Operation Boatswain Memorial, Cenotaph in Mount Herzl, Jerusalem, Israel

The Operation Boatswain Memorial is a reinforced-concrete block shaped like a boat sunk in a shallow rectangular pool with a blue tiled floor, on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. Names of the fallen, including the British officer Palmer, are carved on the block, whose inward-facing side bears a Hebrew inscription. Architect Dr. Asher Hiram designed it.

The 23 Haganah members disappeared at sea in 1941 while carrying out a sabotage mission against the oil refineries at Tripoli in Lebanon; a British officer, Palmer, was lost with them. Architect Dr. Asher Hiram, who planned the Mount Herzl military cemetery, designed the memorial, inaugurated on 22 May 1957 beside the Garden of the Missing.

The Hebrew inscription on the stone block names the 23 as members of the Haganah, pioneers of Aliyah Bet and of the fighting Hebrew navy, and records that they sailed on 21 Iyar 5701 (1941) and did not return. The British officer Palmer, lost with them, is also named among the fallen.

The memorial sits on Mount Herzl and is accessible by public paths, with information boards available in Hebrew and English. It is best to visit during daylight hours when the inscriptions are easy to read.

The memorial's inscription names the British officer Palmer, lost alongside the 23 Haganah men, and dates the sailing to 21 Iyar 5701 (1941). Architect Dr. Asher Hiram, who planned the Mount Herzl military cemetery, designed the monument, unveiled on 22 May 1957 beside the Garden of the Missing.