Hasamba, Hasamba, Hasamba !
Hasmaba (acronym for "The Absolutely Absolute Secret Group" in Hebrew) is the name of a secret group of children in the series of books by the writer Yigal Mossinson. The group of children acted on behalf of the Jewish defense forces and then the State of Israel in secret missions against various enemies and criminals. The Hasmaba series of books became one of the most successful in Israel and had many editions. Hasmaba also became part of the pantheon of Israeli culture, influencing generations of children and adults alike.
In 1949, Mossinson began writing a serial about Hasmaba in the weekly "Mishmar for Children". He got the idea from his eldest son Ido who liked to read Tarzan stories. Mossinson decided to author an original adventure book based on Israeli culture. In 1950, he collected the stories he had written so far and published them in two books that became the first ones in the series - "Hasamba or a Group of Absolutely Absolute Secret" and "Hasamba in the Prison House". A total of 44 books were published in the series, until Mossinson’s death in 1994.
Hasamba is a group of children from Tel Aviv who met at the end of the Mandate period, and decided to help the Haganah (the main Jewish paramilitary organization) in the fight against the British. After the establishment of the State of Israel, Hasamba continued to help the Israeli army and security forces by fighting a series of enemies, criminals and crooks. The main characters in the gang were Yaron Zahavi the commander, Tamar the Beautiful his second in command, Uzi the Skinny, Ehud the Fat, Menashe the Yemenite, and others. The inspiration for the character of Yaron Zahavi came from Yaron London, the well-known Israeli media personality, whom Mossinson knew as a child. The other characters, some of which were stereotypical to Israeli society in the 1950s, were influenced by children in Kibbutz Naan where Mossinson had lived. In the mid-1960s, Mossinson replaced the characters in the gang.
The most famous crook in the book series was Elimelech Zorkin, the leader of a gang of terrifying criminals. In 1971, "Hasamba and the Homeless Boys" was released and became a cult movie, in which Shlomo Artzi played Yaron Zahavi and Ze’ev Revach played Elimelech Zorkin. Yaron London, the inspiration for the character of Yaron Zahavi, appeared in the film himself in a guest role as the Prime Minister. One of the most famous scenes in the movie was filmed at the Pool of Arches in Ramla. Besides this film, Hasmaba received other adaptations in theater, television and cinema over the years.
Hasmaba's headquarters was a secret site called "The Electric Cave", which was located on Metzitzim Beach under the Hilton Hotel in Tel Aviv. The entrance to the cave was known only to the gang members, and was kept as a secret. Over the years, many children who were captivated by the stories of Hasmaba tried to find the entrance to the cave, and it became a myth and an urban legend. In reality, there was indeed a cave in the cliff under the Hilton Hotel, built by a reclusive man named Max Kleinhoff who immigrated to Israel from Austria in the 1930s. Kleinhoff dug by himself a small cave in which he lived secluded for about a decade. He even installed a small power station in the cave and was one of the first people in Israel to generate wind electricity for his own needs. The cave was destroyed in the early 1950s, when the Independence Park and the Sheraton Hotel located next to it were built, therefore all the generations of children who wandered the coastal area of Tel Aviv in search of the electric cave were not able to find anything.
(Anecdote authored by: עמיר)
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