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Lehi (; he, לח"י – לוחמי חרות ישראל ''Lohamei Herut Israel – Lehi'', "Fighters for the Freedom of Israel – Lehi"), often known pejoratively as the Stern Gang,"This group was known to its friends as LEHI and to its enemies as the Stern Gang." Blumberg, Arnold. History of Israel, Westport, CT, USA: Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated, 1998. p 106."calling themselves Lohamei Herut Yisrael (LHI) or, less generously, the Stern Gang." Lozowick, Yaacov. Right to Exist : A Moral Defense of Israel's Wars. Westminster, MD, USA: Doubleday Publishing, 2003. p 78."''It ended in a split with Stern leading his own group out of the Irgun. This was known pejoratively by the British as "the Stern Gang' – later as Lehi''" Shindler, Colin. Triumph of Military Zionism : Nationalism and the Origins of the Israeli Right. London, GBR: I. B. Tauris & Company, Limited, 2005. p 218."''Known by their Hebrew acronym as LEHI they were more familiar, not to say notorious, to the rest of the world as the Stern Gang – a ferociously effective and murderous terrorist group fighting to end British rule in Palestine and establish a Jewish state.''" Cesarani, David. Major Faran's Hat: Murder, Scandal and Britain's War Against Jewish Terrorism, 1945–1948. London. Vintage Books. 2010. p 01. was a
Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
paramilitary and
terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
organization founded by Avraham ("Yair") Stern in
Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...
. Its avowed aim was to evict the British authorities from Palestine by use of violence, allowing unrestricted
immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, ...
of
Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
and the formation of a Jewish state. It was initially called the National Military Organization in Israel, upon being founded in August 1940, but was renamed Lehi one month later.Nachman Ben-Yehuda. ''The Masada Myth: Collective Memory and Mythmaking in Israel''. Madison, Wisconsin, USA: Wisconsin University Press, 1995. Pp. 322. The group referred to its members as terrorists and admitted to having carried out terrorist attacks.Arie Perliger, William L. Eubank
''Middle Eastern Terrorism''
2006 p.37: "Lehi viewed acts of terrorism as legitimate tools in the realization of the vision of the Jewish nation and a necessary condition for national liberation."
Lehi split from the
Irgun Irgun • Etzel , image = Irgun.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = Irgun emblem. The map shows both Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan, which the Irgun claimed in its entirety for a future Jewish state. The acronym "Etzel" i ...
militant group in 1940 in order to continue fighting the British during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. It initially sought an alliance with Fascist Italy and
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
.Sasson Sofer. Zionism and the Foundations of Israeli Diplomacy. Cambridge University Press, 2007. Pp. 253-254. Believing that Nazi Germany was a lesser enemy of the Jews than Britain, Lehi twice attempted to form an alliance with the Nazis, proposing a Jewish state based on "nationalist and totalitarian principles, and linked to the German Reich by an alliance". After Stern's death in 1942, the new leadership of Lehi began to move towards support for
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...
's
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
and the ideology of National Bolshevism, which was considered an amalgam of both right and left.Robert S. Wistrich, David Ohana. ''The Shaping of Israeli Identity: Myth, Memory, and Trauma'', Issue 3. London, England, UK; Portland, Oregon, USA: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd., 1995. Pp. 88. Regarding themselves as "revolutionary Socialists", the new Lehi developed a highly original ideology combining an "almost mystical" belief in
Greater Israel Greater Israel ( he, ארץ ישראל השלמה; ''Eretz Yisrael Hashlema'') is an expression, with several different biblical and political meanings over time. It is often used, in an irredentist fashion, to refer to the historic or desired b ...
with support for the Arab liberation struggle. This sophisticated ideology failed to gain public support and Lehi faired poorly in the first Israeli elections. Lehi and the Irgun were jointly responsible for the massacre in Deir Yassin. Lehi assassinated Lord Moyne, British Minister Resident in the Middle East, and made many other attacks on the British in Palestine. On 29 May 1948, the government of Israel, having inducted its activist members into the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
, formally disbanded Lehi, though some of its members carried out one more terrorist act, the assassination of Folke Bernadotte some months later, an act condemned by Bernadotte's replacement as mediator,
Ralph Bunche Ralph Johnson Bunche (; August 7, 1904 – December 9, 1971) was an American political scientist, diplomat, and leading actor in the mid-20th-century decolonization process and US civil rights movement, who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize ...
. After the assassination, the new Israeli government declared Lehi a terrorist organization, arresting some 200 members and convicting some of the leaders.Ami Pedahzur, Arie Perlige
''Jewish Terrorism in Israel''
Columbia University Press, 2011 p.28.
Just before the first Israeli elections in January 1949, a general amnesty to Lehi members was granted by the government. In 1980, Israel instituted a military decoration, an "award for activity in the struggle for the establishment of Israel", the Lehi ribbon. Former Lehi leader
Yitzhak Shamir Yitzhak Shamir ( he, יצחק שמיר, ; born Yitzhak Yezernitsky; October 22, 1915 – June 30, 2012) was an Israeli politician and the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms, 1983–1984 and 1986–1992. Before the establishment ...
became
Prime Minister of Israel The prime minister of Israel ( he, רֹאשׁ הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה, Rosh HaMemshala, Head of the Government, Hebrew acronym: he2, רה״מ; ar, رئيس الحكومة, ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief exe ...
in 1983.


