorated the 1,800th anniversary of the Bar Kochba revolt.
The residents of Herut were frequent targets of the Arabs of the nearby villages of Tira, now a city of 22,000 – and Miski, which no longer exists; a Jewish moshav named Mishmeret exists in the vicinity, however. A Herut watchman was once attacked by axe-wielding Arabs and his rifle stolen; Herut members then commandeered an Arab flock of sheep, holding them hostage until the rifle was returned.
Old weapon caches are occasionally found in various areas of Israel. Last month, during an archaeological dig in preparation for the widening of a highway to Nazareth, four submachine guns and 50 bullets were found with Arabic writing on them. The guns were apparently manufactured in 1927 in Egypt.