Kalman Keet (Kit)

Major Kalman Keet (Kit) (1 April 1907 Kráslava, Latvia - 31 March 1995 Tel Aviv, Israel) service number 221255, Royal East Kent Regiment, Palestine Regiment and the Jewish Brigade, was the son of Abraham Yehuda Keet (1868-1933) and Chaya Doba Keet (born Gelfand) (1872-1939) of Komgha, Cape Province, South Africa.

His family emigrated to South Africa from Latvia and settled in Komgha, a small farming town. Kalman Keet went to settle in Palestine in 1935 as one of the chalutzim. In World War Two, he enlisted in the "Buffs" - Royal East Kent Regiment. He was then transferred to the Palestine unit. He was promoted from the rank of private to 2nd Lieutenant in December 1941. The Palestine Regiment was a mixed unit of Arabs and Jews and he was the first Jewish adjutant. After achieving an excellent record in Egypt, Keet was promoted to the rank of Major and become a foundation member of the Jewish Brigade. "It was a great thrill to command Jewish soldiers in Hebrew in a purely Jewish unit" he said. "It is difficult to describe our feeling of pride and satisfaction every time we gained a victory. We felt it to be a little milestone in the path of fulfilling our ultimate aspirations in Eretz Israel". Right through Italy and later in the Netherlands and Belgium, Major Keet remained with his unit and was responsible for saving many Jewish refugees. The climax occurred in the Landsberg camp in Germany when the inmates discovered that their rescuers were of their own faith. Their enthusiasm was delirious. One soldier, incidentally, found his father there." Kalman Keet served in the War of Independence. He remained in the Israeli Defence Force. In 1950, Lieutenant Colonel Keet was involved in a joint conference between Israeli and Jordanian commanders under the auspices of the Mixed Armistice Commission in the shell-scarred Mandelbaum Gate, no-man's land between Arab and Jewish Jerusalem. The conference discussed plans for closer cooperation between Arabs and Jews in the hope of avoiding border incidents, and the commanders explored possibilities for improving relations by establishing communications across the demarcation lines, mixed Arab-Jewish-United Nations border patrols, or by any other means. Kalman Keet's brother, Israel Leonard Keet (1896-1962) also served in World War Two and was a sergeant in the Union Defence Force. Kalman Keet married Naama Keet (born Sharshevsky) in November 1942. They had 2 children.

Sources: 1. Chapter X, With the Jewish Brigade. South African Jews in World War II. SA Jewish Board of Deputies 1950 page 77. 2. The South African Jewish Database Jewish Migration and Genealogy. 3. Supplement to the London Gazette 30 December 1941 issue 35397 page 7372. 4. Seventy Years of Southern African Aliyah. A Story of Achievement. Philip Gillon 1992. 5. United Nations Photo: Israeli and Jordan Local Commanders hold Joint Conference https://www.unmultimedia.org/s/photo/detail/137/0137076.html.