Founding of Lehi

Lehi was created in August 1940 by Avraham Stern. Stern had been a member of the
Irgun Irgun • Etzel , image = Irgun.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = Irgun emblem. The map shows both Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan, which the Irgun claimed in its entirety for a future Jewish state. The acronym "Etzel" i ...
(''Irgun Tsvai Leumi'' – "National Military Organization") high command.
Zeev Jabotinsky Ze'ev Jabotinsky ( he, זְאֵב זַ׳בּוֹטִינְסְקִי, ''Ze'ev Zhabotinski'';, ''Wolf Zhabotinski'' 17 October 1880  – 3 August 1940), born Vladimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky, was a Russian Jewish Revisionist Zionist leade ...
, then the Irgun's supreme commander, had decided that diplomacy and working with Britain would best serve the Zionist cause.
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
was in progress, and Britain was fighting
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. The Irgun suspended its underground military activities against the British for the duration of the war. Stern argued that the time for Zionist diplomacy was over and that it was time for an armed struggle against the British. Like other Zionists, he objected to the
White Paper of 1939 The White Paper of 1939Occasionally also known as the MacDonald White Paper (e.g. Caplan, 2015, p.117) after Malcolm MacDonald, the British Colonial Secretary, who presided over its creation. was a policy paper issued by the British government ...
, which restricted both Jewish immigration and Jewish land purchases in Palestine. For Stern, "no difference existed between
Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
and Chamberlain, between
Dachau Dachau () was the first concentration camp built by Nazi Germany, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents which consisted of: communists, social democrats, and other dissidents. It is lo ...
or Buchenwald and sealing the gates of Eretz Israel." Stern wanted to open Palestine to all Jewish refugees from Europe and considered this to be the most important issue of the day. Britain would not allow this. Therefore, he concluded, the ''
Yishuv Yishuv ( he, ישוב, literally "settlement"), Ha-Yishuv ( he, הישוב, ''the Yishuv''), or Ha-Yishuv Ha-Ivri ( he, הישוב העברי, ''the Hebrew Yishuv''), is the body of Jewish residents in the Land of Israel (corresponding to the ...
'' (Jews of Palestine) should fight the British rather than support them in the war. When the Irgun made a truce with the British, Stern left the Irgun to form his own group, which he called ''Irgun Tsvai Leumi B'Yisrael'' ("National Military Organization in Israel"), later ''Lohamei Herut Israel'' ("Fighters for the Freedom of Israel"). In September 1940, the organization was officially named "Lehi", the Hebrew
acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
of the latter name. Stern and his followers believed that dying for the "foreign occupier" who was obstructing the creation of the Jewish State was useless. They differentiated between "enemies of the Jewish people" (the British) and "Jew haters" (the
Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
), believing that the former needed to be defeated and the latter manipulated. In 1940, the idea of the Final Solution was still "unthinkable", and Stern believed that Hitler wanted to make Germany '' judenrein'' through emigration, as opposed to extermination. In December 1940, Lehi contacted Germany with a proposal to aid German conquest in the Middle East in return for recognition of a Jewish state open to unlimited immigration.


Goals and ideology

Lehi had three main goals: * To bring together all those interested in liberation (that is, those willing to join in active fighting against the British). * To appear before the world as the only active Jewish military organization. * To take over '' Eretz Yisrael'' (the Land of Israel) by armed force. Lehi believed in its early years that its goals would be achieved by finding a strong international ally that would expel the British from Palestine, in return for Jewish military help; this would require the creation of a broad and organised military force "demonstrating its desire for freedom through military operations."Perliger and Weinberg, 2003, p. 107. Lehi also referred to themselves as 'terrorists' and may have been one of the last organizations to do so. An article titled "Terror" in the Lehi underground newspaper ''He Khazit'' (''The Front'') argued as follows:
Neither Jewish ethics nor Jewish tradition can disqualify terrorism as a means of combat. We are very far from having any moral qualms as far as our national war goes. We have before us the command of the
Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...
, whose morality surpasses that of any other body of laws in the world: "Ye shall blot them out to the last man." But first and foremost, terrorism is for us a part of the political battle being conducted under the present circumstances, and it has a great part to play: speaking in a clear voice to the whole world, as well as to our wretched brethren outside this land, it proclaims our war against the occupier. We are particularly far from this sort of hesitation in regard to an enemy whose moral perversion is admitted by all.''He Khazit'' (underground publication of Lehi), Issue 2, August 1943. No author is stated, as was usual for this publication. Translated from original. For a discussion of this article, see Heller, p. 115
The article described the goals of terror:
* It demonstrates ... against the true terrorist who hides behind his piles of papers and the laws he has legislated. * It is not directed against people, it is directed against representatives. Therefore it is effective. * If it also shakes the ''
Yishuv Yishuv ( he, ישוב, literally "settlement"), Ha-Yishuv ( he, הישוב, ''the Yishuv''), or Ha-Yishuv Ha-Ivri ( he, הישוב העברי, ''the Hebrew Yishuv''), is the body of Jewish residents in the Land of Israel (corresponding to the ...
'' from their complacency, good and well.
Yitzhak Shamir Yitzhak Shamir ( he, יצחק שמיר, ; born Yitzhak Yezernitsky; October 22, 1915 – June 30, 2012) was an Israeli politician and the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms, 1983–1984 and 1986–1992. Before the establishment ...
, one of the three leaders of Lehi after Avraham Stern's assassination, argued for the legitimacy of Lehi's actions:
There are those who say that to kill .G.Martin CID sergeant who had recognised Shamir in a lineupis terrorism, but to attack an army camp is guerrilla warfare and to bomb civilians is professional warfare. But I think it is the same from the moral point of view. Is it better to drop an atomic bomb on a city than to kill a handful of persons? I don't think so. But nobody says that President Truman was a terrorist. All the men we went for individually – Wilkin, Martin, MacMichael and others – were personally interested in succeeding in the fight against us. So it was more efficient and more moral to go for selected targets. In any case, it was the only way we could operate, because we were so small. For us it was not a question of the professional honour of a soldier, it was the question of an idea, an aim that had to be achieved. We were aiming at a political goal. There are many examples of what we did to be found in the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...
Gideon Gideon (; ) also named Jerubbaal and Jerubbesheth, was a military leader, judge and prophet whose calling and victory over the Midianites are recounted in of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. Gideon was the son of Joash, from the Ab ...
and Samson, for instance. This had an influence on our thinking. And we also learned from the history of other peoples who fought for their freedom – the Russian and Irish revolutionaries,
Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, pa ...
and
Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his death ...
.


''18 Principles of Rebirth''

