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*'''1946''' Railways and British military airfields were attacked several times.
*'''1946''' Railways and British military airfields were attacked several times.
*'''[[Oct 31]], [[1946]]''' The bombing by the Irgun of the British Embassy in Rome.
*'''[[Oct 31]], [[1946]]''' The bombing by the Irgun of the British Embassy in Rome.
*'''[[Jul 25]], [[1947]]''' The reprisal execution of two British sergeants who had been taken prisoner in response to British execution of two Irgun members in [[Akko]] prison. The sergeants were also subjected to a mock trial. After their death the British sergeants bodies were boobytrapped with explosives and hung from an orange grove. <ref name=JewishTerrorism/>
*'''[[Jul 25]], [[1947]]''' ''' When the British passed death sentences on two convicted terrorists, Irgun members took prisoner two British sergeants. The sergeants were summarily executed and subjected to a mock trial. After their death the British sergeants bodies were booby trapped with explosives and hung from an orange grove.<ref name=JewishTerrorism/>
*'''[[December]] [[1947]]-[[March]] [[1948]]''' Numerous attacks on Arabs in the context of [[1947-1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine|Civil War]] after the vote of the [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine]]
*'''[[December]] [[1947]]-[[March]] [[1948]]''' Numerous attacks on Arabs in the context of [[1947-1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine|Civil War]] after the vote of the [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine]]
*'''April 1948''' the [[Deir Yassin massacre]] carried out by the Irgun and Lehi, killed between 107 and 120 Palestinian villagers,<ref name=numKilled>Kana'ana, Sharif and Zeitawi, Nihad (1987), "The Village of Deir Yassin," Bir Zeit, Bir Zeit University Press</ref> the estimate generally accepted by scholars.<ref>{{cite book | last = Morris | first = Benny | authorlink = Benny Morris | title = The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited | year = 2003 | publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]] | location = Cambridge, UK; New York |isbn = 0-521-81120-1; ISBN 0-521-00967-7 (pbk.)}}: Chapter 4: The second wave: the mass exodus, April&mdash;June 1948, Section: Operation Nahshon, page 238</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Milstein | first = Uri | authorlink = Uri Milstein | title = History of the War of Independence IV: Out of Crisis Came Decision | publisher = University Press of America, Inc. | origyear = 1987 | year = 1998 |location = Lanhan, Maryland| language = Hebrew, English version translated and edited by Alan Sacks | isbn = 0-7618-1489-2}}: Chapter 16: Deir Yassin, Section 12: The Massacre, page 377</ref>
*'''April 1948''' the [[Deir Yassin massacre]] carried out by the Irgun and Lehi, killed between 107 and 120 Palestinian villagers,<ref name=numKilled>Kana'ana, Sharif and Zeitawi, Nihad (1987), "The Village of Deir Yassin," Bir Zeit, Bir Zeit University Press</ref> the estimate generally accepted by scholars.<ref>{{cite book | last = Morris | first = Benny | authorlink = Benny Morris | title = The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited | year = 2003 | publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]] | location = Cambridge, UK; New York |isbn = 0-521-81120-1; ISBN 0-521-00967-7 (pbk.)}}: Chapter 4: The second wave: the mass exodus, April&mdash;June 1948, Section: Operation Nahshon, page 238</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Milstein | first = Uri | authorlink = Uri Milstein | title = History of the War of Independence IV: Out of Crisis Came Decision | publisher = University Press of America, Inc. | origyear = 1987 | year = 1998 |location = Lanhan, Maryland| language = Hebrew, English version translated and edited by Alan Sacks | isbn = 0-7618-1489-2}}: Chapter 16: Deir Yassin, Section 12: The Massacre, page 377</ref>

Revision as of 09:05, 30 January 2009

Zionist political violence in the British Mandate of Palestine occurred mainly in the 1930s and 1940s aimed at making the functioning of the British rule difficult and government restrictions of illegal Jewish immigration impossible. The extremist Zionist organizations Irgun and Lehi targeted Palestinian Arabs, Arab militants, United Nations personnel, British policemen a soldiers[1] , Jewish Palestinians,[2] killing many 100s of British and Danish soldiers[citation needed][3]

Irgun was described as a terrorist organization in media such as the The New York Times newspaper,[4][5] and by the Anglo-American Committee of Enquiry.[6] In 1946 The World Zionist Congress strongly condemned terrorist activities in Palestine and "the shedding of innocent blood as a means of political warfare". Irgun was specifically condemned. [7]

King David Hotel after Irgun bombing in 1946

Background

In 1935, the Irgun, a Zionist Jewish military organization, split off from the Haganah.[8] The Irgun were the armed expression of the nascent ideology of Revisionist Zionism founded by Ze'ev Jabotinsky. He expressed this ideology as "every Jew had the right to enter Palestine; only active retaliation would deter the Arabs and the British; only Jewish armed force would ensure the Jewish state".[9] 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."[citation needed] The Irgun began bombing Palestinian civilian targets in 1938.[8] While the Palestinians were "carefully disarmed" by the British Mandatory authorities by 1939, the Zionists were not.[8]

Etzel (irgun) memorial in ramat gan

After the beginning of World War II the Haganah and Irgun suspended their activity against the British in support of the war against Nazi Germany.[10] The smaller Lehi continued anti-British attacks and direct action throughout the war. In February 1944 the Irgun resumed attacks.

