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| During the ], mainstream Zionists, represented by the ] and the ], practiced the policy of ] (restraint), while Irgun members did not obey this policy and called themselves "Havlagah breakers". | During the ], mainstream Zionists, represented by the ] and the ], practiced the policy of ] (restraint), while Irgun members did not obey this policy and called themselves "Havlagah breakers". | ||
| After the beginning of ], both the Haganah and Irgun suspended their activity against the British so as not to distract the British from the fight against ]. In ], after the defeat of the Nazis was assured, the Irgun resumed attacks. The smaller Lehi continued anti-British attacks and ] throughout the war. | After the beginning of ], both the Haganah and Irgun suspended their activity against the British so as not to distract the British from the fight against ]. In ], after the defeat of the Nazis was assured, the Irgun resumed attacks. The smaller Lehi continued anti-British attacks and ] throughout the war. The official leadership of the ] declared itself opposed to these activities and demanded their cessation, but their military wing Haganah also practised terrorism, blowing up the Patria in 1940, killing over 200 Jewish refugees from the Nazis. | ||
| After the 1944 assassination of ], the ] Executive condemned the act and declared a series of measures against what they called "terrorist organizations" in Palestine. But in 1975, Israel exchanged the bodies of the terrorist assassins Eliahu Hakim and Eliahu Beit-Zouri for 20 Arab prisoners. The bodies "lay in Jerusalem's Hall of Heroism and were given a military burial on Mt Herzl" <ref> Evening Star of Auckland, New Zealand of July 2, 1975 </ref>. | |||
| According to ], the ] was "the code-name for the Haganah's persecution of the Irgun, aimed at putting an end to its activities."<ref> by Yehuda Lapidot (])</ref> | |||
| ==Irgun and Lehi attacks== | ==Irgun and Lehi attacks== | ||
Revision as of 17:42, 21 April 2007
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In the 1930s and 1940s, groups within the Zionist underground in the British Mandate of Palestine committed a number of acts of political violence. These included actions by the Irgun, and Lehi, also known as the Stern Gang, primarily against British policemen and soldiers, but also against UN personnel, Jews suspected of collaborating with the British, and other non Jewish civilians in response to attacks made against Jewish communities. At the time, the British described such political violence as "Jewish" or "Zionist" terrorism.
During the 1936-1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, mainstream Zionists, represented by the Vaad Leumi and the Haganah, practiced the policy of Havlagah (restraint), while Irgun members did not obey this policy and called themselves "Havlagah breakers".
After the beginning of World War II, both the Haganah and Irgun suspended their activity against the British so as not to distract the British from the fight against Nazi Germany. In 1944, after the defeat of the Nazis was assured, the Irgun resumed attacks. The smaller Lehi continued anti-British attacks and direct action throughout the war. The official leadership of the Yishuv declared itself opposed to these activities and demanded their cessation, but their military wing Haganah also practised terrorism, blowing up the Patria in 1940, killing over 200 Jewish refugees from the Nazis.
After the 1944 assassination of Lord Moyne, the Jewish Agency Executive condemned the act and declared a series of measures against what they called "terrorist organizations" in Palestine. But in 1975, Israel exchanged the bodies of the terrorist assassins Eliahu Hakim and Eliahu Beit-Zouri for 20 Arab prisoners. The bodies "lay in Jerusalem's Hall of Heroism and were given a military burial on Mt Herzl" .
According to Yehuda Lapidot, the Hunting Season was "the code-name for the Haganah's persecution of the Irgun, aimed at putting an end to its activities."
Irgun and Lehi attacks
Main article: List of Irgun attacks during the 1930s- 1937-1939 The Irgun conducted a campaign of violence against civilians resulting in the deaths of at least 250.
- November 1944 Lehi assassinated British minister Lord Moyne in Cairo.
- 1944-1945 The killings of several suspected collaborators with the Haganah and the British mandate government during the Hunting Season.
- July 26, 1946 The bombing of British headquarters at the King David Hotel, killing 91 people — 28 British, 41 Arab, 17 Jewish, and 5 others. Around 45 people were injured. A warning was sent before the explosion, but the British authorities claimed they received it too late to act on it.
- 1946 Railways and British military airfields were attacked several times.
- 1946 The bombing by the Irgun of the British Embassy in Rome.
- 1947 The reprisal killing of two British sergeants who had been taken prisoner in response to British execution of two Irgun members in Akko prison.
- September 1948, Lehi assassination of the UN mediator Count Bernadotte, whom Lehi accused of a pro-Arab stance during the cease-fire negotiations.
During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
Main article: List of massacres committed during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war- April 1948 the Deir Yassin massacre carried out by the Irgun and Lehi.
Other Militant groups
The following groups were all started or branched off from those started by Meir Kahane:
- Jewish Defense League: A "right-wing militant group" according to the FBI. Although several members have been charged or convicted with offenses related to the handling of explosives, the group is not thought to have any current connection to violent attacks.
- Kach and Kahane Chai: (defunct) Israel and United States. Eden Natan-Zada was involved with Kahanism before killing 3 people in Shefa-'Amr, an act described by then prime minister Ariel Sharon as "a reprehensible act by a bloodthirsty Jewish terrorist".
- Gush Emunim Underground: (1979-1984) Formed by prominent members of Gush Emunim.
- Jewish Defense Organization: a Jewish Militant rival offshoot of the Jewish Defense League, which was founded by Kahane.
See also
- Violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- Palestinian political violence
- Political terrorism
- Religious terrorism
References
- Evening Star of Auckland, New Zealand of July 2, 1975
- The "Hunting Season" (1945) by Yehuda Lapidot (Jewish Virtual Library)
Further reading
- J. Bowyer Bell (1977). Terror out of Zion: Irgun Zvai Leumi, LEHI, and the Palestine underground, 1929-1949. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-79205-0.