Avraham Stern laid out the ideology of Lehi in the essay ''18 Principles of Rebirth'':Amichal, page 316, a copy on the web exist
here
/ref> # THE NATION: The Jewish people is a covenanted people, the originator of
monotheism Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxfo ...
, formulator of the prophetic teachings, standard bearer of human culture, guardian of glorious patrimony. The Jewish people is schooled in self-sacrifice and suffering; its vision, survivability and faith in redemption are indestructible. # THE HOMELAND: The homeland in the Land of Israel within the borders delineated in the Bible ("To your descendants, I shall give this land, from the
River of Egypt The Brook of Egypt is the name used in some English translations of the Bible for the Hebrew ''Naḥal Mizraim'' ("River of Egypt"), used for the river defining the westernmost border of the Land of Israel. A number of scholars in the past have ...
to the great
Euphrates River The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers''). Originating in Turkey, the Eup ...
."
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
15:18) This is the land of the living, where the entire nation shall live in safety. # THE NATION AND ITS LAND: Israel conquered the land with the sword. There it became a great nation and only there it will be reborn. Hence Israel alone has a right to that land. This is an absolute right. It has never expired and never will. # THE GOALS: ## Redemption of the land. ## Establishment of sovereignty. ## Revival of the nation. ##: There is no sovereignty without the redemption of the land, and there is no national revival without sovereignty. : These are the goals of the organization during the period of war and conquest: #
  • EDUCATION: Educate the nation to love freedom and zealously guard Israel's eternal patrimony. Inculcate the idea that the nation is master to its own fate. Revive the doctrine that "The sword and the book came bound together from heaven." ( Midrash Vayikra Rabba 35:8)
  • # UNITY: The unification of the entire nation around the banner of the Hebrew freedom movement. The use of the genius, status and resources of individuals and the channeling of the energy, devotion and revolutionary fervour of the masses for the war of liberation. # PACTS: Make pacts with all those who are willing to help the struggle of the organization and provide direct support. # FORCE: Consolidate and increase the fighting force in the homeland and in the
    Diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...
    , in the underground and in the barracks, to become the Hebrew army of liberation with its flag, arms, and commanders. # WAR: Constant war against those who stand in the way of fulfilling the goals. # CONQUEST: The conquest of the homeland from foreign rule and its eternal possession. : These are the tasks of the movement during the period of sovereignty and redemption: #
  • SOVEREIGNTY: Renewal of Hebrew sovereignty over the redeemed land.
  • # RULE OF JUSTICE: The establishment of a social order in the spirit of Jewish morality and prophetic justice. Under such an order no one will go hungry or unemployed. All will live in harmony, mutual respect and friendship as an example to the world. # REVIVING THE WILDERNESS: Build the ruins and revive the wilderness for mass immigration and population increase. # ALIENS: Solve the problem of alien population .e._the_ .e._the_Arab_inhabitants_of_Palestine">Arab.html"_;"title=".e._the_Arab">.e._the_Arab_inhabitants_of_Palestineby_exchange_of_population. #_INGATHERING_OF_THE_EXILES:_Total_aliyah.html" ;"title="Arab_inhabitants_of_Palestine.html" ;"title="Arab.html" ;"title=".e. the Arab">.e. the Arab inhabitants of Palestine">Arab.html" ;"title=".e. the Arab">.e. the Arab inhabitants of Palestineby exchange of population. # INGATHERING OF THE EXILES: Total aliyah">in-gathering of the exiles to their sovereign state. # POWER: The Hebrew nation shall become a first-rate military, political, cultural and economical entity in the Middle East and around the Mediterranean Sea. # REVIVAL: The revival of the Hebrew language as a spoken language by the entire nation, the renewal of the historical and spiritual might of Israel. The purification of the national character in the fire of revival. # THE TEMPLE: The building of the
    Third Temple The "Third Temple" ( he, , , ) refers to a hypothetical rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem. It would succeed Solomon's Temple and the Second Temple, the former having been destroyed during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in and the latter havin ...
    as a symbol of the new era of total redemption.


    Relationship with fascism and socialism

    Unlike the left-wing Haganah and right-wing Irgun, Lehi members were not a homogeneous collective with a single political, religious, or economic ideology. They were a combination of militants united by the goal of liberating the land of Israel from British rule. Most Lehi leaders defined their organization as an anti-imperialist movement and stated that their opposition to British colonial rule in Palestine was not based on a particular policy but rather on the presence of a foreign power over the homeland of the Jewish people. Avraham Stern defined the British Mandate as "foreign rule" regardless of British policies and took a radical position against such imperialism even if it were to be benevolent. In the early years of the state of Israel, Lehi veterans could be found supporting nearly all political parties and some Lehi leaders founded a left-wing political party called the Fighters' List with Natan Yellin-Mor as its head. The party took part in the elections in January 1949 and won a single parliamentary seat. A number of Lehi veterans established the Semitic Action movement in 1956 which sought the creation of a regional federation encompassing Israel and its Arab neighbours on the basis of an anti-colonialist alliance with other indigenous inhabitants of the Middle East.Beinin, Joel (1998)
    ''The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry: Culture, Politics, and the Formation of a Modern Diaspora''
    University of California Press. pp. 166
    Some writers have stated that Lehi's true goals were the creation of a totalitarian state. Perlinger and Weinberg write that the organisation's ideology placed "its world view in the quasi- fascist radical Right, which is characterised by xenophobia, a national egotism that completely subordinates the individual to the needs of the nation, anti-liberalism, total denial of democracy and a highly centralised government."Perliger and Weinberg, 2003, p. 108. Perliger and Weinberg state that most Lehi members were admirers of the Italian Fascist movement. According to Kaplan and Penslar, Lehi's ideology was a mix of
    fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...
    and
    communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
    thought combined with
    racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagoni ...
    and universalism.The Origins of Israel, 1882–1948: A Documentary History by Eran Kaplan, Derek J. Penslar state that "Lehi's ideology was a strange brew of fascism and communism, racism and universalism" The Origins of Israel, 1882–1948: A Documentary History - Page 274 Eran Kaplan, Derek J. Penslar - 2011 Others counter these claims. They note that when Lehi founder Avraham Stern went to study in
    fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...
    Italy, he refused to join the Gruppo Universitario Fascista for foreign students, even though members got large reductions in tuition.


    Political racism

    According to Yaacov Shavit, professor at the Department of Jewish History,
    Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
    , articles in Lehi publications contained references to a Jewish "master race", contrasting the Jews with Arabs who were seen as a "nation of slaves". Sasha Polakow-Suransky writes that "Lehi was also unabashedly racist towards Arabs. Their publications described Jews as a master race and Arabs as a slave race." Lehi advocated mass expulsion of all Arabs from Palestine and Transjordan, or even their physical annihilation. In contrast, a number of Lehi veterans, including co-leader
    Nathan Yellin-Mor Nathan Yellin-Mor ( he, נתן ילין-מור, Nathan Friedman-Yellin; 28 June 1913 – 18 February 1980) was a Revisionist Zionist activist, Lehi leader and Israeli politician. In later years, he became a leader of the Israeli peace camp, ...
    , went on to establish the Semitic Action movement which sought the creation of a regional federation encompassing Israel and its Arab neighbours on the basis of an anti-colonialist alliance with other indigenous inhabitants of the Middle East.