The official leadership of the Yishuv was opposed to these activities and demanded their cessation. After the assassination of Lord Moyne, the Jewish Agency Executive condemned the act and decided on a series of measures against what they called "terrorist organizations" in Palestine. Although J. Bowyer Bell writes of the killers:

"In June 1975, the Egyptian government released the bodies of Eliahu Hakim and Eliahu Bet-Zouri, thirty years after the assassination of Lord Moyne, in return for twenty Arabs jailed in Israel as fedayeen or intelligence agents. In Jerusalem the two were given a heroes' burial in the Mount Herzl military cemetery, the resting place of Israeli premiers and presidents."[11](also corroborated by other accounts[12][13])

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." He says that many of those handed over to the British had no connection to Irgun terrorism, but were active members of the Revisionist party, political opponents of the Jewish Agency.[14]

Selected Irgun, Haganah and Lehi attacks

Main articles: List of Irgun attacks during the 1930s and List of massacres committed during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
Irgun emblem
  • 1937-1939 The Irgun conducted a campaign of violence against civilians resulting in the deaths of at least 250.
  • Nov 6, 1944 Lehi assassinated British minister Lord Moyne in Cairo. The action is condemned by the Yishuv, but the bodies of the assassins are brought home in 1975 to a state funeral and burial on Mount Herzl.
  • 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.
  • 1946 Railways and British military airfields were attacked several times.
  • Oct 31, 1946 The bombing by the Irgun of the British Embassy in Rome.
  • Jul 25, 1947 When the British passed death sentences on two convicted terrorists, Irgun members took prisoner two British sergeants. The sergeants were summarily executed and subjected to a mock trial. After their death the British sergeants bodies were booby trapped with explosives and hung from an orange grove.[1]
  • December 1947-March 1948 Numerous attacks on Arabs in the context of Civil War after the vote of the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine
  • April 1948 the Deir Yassin massacre carried out by the Irgun and Lehi, killed between 107 and 120 Palestinian villagers,[17] the estimate generally accepted by scholars.[18][19]
  • Sept 17, 1948, Lehi assassination of the UN mediator Count Bernadotte, whom Lehi accused of a pro-Arab stance during the cease-fire negotiations.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Jewish Terrorism by David A.Charters Page 7 Para 2
  2. ^ Lilienthal, Alfred M., The Zionist Connection, What Price Peace?, Dodd, Mead and Company, New York, 1978, pp.350-3 - Albert Einstein joined other distinguished citizens in chiding these `Americans of national repute' for honouring a man whose party was `closely akin in its organization, methods, political philosophy and social appeal to the Nazi and Fascist parties'. See text at Harvard.edu. Verified 1st Nov 2007.
  3. ^ Lowe, Eric. "Forgotten Conscripts" 2006 p.vi ... 784 members of the armed services who died between 1945 and 1948 are buried in Palestine ... memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas, Staffordshire. Of the post war conflicts only in the Korean War was the death toll higher.
  4. ^ Pope Brewer, Sam. IRGUN BOMB KILLS 11 ARABS, 2 BRITONS. New York Times. December 30, 1947.
  5. ^ IRGUN'S HAND SEEN IN ALPS RAIL BLAST. New York Times. August 16, 1947.
  6. ^ W. Khalidi, 1971, 'From Haven to Conquest', p. 598
  7. ^ ZIONISTS CONDEMN PALESTINE TERROR New York Times. December 24, 1946.
  8. ^ a b c Berberoglu, 2006, p. 52.
  9. ^ Howard Sachar: ''A History of the State of Israel, pps 265-266
  10. ^ "Avraham Stern". Retrieved 2007-11-19.
  11. ^ "Terror Out of Zion: Fight for Israeli independence" by J Bowyer Bell, Dublin Academy Press, 1977
  12. ^ Journals of the Senate (Unrevised) Feb 3, 2005 "sixtieth anniversary of the assassination of ... Lord Moyne ... by Jewish terrorist action".
  13. ^ Israel Today & Always: Remembering Israel's Martyrs From its Third Rebirth into Statehood, Dr. Howard S. Brand, DSW, Ph.D., August 11, 2000
  14. ^ The "Hunting Season" (1945) by Yehuda Lapidot (Jewish Virtual Library)
  15. ^ Shlomo Nakdimon (1985). Deh Han : ha-retsah ha-politi ha-rishon be-Erets Yisraʼel / De Haan: The first political assassination in Palestine (in Hebrew) (1st Edition ed.). Tel Aviv: Modan Press. OCLC 21528172. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ Marijke T.C.Stapert-Eggen. "The Rosenthaliana's Jacob Israel de Haan Archive". University of Amsterdam Library.
  17. ^ Kana'ana, Sharif and Zeitawi, Nihad (1987), "The Village of Deir Yassin," Bir Zeit, Bir Zeit University Press
  18. ^ Morris, Benny (2003). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited. Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81120-1; ISBN 0-521-00967-7 (pbk.). {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help): Chapter 4: The second wave: the mass exodus, April—June 1948, Section: Operation Nahshon, page 238
  19. ^ Milstein, Uri (1998) [1987]. History of the War of Independence IV: Out of Crisis Came Decision (in Hebrew and English version translated and edited by Alan Sacks). Lanhan, Maryland: University Press of America, Inc. ISBN 0-7618-1489-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link): Chapter 16: Deir Yassin, Section 12: The Massacre, page 377

Bibliography

  • Berberoglu, Berch (2006), Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict: Class, State, and Nation in the Age of Globalization, Rowman & Littlefield, ISBN 0742535444, 9780742535442 {{citation}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)

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.
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