Haganah Topics

• elite strike force
• immigration quotas
• teddy kollek
• jewish farmers
• jerusalem mayor
• british immigration
• hand grenades
• german invasion
• jewish immigration
• underground army
• british authorities
• palmach
• apala
• jewish youth
• menachem begin
• jewish settlements
• military equipment
• riots
• irgun

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Haganah, Haganah

In the period between 19201929, the Haganah lacked a strong central authority or coordination. Haganah "units" were very localized and poorly armed: they consisted mainly of Jewish farmers who took turns guarding their farms or their kibbutzim. Following the 1929 Palestine riots, the Haganah's role changed dramatically. It became a much larger organization encompassing nearly all the youth and adults in the Jewish settlements, as well as thousands of members from the cities. It also acquired foreign arms and began to develop workshops to create hand grenades and simple military equipment, transforming from an untrained militia to a capable underground army.

In response, the Haganah built up the Palmach as the Haganah's elite strike force and organized illegal Jewish immigration to Palestine. (The Palmach had actually been formed with the British as a response to the threat of German invasion by Rommel's forces. It went underground after it felt betrayed by the British at the end of 1942 following Rommel's defeat) Approximately 100,000 Jews were brought to Palestine in over one hundred ships during the final decade of the Ha'apala. The Haganah also organized demonstrations against British immigration quotas.

Future Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek was later revealed to be the official most responsible, under the code name Scorpion, for turning Irgun activists over to the British authorities. Many Jewish youth, who had joined the Haganah in order to defend the Jewish people, were greatly demoralized by operations against their own people. The Irgun, paralyzed by the Saison, were ordered by their commander, Menachem Begin, not to retaliate in an effort to avoid a full blown civil war. Although many Irgunists objected to these orders, they obeyed Begin and refrained from fighting back. The Saison eventually ended due to perceived British betrayal becoming more obvious to the public and Haganah youth becoming increasingly vocal in their opposition to the policy.

Although the Haganah had sanctioned the operation and the Irgun phoned in two warnings to the British, the hotel was not evacuated and 91 people were killed in the explosion. Shocked by the death toll and worried about the negative image this would generate, the Haganah quickly distanced itself from both the Irgun and the Lehi.

Source: Wikipedia > Haganah