    Evolution, tactics and organization

    Many Lehi combatants had received military training. Some had attended the Military Engineers School in
    Civitavecchia Civitavecchia (; meaning "ancient town") is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located west-north-west of Rome. The harbour is formed by two pier ...
    , in Fascist Italy. Jakub Mielnik
    Jak polacy stworzyli Izrael
    , Focus.pl Historia, 5 May 2008
    Others received military training from instructors of the
    Polish Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Siły Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, abbreviated ''SZ RP''; popularly called ''Wojsko Polskie'' in Poland, abbreviated ''WP''—roughly, the "Polish Military") are the national armed forces of ...
    in 1938–1939. This training was conducted in
    Trochenbrod Trochenbrod or Trohinbrod, also in Polish: ''Zofiówka'', or in russian: Софиевка (Sofievka), in uk, Трохимбрід (Trokhymbrid), he, טרוכנברוד, was an exclusively Jewish shtetl – a small town, with an area of – loca ...
    (Zofiówka) in Wołyń Voivodeship, Podębin near
    Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of ca ...
    , and the forests around
    Andrychów Andrychów ( la, Andrichovia, list=no, german: Andrichau, list=no, hist. also ''Andrychau'') is the largest town in Wadowice County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland. The town is located in the Little Beskids, in the historical region of Less ...
    . They were taught how to use explosives. One of them reported later: "Poles treated terrorism as a science. We have mastered mathematical principles of demolishing constructions made of concrete, iron, wood, bricks and dirt." The group was initially unsuccessful. Early attempts to raise funds through criminal activities, including a bank robbery in Tel Aviv in 1940 and another robbery on 9 January 1942 in which Jewish passers-by were killed, brought about the temporary collapse of the group. An attempt to assassinate the head of the British secret police in Lod in which three police personnel were killed, two Jewish and one British, elicited a severe response from the British and Jewish establishments who collaborated against Lehi.Perliger and Weinberg, 2003, p. 109. Stern's group was seen as a terrorist organisation by the British authorities, who instructed the Defence Security Office (the colonial branch of MI5) to track down its leaders. In 1942, Stern, after he was arrested, was shot dead in disputed circumstances by Inspector Geoffrey J. Morton of the
    CID CID may refer to: Film * ''C.I.D.'' (1955 film), an Indian Malayalam film * ''C.I.D.'' (1956 film), an Indian Hindi film * ''C. I. D.'' (1965 film), an Indian Telugu film * ''C.I.D.'' (1990 film), an Indian Hindi film Television * ''CID'' ( ...
    . The arrest of several other members led momentarily to the group's eclipse, until it was revived after the September 1942 escape of two of its leaders,
    Yitzhak Shamir Yitzhak Shamir ( he, יצחק שמיר, ; born Yitzhak Yezernitsky; October 22, 1915 – June 30, 2012) was an Israeli politician and the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms, 1983–1984 and 1986–1992. Before the establishment ...
    and
    Eliyahu Giladi Eliyahu Giladi (1915 – August 17, 1943) was a Lehi fighter from Transylvania. Giladi was executed in 1943 by his Lehi comrades after he entered into strong disagreements with Yitzhak Shamir and other members of the Lehi movement about how Lehi ...
    , aided by two other escapees Natan Yellin-Mor (Friedman) and
    Israel Eldad Israel Eldad () (11 November 1910 – 22 January 1996), was an Israeli Revisionist Zionist philosopher and member of the Jewish underground group Lehi in Mandatory Palestine. Biography Israel Scheib (later Eldad) was born in 1910 in Pidvoloch ...
    (Sheib). (Giladi was later killed by Lehi under circumstances that remain mysterious.) Shamir's codename was "Michael", a reference to one of Shamir's heroes,
    Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and ...
    . Lehi was guided by spiritual and philosophical leaders such as Uri Zvi Greenberg and
    Israel Eldad Israel Eldad () (11 November 1910 – 22 January 1996), was an Israeli Revisionist Zionist philosopher and member of the Jewish underground group Lehi in Mandatory Palestine. Biography Israel Scheib (later Eldad) was born in 1910 in Pidvoloch ...
    . After the killing of Giladi, the organization was led by a triumvirate of Eldad, Shamir, and Yellin-Mor. Lehi adopted a non-socialist platform of anti-
    imperialist Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power ( economic and ...
    ideology. It viewed the continued British rule of Palestine as a violation of the Mandate's provision generally, and its restrictions on Jewish immigration to be an intolerable breach of
    international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
    . However they also targeted Jews whom they regarded as traitors, and during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War they joined in operations with the
    Haganah Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the I ...
    and
    Irgun Irgun • Etzel , image = Irgun.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = Irgun emblem. The map shows both Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan, which the Irgun claimed in its entirety for a future Jewish state. The acronym "Etzel" i ...
    against Arab targets, for example
    Deir Yassin Deir Yassin ( ar, دير ياسين, Dayr Yāsīn) was a Palestinian Arab village of around 600 inhabitants about west of Jerusalem. Deir Yassin declared its neutrality during the 1948 Palestine war between Arabs and Jews. The village was razed ...
    . According to a compilation by Nachman Ben-Yehuda, Lehi was responsible for 42 assassinations, more than twice as many as the Irgun and Haganah combined during the same period. Of those Lehi assassinations that Ben-Yehuda classified as political, more than half the victims were Jews. Lehi also rejected the authority of the
    Jewish Agency for Israel The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...
    and related organizations, operating entirely on its own throughout nearly all of its existence. Lehi prisoners captured by the British generally refused to employ lawyers in their defence. The defendants would conduct their own defence, and would deny the right of the military court to try them, saying that in accordance with the Hague Convention they should be accorded the status of prisoners of war. For the same reason, Lehi prisoners refused to plead for amnesty, even when it was clear that this would have spared them the death penalty.
    Moshe Barazani Moshe Barazani, also Barzani ( he, משה ברזני; June 14, 1926 – April 21, 1947), was an Iraqi-born Kurdish Jew and a member of Lehi ("Freedom Fighters of Israel," aka the "Stern Gang") underground movement in pre-state Mandate Palestin ...
    , a Lehi member, and
    Meir Feinstein Meir Feinstein ( he, מאיר פיינשטיין; October 5, 1927 – April 21, 1947) was an Irgun member in pre-state Mandatory Palestine, during the Jewish insurgency in Mandatory Palestine. Feinstein, who was sentenced to death by the British ...
    , an Irgun member, took their own lives in prison with a grenade smuggled inside an orange so the British could not hang them.


