2025-06-17 21:31 Status: #Intel #organization #Yishuv #Israel Tags: #### Jewish Terrorism in the Yishuv - The two most notable [[Revisionist Zionism|Revisionist Zionist]] paramilitary groups operating during the Yishuv are the Irgun and the Lehi (also called Stern Gang). - Both groups used terrorist tactics against the Arabs living in Palestine and the British authorities in the region. - Their anti British sentiment stemmed largely from limits on Jewish immigration to Palestine (Aliyah) imposed by the British. - Many Jews in Arab countries (Iraq, Yemen, etc.) refused to move to Israel. - The Jewish terror groups would terrorize Jews living in Arab countries to force them to 'flee' to Israel. <br/> ![[image-110.png|1198x608]] #### Irgun - The Irgun was an offshoot of the Haganah with much more extreme views and violent means. - The Irgun was founded in 1931 by [[Ze'ev Jabotinsky]] and the Haganah assassin of Jacob De Haan, [[Avraham Tehomi]]. - A core Irgun pillar was the facilitation of Jewish illegal immigration to Palestine. - In 1937 the Irgun spit; about half remained and half returned to the [[Haganah]] - The Irgun post-1937 is fully controlled and Ideologically driven by [[Ze'ev Jabotinsky]]. - [[Menachem Begin]], future Israeli Prime Minister, was a major player in the Irgun from its beginnings in 1931. He went on to lead the Irgun from 1943-48. ![[Begin wanted photo.png|526x278]] *Menachem Begin featured on a British wanted poster. Next to him is [[Aryeh Ben-Eliezer]].* - The Lehi, an offshoot of the Irgun was founded in 1940 by [[Avraham Stern]]. - Stern was a leader in the Irgun before his split. - Stern created the Lehi (Stern Gang) because of his more even anti-British views than the Irgun. - The Lehi attempted to form an alliance with Nazi Germany during WWII. - [[Yitzhak Shamir]], future Israeli Prime Minister, served at top levels in the Lehi eventually leading the group. ![[Pasted image 20250814174751.png|421x448]] *Yitzhak Shamir, center, wanted poster.* - The Yishuv's Jewish Agency, led by Ben-Gurion merged the Haganah, Irgun, and Lehi to form the Jewish resistance Movement (JRM) in 1945. - Together the JRM coordinated attacks on the British authorities. - Among the attacks were train bombings, bridge bombings, and the King David Hotel bombing <br/> #### 1946 King David Hotel Bombing - July 22, 1946 attack on the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. - 91 people killed. - The hotel served as the HQ for British Authorities in British Palestine. - The Haganah instructed Irgun leader [[Menachem Begin]] to carry out the attack. - The Jewish terrorists disguised themselves as Arabs, a common tactic of Israeli covert operations. - They planted the bombs disguised as milk cartons, another classic Israeli intel tactic of disguised bombs. - The Haganah and Jewish Agency distance themselves from the attack after worldwide condemnation. - They claimed no involvement or support for the bombing even though the Haganah under Moshe Sneh ordered the attack. #### Haifa Police HQ Bombing - The attack was in response to the rejection of the [[SS Exodus]], a ship full of illegal immigrant Jews headed to Haifa from France. - The Irgun designed a special bomb out of a 55 gallon oil drum. 500 pounds of explosives in the drum with wheels added on the ends. The barrel was put on a semi roof and rolled down a ramp toward the police station. - The bomb exploded and killed up to 12. - The creator of the special bomb, Amichai Paglin, sent photos and schematics of the bomb to British press to taunt them. #### Deir Yassin Massacre - The attack took place April 9, 1948, right before the declaration of statehood and the 48' Arab-Israeli war. - Roughly 130 Lehi and Irgun combatants with direct support from the Haganah destroy, rape, and pillage the Palestinian village of Deir Yassin. 100-140 killed. - The doors were difficult for the Jewish terrorists to breach so they blew up houses to get to the people inside. - The Palestinians were all expelled and the site today is part of Givat Shaul, a Jerusalem neighborhood. - [[Menachem Begin]], Irgun leader and future Israeli PM boasted the attack. He described it as a "Splendid act of conquest" which will "serve as a model for the future." - After the attack, several other villages were demolished, and the inhabitants killed or expelled. - Irgun and Lehi commanders were proud of the attacks. They thought a few more similar attacks would be enough to expel all the Arabs from Palestine. #### London Letter Bombs - October 31, 