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The gun was built in 1947 by 16-year-old Uzi Aharoni.
By Shula Rosen
A makeshift pistol built by a 16-year-old during Israel’s War of Independence has been rediscovered in a bomb shelter at Kibbutz Yifat and will be placed on permanent display at the Valley Museum, nearly 80 years after it was first used to help defend communities in the Jezreel Valley, Ynet reported.
The weapon, created in 1947 by Uzi Aharoni of Kibbutz Geva, was assembled at a time when residents faced repeated attacks and lacked sufficient arms.
According to his brother, Yoav Aharoni, the kibbutz was targeted by forces linked to Fawzi al-Qawuqji’s Arab Liberation Army. “They used to snipe at us from the hill above Geva, where Kibbutz Yifat stands today,” he said.
Uzi, then a 10th-grade student, had been assigned to observation and communications duties without a weapon.
Drawing on his technical skills, he built the pistol from available materials, including parts associated with fence mines.
Yoav told Ynet the design allowed the weapon to be carried in two separate pieces and quickly assembled when needed. “With the skill of an engineer, he carried it in his pocket throughout the War of Independence and was constantly ready to use it. He was the only boy in the valley who regularly went around with a pistol,” he said.
Before his death, Uzi donated the weapon to the museum along with a written account explaining how he obtained discarded components and assembled them into a functioning firearm for use during guard duty.
After the war, he dismantled the pistol and kept it among his belongings. It was later displayed briefly before being transferred for exhibition elsewhere.
The pistol was recently rediscovered during repeated visits to a protected storage space at the museum, which also serves as a shelter.
“This is an important historical item that has never been displayed here and was uncovered only because of the frequent trips to the shelter during the war,” said Iris Groman, director of the Valley Museum.
Uzi later studied at the Technion, served as an engineer in the Ordnance Corps, and worked as a teacher for more than a decade before his death at age 64.
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