    Activities and operations during World War II


    Wartime contacts with Italy and Nazi Germany


    Italy

    In mid-1940, Stern became convinced that the Italians were interested in the establishment of a fascist Jewish state in Palestine. He conducted negotiations, he thought, with the Italians via an intermediary Moshe Rotstein, and drew up a document that became known as the "Jerusalem Agreement".Heller, 1995, p. 86 In exchange for Italy's recognition of, and aid in obtaining, Jewish sovereignty over Palestine, Stern promised that Zionism would come under the aegis of Italian fascism, with Haifa as its base, and the Old City of Jerusalem under Vatican control, except for the Jewish quarter. In Heller's words, Stern's proposal would "turn the 'Kingdom of Israel' into a satellite of the Axis powers." However, the "intermediary" Rotstein was in fact an agent of the Irgun, conducting a sting operation under the direction of the Irgun intelligence leader in Haifa, Israel Pritzker, in cooperation with the British. Secret British documents about the affair were uncovered by historian Eldad Harouvi (now director of the Palmach Archives) and confirmed by former Irgun intelligence officer
    Yitzhak Berman Yitzhak Berman ( he, יצחק ברמן‎; 3 June 1913 – 4 August 2013) was an Israeli politician who served as Minister of Energy and Infrastructure from August 1981 until September 1982. However, Pritzker was killed by Lehi in 1943.


    Nazi Germany

    Late in 1940, Lehi, having identified a common interest between the intentions of the new German order and Jewish national aspirations, proposed forming an alliance in World War II with
    Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
    . The organization offered cooperation in the following terms: Lehi would rebel against the British, while Germany would recognize an independent Jewish state in Palestine/Eretz Israel, and all Jews leaving their homes in Europe, by their own will or because of government injunctions, could enter Palestine with no restriction of numbers.The Jews: A Contrary People Yehuda Bauer pages 77-78 Late in 1940, Lehi representative Naftali Lubenchik went to
    Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
    to meet German official
    Werner Otto von Hentig Werner Otto von Hentig (22 May 1886, Berlin, Germany – 8 August 1984, Lindesnes, Norway) was a German Army Officer, adventurer and diplomat from Berlin. When still only a 25 year old lieutenant he was commissioned by the Kaiser to lead an expe ...
    . The Lehi documents outlined that its rule would be authoritarian and indicated similarities between the organization and Nazis.
    Israel Eldad Israel Eldad () (11 November 1910 – 22 January 1996), was an Israeli Revisionist Zionist philosopher and member of the Jewish underground group Lehi in Mandatory Palestine. Biography Israel Scheib (later Eldad) was born in 1910 in Pidvoloch ...
    , one of the leading members of Lehi, wrote about Hitler "it is not Hitler who is the hater of the kingdom of Israel and the return to Zion, it is not Hitler who subjects us to the cruel fate of falling a second and a third time into Hitler's hands, but the British." Stern also proposed recruiting some 40,000 Jews from occupied Europe to invade Palestine with German support to oust the British. On 11 January 1941, Vice Admiral Ralf von der Marwitz, the German Naval attaché in
    Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
    , filed a report (the "Ankara document") conveying an offer by Lehi to "actively take part in the war on Germany's side" in return for German support for "the establishment of the historic Jewish state on a national and totalitarian basis, bound by a treaty with the German Reich." According to Yellin-Mor:
    Lubenchik did not take along any written memorandum for the German representatives. Had there been a need for one, he would have formulated it on the spot, since he was familiar with the episode of the Italian "intermediary" and with the numerous drafts connected with it. Apparently one of von Hentig's secretaries noted down the essence of the proposal in his own words.
    According to Joseph Heller, "The memorandum arising from their conversation is an entirely authentic document, on which the stamp of the 'IZL in Israel' is clearly embossed." Von der Marwitz delivered the offer, classified as secret, to the German Ambassador in Turkey and on 21 January 1941 it was sent to Berlin. There was never any response. A second attempt to contact the Nazis was made at the end of 1941, but it was even less successful. The emissary Yellin-Mor was arrested in Syria before he could carry out his mission. This proposed alliance with Nazi Germany cost Lehi and Stern much support. The Stern Gang also had links with, and support from, the
    Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its t ...
    Sûreté's Lebanese offices. Even as the full scale of Nazi atrocities became more evident in 1943, Lehi refused to accept Hitler as the main foe (as opposed to Great Britain).


    Assassination of Lord Moyne

    On 6 November 1944, Lehi assassinated Lord Moyne, the British Minister Resident in the Middle East, in
    Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...
    . Moyne was the highest ranking British official in the region. Yitzhak Shamir claimed later that Moyne was assassinated because of his support for a Middle Eastern Arab Federation and anti-Semitic lectures in which Arabs were held to be racially superior to Jews. The assassination rocked the British government, and outraged
    Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
    , the British
    Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
    . The two assassins, Eliahu Bet-Zouri and Eliahu Hakim were captured and used their trial as a platform to make public their political propaganda. They were executed. In 1975 their bodies were returned to Israel and given a state funeral. In 1982, postage stamps were issued for 20 Olei Hagardom, including Bet-Zouri and Hakim, in a souvenir sheet called "Martyrs of the struggle for Israel's independence."


    Post war terrorist campaign and insurgency

    As a group that never had more than a few hundred members, Lehi relied on audacious but small-scale operations to bring its message home. They adopted the tactics of groups such as the Socialist Revolutionaries and the
    Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party The Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party ( pl, Organizacja Bojowa Polskiej Partii Socjalistycznej, abbreviated ''OBPPS''), also translated as Fighting Organization of the Polish Socialist Party; also known as ''bojówki'' ( paramilita ...
    in Czarist Russia, and the
    Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...
    . To this end, Lehi conducted small-scale operations such as individual assassinations of British officials (notable targets included Lord Moyne,
    CID CID may refer to: Film * ''C.I.D.'' (1955 film), an Indian Malayalam film * ''C.I.D.'' (1956 film), an Indian Hindi film * ''C. I. D.'' (1965 film), an Indian Telugu film * ''C.I.D.'' (1990 film), an Indian Hindi film Television * ''CID'' ( ...
    detectives, and Jewish "collaborators"), and random shootings against soldiers and police officers.Bell, Bowyer J.: ''Terror out of Zion'' (1976) Another strategy, adopted in 1946, was to send bombs in the mail to British politicians. Other actions included sabotaging infrastructure targets: bridges,
    railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
    s, telephone and telegraph lines, and oil refineries, as well as the use of vehicle bombs against British military, police, and administrative targets. Lehi financed its operations from private donations,
    extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...
    , and
    bank robbery Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank branch or teller, as opposed to other bank- ...
    . Its campaign of violence lasted from 1944 to 1948. Initially conducted together with the Irgun, it included a six-month suspension to avoid being targeted by the
    Haganah Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the I ...
    during the
    Hunting Season A hunting season is the designated time in which certain game animals can be killed in certain designated areas. In the United States, each state determines and sets its own specific dates to hunt the certain game animal, such as California, in ...
    , and later operated jointly with the Haganah and Irgun under the
    Jewish Resistance Movement The Jewish Resistance Movement ( he, תנועת המרי העברי, ''Tnu'at HaMeri HaIvri'', literally ''Hebrew Rebellion Movement''), also called the United Resistance Movement (URM), was an alliance of the Zionist paramilitary organizations H ...
    . After the Jewish Resistance Movement was dissolved, it operated independently as part of the general Jewish insurgency in Palestine.


