Zionist political violence
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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 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. 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."[1]
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[edit] Irgun and Lehi attacks
- 1937-1939 The Irgun conducted a campaign of retaliatory acts of violence against civilians (in retaliation for the deaths of at least 320 Jews), 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 has claimed to have sent before the explosion, but the British authorities claimed they never received one.
- 1946 British military airfields and railways 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.
[edit] During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
- April 1948 the Deir Yassin massacre carried out by the Irgun and Lehi.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ The "Hunting Season" (1945) by Yehuda Lapidot (Jewish Virtual Library)
[edit] 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.