1946, the Lehi bombed the British embassy in Rome. - Immediately after the Rome attack the Lehi mailed [[Israeli intel disguised weapons|letter bombs]] to every senior British cabinet member in London. - None of the letters detonated, but the Lehi successfully instilled a fear of Zionist terror in Britain. #### Political Assassinations - On September 29, 1944, David Shomron and Mazal Banai, Lehi assassins, killed British official Tom Wilkin. They shot him 11 times in Jerusalem. - [[Yitzhak Shamir]] had ordered the killing. - On November 6, 1944, Lehi assassins in Cairo, Egypt, assassinated Lord Moyne, the British Minister of State in the Middle East. - The killing was ideological; the [[Revisionist Zionism|Revisionist Zionists]] in the Lehi hated the British and believed the British were working for the benefit of the Arabs over the Jews. The Lehi was strongly opposed to the British restrictions on [[Jewish Immigration to Palestine]]. - The final objective for the Lehi was the end of British control over Palestine. - On September 17, 1948, the Lehi assassinated Count Folke Bernadotte UN mediator in Palestine - Another Ideological assassination, the Lehi opposed Bernadotte's peace proposals. - Bernadotte wanted to settle territorial disputes between the Jews and Palestinians after the [[1948 Arab Israeli War]]. *The Israelis have never wanted to settle the dispute.* *From the beginning of the state every attempt at settling the Palestinian issue has been thwarted*. #### Legacy $ Politics $ - After the [[1948 Arab Israeli War]] and the especially after the infamous [[Altalena Affair]] during the war's first ceasefire, the Jewish terrorists were shunned publicly from Israeli government activity. - This didn't stop Begin and the Revisionists from forming [[Herut]], the Israeli political party successor to the Irgun. - [[Herut]] struggled in its early years but found its footing and public legitimacy after the [[1967 Six Day War]]. The war saw the formation of a 'unity government' which involved Herut for the first time. - Herut formed an alliance with other parties called [[Gahal]] in 1965. - In 1973 Gahal merged with various right wing and center right parties to form [[Likud]]. - [[Likud]] led the Israeli right to power for the first time ever in 1977 with [[Menachem Begin]] becoming Prime Minister. - Lehi leader [[Yitzhak Shamir]] succeeded Begin in 1983. - Likud has been the dominant Israeli party since its initial victory in 1977. $ Intel $ - Yitzhak Shamir and David Shomron (Lehi Killer of Tom Wilkin) were brought on by Israel's [[Mossad]] in 1961. - [[Mossad]] director [[Isser Harel]] recruited the former Jewish underground terrorists to form the targeted assassination unit [[Mifratz]]. - Mifratz was merged with [[Aman]] Unit 188 in 1963 by new Mossad director [[Meir Amit]] to form the elite and highly secretive Mossad unit [[Caesarea]]. #### Recommended Reading Rise And Kill First - Ronen Bergman Against Our Better Judgement - Alison Weir Jabotinsky - Hillel Halkin The Jewish Radical Right - Eran Kaplan #### References - **“Irgun,”** _Wikipedia_, 22:01 UTC, accessed June 17, 2025, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irgun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irgun). - **“Ze’ev Jabotinsky,”** _Wikipedia_, accessed June 18, 2025, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ze%27ev_Jabotinsky](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ze%27ev_Jabotinsky). - Halkin, Hillel. _Jabotinsky: A Life_. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2014. - Weir, Alison. 2014. _Against Our Better Judgment: The Hidden History of How the U.S. Was Used to Create Israel_. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. - **“Lehi (militant group),”** _Wikipedia_, accessed **17 June 2025**, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lehi_(militant_group)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lehi_\(militant_group\)). - Bergman, Ronen. _Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel’s Targeted Assassinations_. Translated by Ronnie Hope. New York: Random House, 2018. - **Deir Yassin massacre,”** _Wikipedia_, accessed June 20 2025, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deir_Yassin_massacre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deir_Yassin_massacre). - **“King David Hotel bombing.”** _Wikipedia_. 19:39 UTC. Accessed 20 June 2025**. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_David_Hotel_bombing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_David_Hotel_bombing).