    Tel Aviv car park raid

    On 25 April 1946, a Lehi unit attacked a car park in
    Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
    occupied by the British
    6th Airborne Division The 6th Airborne Division was an airborne infantry division of the British Army during the Second World War. Despite its name, the 6th was actually the second of two airborne divisions raised by the British Army during the war, the other being ...
    . Under a barrage of heavy covering fire, Lehi fighters broke into the car park, shot soldiers they encountered at close range, stole rifles from arms racks, laid mines to cover the retreat, and withdrew. Seven soldiers were killed in the attack, which caused widespread outrage among the British security forces in Palestine. It resulted in retaliatory anti-Jewish violence by British troops and a punitive curfew imposed on Tel Aviv's roads and the closure of places of entertainment in the city by the British Army.


    British police station in Haifa

    On 12 January 1947, Lehi members drove a truckload of explosives into a British police station in
    Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
    killing four and injuring 140, in what has been called 'the world's first true truck bomb'.


    Operations in Europe

    Following the bombing of the British embassy in Rome, in October 1946, a series of operations against targets in the United Kingdom were launched. On 7 March 1947, Lehi's only successful operation in Britain was carried out when a Lehi bomb severely damaged the British Colonial Club, a
    London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
    recreational facility for soldiers and students from Britain's colonies in Africa and the West Indies. On 15 April 1947 a bomb consisting of twenty-four sticks of explosives was planted in the Colonial Office,
    Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...
    . It failed to explode due to a fault in the timer. Five weeks later, on 22 May, five alleged Lehi members were arrested in Paris with bomb making material including explosives of the same type as found in London. On 2 June, two Lehi members, Betty Knouth and Yaakov Levstein, were arrested crossing from
    Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
    to
    France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
    . Envelopes addressed to British officials, with detonators, batteries and a time fuse were found in one of Knouth's suitcases. Knouth was sentenced to a year in prison, Levstein to eight months. The British Security Services identified Knouth as the person who planted the bomb in the Colonial Office. Shortly after their arrest, 21 letter bombs addressed to senior British figures were intercepted. The letters had been posted in Italy. The intended recipients included Bevin,
    Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 t ...
    ,
    Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...
    and Eden. Knouth aka Gilberte/Elizabeth Lazarus. Levstein was travelling as Jacob Elias; his fingerprints connected him to the deaths of several Palestine Policemen as well as an attempt on the life of the British High Commissioner. In 1973, Margaret Truman wrote that letter bombs were also posted to her father, U.S. President Harry S. Truman, in 1947. Former Lehi leader Yellin-Mor admitted that letter bombs had been sent to British targets but denied that any had been sent to Truman.


    Death threat against Hugh Trevor-Roper

    Shortly after the 1947 publication of ''The Last Days of Hitler'', Lehi issued a death threat against the author,
    Hugh Trevor-Roper Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton (15 January 1914 – 26 January 2003) was an English historian. He was Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford. Trevor-Roper was a polemicist and essayist on a range of ...
    , for his portrayal of Hitler, feeling that Trevor-Roper had attempted to exonerate the German populace from responsibility.


    Cairo-Haifa train bombings

    During the lead-up to the
    1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...
    , Lehi mined the Cairo–Haifa train several times. On 29 February 1948, Lehi mined the train north of
    Rehovot Rehovot ( he, רְחוֹבוֹת ''Rəḥōvōt'', ar, رحوڤوت ''Reḥūfūt'') is a city in the Central District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of . Etymology Israel Belkind, founder of the Bilu movement, ...
    , killing 28 British soldiers and wounding 35. On 31 March, Lehi mined the train near Binyamina, killing 40 civilians and wounding 60.


    Attempted Nablus terror attack

    Shlomo Sand writes that as a method of applying pressure on Arab villagers to abandon their settlements, Lehi planned a terror attack on
    Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
    and its Arab city headquarters; Lehi fighter Elisha Ibzov (Avraham Cohen) was captured with a truck filled with explosives on his way to the city. Lehi fighters in return abducted four adult villagers and youth from al-Sheikh Muwannis with no connection to Ibzov's capture and threatened to kill them. As rumours spread that they were already murdered, panic set out in the villagers and the settlement became increasingly abandoned, despite the eventual release of the hostages


