Pessah Bar-Adon

Pessah Bar-Adon was born in 1907 in Kolno

Pessah Bar-Adon was born Pessah Panitsch in Kolno, Poland, in 1907. His family was Haredi and Zionist. He studied at an Orthodox Jewish school and later at yeshivas.

He moved to the Land of Israel in 1925. He worked in building and road work to earn a living. At the same time he studied Middle Eastern studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

He lived among Bedouin near Amman, Bet She'an and Kuneitra to learn their way of life. He dressed as a Bedouin and was called Aziz Effendi. He was also active in the Haganah and later in Aliyah Bet.

In 1932 he appeared in the film Sabra. In 1939 he married the American writer Dorothy Kahn, and they moved to Moshav Merhavia. She died in 1950.

He took part in digs at Bet Shearim and Tel Bet Yerah. In 1961 he found the Nahal Mishmar hoard of copper objects. He died in 1985 and was buried in Merhavia.