    Deir Yassin massacre

    One of the most widely known acts of Lehi was the attack on the Palestinian-Arab village of
    Deir Yassin Deir Yassin ( ar, دير ياسين, Dayr Yāsīn) was a Palestinian Arab village of around 600 inhabitants about west of Jerusalem. Deir Yassin declared its neutrality during the 1948 Palestine war between Arabs and Jews. The village was razed ...
    . In the months before the British evacuation from Palestine, the
    Arab League The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...
    -sponsored
    Arab Liberation Army The Arab Liberation Army (ALA; ar, جيش الإنقاذ العربي ''Jaysh al-Inqadh al-Arabi''), also translated as Arab Salvation Army, was an army of volunteers from Arab countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji. It fought on the Arab side in the ...
    (ALA) occupied several strategic points along the road between
    Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
    and
    Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
    , cutting off supplies to the Jewish part of Jerusalem. One of these points was Deir Yassin. By March 1948, the road was cut off and Jewish Jerusalem was under siege. The Haganah launched
    Operation Nachshon Operation Nachshon ( he, מבצע נחשון, ''Mivtza Nahshon'') was a Jewish military operation during the 1948 war. Lasting from 5–16 April 1948, its objective was to break the Siege of Jerusalem by opening the Tel Aviv – Jerusalem road ...
    to break the siege. On 6 April, the Haganah attacked
    al-Qastal Al-Qastal ("Kastel", ar, القسطل) was a Palestinian village located eight kilometers west of Jerusalem and named for a Crusader castle located on the hilltop. Used in 1948 during the Arab-Israeli War as a military base by the Army of th ...
    , a village two kilometres north of Deir Yassin, also overlooking the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv road.Silver 1984, p. 91. Then on 9 April 1948, about 120 Lehi and Irgun fighters, acting in cooperation with the Haganah, attacked and captured Deir Yassin. The attack was at night, the fighting was confused, and many civilian inhabitants of the village were killed. This action had great consequences for the war, and remains a cause célèbre for Palestinians ever since. Exactly what happened has never been established clearly. The Arab League reported a great massacre: 254 killed, with rape and lurid mutilations. Israeli investigations claimed the actual number of dead was between 100 and 120, and there were no mass rapes, but most of the dead were civilians and admitted some were killed deliberately. Lehi and Irgun both denied an organized massacre. Accounts by Lehi veterans such as Ezra Yakhin note that many of the attackers were killed or wounded, assert that Arabs fired from every building and that Iraqi and Syrian soldiers were among the dead, and even that some Arab fighters dressed as women. Ezra Yakhin (1992), ''Elnakam'', pp. 261–272. However, Jewish authorities, including Haganah, the Chief Rabbinate, the Jewish Agency, and
    David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the nam ...
    , also condemned the attack, lending credence to the charge of massacre. The Jewish Agency even sent a letter of condemnation, apology, and condolence to King
    Abdullah I of Jordan AbdullahI bin Al-Hussein ( ar, عبد الله الأول بن الحسين, translit=Abd Allāh al-Awwal bin al-Husayn, 2 February 1882 – 20 July 1951) was the ruler of Jordan from 11 April 1921 until his assassination in 1951. He was the Emi ...
    . Both the Arab reports and Jewish responses had hidden motives: the Arab leaders wanted to encourage Palestinian Arabs to fight rather than surrender, to discredit the Zionists with international opinion, and to increase popular support in their countries for an invasion of Palestine. The Jewish leaders wanted to discredit Irgun and Lehi. Ironically, the Arab reports backfired in one respect: frightened Palestinian Arabs did not surrender, but did not fight either – they fled, allowing Israel to gain much territory with little fighting and also without absorbing many Arabs. Lehi similarly interpreted events at Deir Yassin as turning the tide of war in favour of the Jews. Lehi leader
    Israel Eldad Israel Eldad () (11 November 1910 – 22 January 1996), was an Israeli Revisionist Zionist philosopher and member of the Jewish underground group Lehi in Mandatory Palestine. Biography Israel Scheib (later Eldad) was born in 1910 in Pidvoloch ...
    later wrote in his memoirs from the underground period that "without Deir Yassin the State of Israel could never have been established".Israel Eldad (1950), ''The First Tithe'', pp. 334–335. The Deir Yassin story did not much sway international opinion. It did increase, not only support but pressure on Arab governments to intervene. Abdullah of Jordan was now compelled to join the invasion of Palestine after Israel's declaration of independence on 14 May.


    Assassination of Count Folke Bernadotte

    Although Lehi had stopped operating nationally after May 1948, the group continued to function in Jerusalem. On 17 September 1948, Lehi assassinated UN mediator Count Folke Bernadotte. The assassination was directed by
    Yehoshua Zettler Yehoshua Zettler (July 15, 1917 – May 20, 2009; last name also spelled as Zeitler) was an Israeli who served as the Jerusalem commander of the Jewish paramilitary group Lehi, often called the Stern Gang. He conceived and planned the Septem ...
    and carried out by a four-man team led by Meshulam Makover. The fatal shots were fired by
    Yehoshua Cohen Yehoshua Cohen (Hebrew: יהושע כהן; June 22, 1922 – August 8, 1986) was a leading member of Lehi, a Zionist militant group, who fired the fatal shots in the assassination of United Nations envoy Folke Bernadotte on September 17, 1948. Coh ...
    . The
    Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
    described the assassination as a "cowardly act which appears to have been committed by a criminal group of terrorists". Three days after the assassination, the Israeli government passed the Ordinance to Prevent Terrorism and declared Lehi to be a terrorist organization.Sprinzak, p. 45 Many Lehi members were arrested, including leaders
    Nathan Yellin-Mor Nathan Yellin-Mor ( he, נתן ילין-מור, Nathan Friedman-Yellin; 28 June 1913 – 18 February 1980) was a Revisionist Zionist activist, Lehi leader and Israeli politician. In later years, he became a leader of the Israeli peace camp, ...
    and Matitiahu Schmulevitz who were arrested on 29 September. Eldad and Shamir managed to escape arrest. Yellin-Mor and Schmulevitz were charged with leadership of a terrorist organization and on 10 February 1949 were sentenced to 8 years and 5 years imprisonment, respectively.Sprinzak, p47"LHY leaders get 8,5 years", ''
    Palestine Post Palestine Post ( ar, البريد الفلسطيني) is the company responsible for postal service in the State of Palestine. See also * Postage stamps and postal history of the Palestinian National Authority * Postage stamps and postal history ...
    '', 11 February 1949.
    However the State (Temporary) Council soon announced a general amnesty for Lehi members and they were released.


    The Lehi trial and the Fighters' Party

    Between 5 December 1948 and 25 January 1949, Yellin-Mor and Schmuelevitch were tried in a military court on terrorism charges.Heller (1995), pp. 261–266 The prosecution accused them of the murder of Bernadotte, though they were not specifically charged with it. Senior officers of the IDF, including
    Yisrael Galili Yisrael Galili ( he, ישראל גלילי; 10 February 1911 – 8 February 1986) was an Israeli politician, government minister and member of Knesset. Before Israel's independence in 1948, he served as Chief of Staff of the Haganah. Biography Y ...
    and David Shaltiel, told the court that Lehi had hindered, rather than assisted the fight against the British and the Arabs. While the trial was in progress, some of the Lehi leadership founded a USSR-leaning political party called the Fighters' List with Yellin-Mor as its leader.Heller (1995), pp. 265–267 The party took part in the elections in January 1949 with Yellin-Mor and Schmuelevitch heading the list. The trial verdict was handed down on 10 February, soon after the Fighters' List had won one seat with only 1.2% of the vote. Yellin-Mor was sentenced to 8 years and Schmuelevitch to 5 years imprisonment, but the court agreed to remit the sentences if the prisoners agreed to a list of conditions. The Provisional State Council then authorised their pardon. The party disbanded after several years and did not contest the 1951 elections.Heller (1995), pp. 279–284 In 1956, some Lehi veterans established the Semitic Action movement, which sought the creation of a regional federation encompassing Israel and its Arab neighbours on the basis of an anti-colonialist alliance with other indigenous inhabitants of the Middle East. Not all Lehi alumni gave up
    political violence Political violence is violence which is perpetrated in order to achieve political goals. It can include violence which is used by a state against other states ( war), violence which is used by a state against civilians and non-state actors (for ...
    after independence: former members were involved in the activities of the
    Kingdom of Israel The Kingdom of Israel may refer to any of the historical kingdoms of ancient Israel, including: Fully independent (c. 564 years) *Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy) (1047–931 BCE), the legendary kingdom established by the Israelites and uniting ...
    militant group, the 1957 assassination of Rudolf Kastner, and likely the 1952 attempted assassination of David-Zvi Pinkas.


    Service ribbon

    In 1980, Israel instituted the Lehi ribbon, red, black, grey, pale blue and white, which is awarded to former members of the Lehi underground who wished to carry it, "for military service towards the establishment of the State of Israel".


    "Unknown Soldiers" anthem

    The words and music of a song "Unknown Soldiers" (also translated "Anonymous Soldiers") were written by Avraham Stern in 1932 during the early days of the Irgun. It became the Irgun's anthem until the split with Lehi in 1940, after which it became the Lehi anthem.


    Prominent members of Lehi

    A number of Lehi's members went on to play important roles in Israel's public life. * Shaltiel Ben-Yair, explosives expert, organised together with Amos Kenan the assassination attempt against the Transportation Minister in 1952 * Eliyahu Bet-Zuri, executed in 1945 for his part in the assassination of Lord Moyne * Geula Cohen, member of the Knesset *
    Israel Eldad Israel Eldad () (11 November 1910 – 22 January 1996), was an Israeli Revisionist Zionist philosopher and member of the Jewish underground group Lehi in Mandatory Palestine. Biography Israel Scheib (later Eldad) was born in 1910 in Pidvoloch ...
    , leader in the Israeli national camp * Boaz Evron, left-wing journalist * Maxim Ghilan, Israeli journalist, author and peace activist *
    Eliyahu Giladi Eliyahu Giladi (1915 – August 17, 1943) was a Lehi fighter from Transylvania. Giladi was executed in 1943 by his Lehi comrades after he entered into strong disagreements with Yitzhak Shamir and other members of the Lehi movement about how Lehi ...
    , killed in 1943 by his Lehi comrades for arguing in favour of committing acts considered too extreme even by them * Uri Zvi Greenberg, Israeli poet and journalist * Eliyahu Hakim, executed in 1945 for assassinating Lord Moyne * Amos Kenan, writer *
    Baruch Korff Baruch Korff (July 4, 1914 – July 26, 1995) was an American Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbi. He was a longtime Jews, Jewish community activist who was associated with the Irgun and Lehi (militant group), Lehi groups. Korff was a close politica ...
    , Orthodox rabbi *
    Yitzhak Shamir Yitzhak Shamir ( he, יצחק שמיר, ; born Yitzhak Yezernitsky; October 22, 1915 – June 30, 2012) was an Israeli politician and the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms, 1983–1984 and 1986–1992. Before the establishment ...
    , Israeli prime minister 1983–1984 and 1986–1992 * Avraham Stern, leader and ideologist * Shimon Tzabar, Yiddish-language playwright * Natan Yellin-Mor, member of the Knesset 1949–1951, leftist advocate of peace with Arabs.''Washington Report on Middle East Affairs'', December 1986
    "Portrait of a Mideast Terrorist"
    /ref>


    See also

    * List of Lehi operations * List of Lehi members * '' Hamaas'', an official publication of the Lehi * Jewish insurgency in Palestine *
    Roy Farran Major Roy Alexander Farran (2 January 1921 – 2 June 2006) was a British-Canadian soldier, politician, farmer, author and journalist. He was highly decorated for his exploits with the Special Air Service (SAS) during the Second World War. Farra ...
    , letter bomb incident


    References


    Works cited

    * Amichal Yevin, Ada (1986). ''In purple: the life of Yair-Abraham Stern''. Tel Aviv: Hadar Publishing House. * Bell, J. Bowyer (1977). ''Terror Out of Zion: Irgun Zvai Leumi, Lehi, and the Palestine Underground, 1929–1949''. Avon. * Ben-Yehuda, Nachman (1998). "Political Violence: Political Assassinations as a Quest for Justice." In Robert R. Friedmann (Ed.). ''Crime and Criminal Justice in Israel: Assessing The Knowledge base Toward The Twenty-first Century'' (pp. 139–184). SUNY Press. . * Golan, Zev (2003). ''Free Jerusalem: Heroes, Heroines and Rogues Who Created the State of Israel''. Devora. * Golan, Zev (2011). ''Stern: The Man and His Gang''. Yair. * Heller, J. (1995). ''The Stern Gang''. Frank Cass. * Hyams, Edward (1975) ''Terrorists and Terrorism'' * Iviansky, Z. (1986) "Lechi's Share in the Struggle for Israel's Liberation," in: Ely Tavin and Yonah Alexander (Ed.).''Terrorists or Freedom Fighters'', Fairfax, Va.: HERO Books. * Katz, E. (1987). "LECHI: Fighters for the freedom of Israel", Tel Aviv: Yair Publishers * Lustick, Ian S. (1994). "Terrorism in the Arab–Israeli Conflict: Targets and Audiences." In Crenshaw, Martha (ed). ''Terrorism in Context'' (pp. 514–552). University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press. * Marton, K. (1994). ''A Death in Jerusalem''. Pantheon. — Bernadotte assassination * * *


    External links


    lehi.org

    British wanted poster from 1940s
    {{DEFAULTSORT:Lehi (Group) National liberation movements Organizations based in Asia designated as terrorist Terrorism in Mandatory Palestine Defunct organizations designated as terrorist Zionist terrorism Defunct Jewish organizations Mandatory Palestine in World War II Paramilitary organizations based in Israel National Bolshevism Revisionist Zionism Far-right politics in Israel Jewish collaboration with Nazi Germany Anti-British sentiment