Abraham Stavsky (; January 5, 1906 – June 22, 1948) was an activist member of

Betar The Betar Movement (), also spelled Beitar (), is a Revisionist Zionism, Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Ze'ev Jabotinsky, Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky. It was one of several right-wing youth movements tha ...

, the youth movement of a

Revisionist Zionist Revisionist Zionism is a form of Zionism characterized by territorial maximalism. Revisionist Zionism promoted expansionism and the establishment of a Jewish majority on both sides of the Jordan River. Developed by Ze'ev Jabotinsky in the 1920s ...

group founded by

Ze'ev Jabotinsky Ze'ev Jabotinsky (born Vladimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky; 17 October 1880 – 3 August 1940) was a Russian-born author, poet, orator, soldier, and founder of the Revisionist Zionist movement and the Jewish Self-Defense Organization in O ...

. On June 18, 1933, Stavsky was arrested by the British Mandate police as a suspect in the June 16, 1933, murder of Chaim Arlosoroff, a prominent

Labor Zionist Labor Zionism () or socialist Zionism () is the Left-wing politics, left-wing, socialism, socialist variant of Zionism. For many years, it was the most significant tendency among Zionists and Zionist organizations, and was seen as the Zionist ...

leader. He was convicted on June 8, 1934, and sentenced to death. There was controversy regarding the accuracy of the charge and righteousness of the conviction among the Jewish public; an outspoken supporter of Stavsky was the

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi () is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...

of Palestine,

Rav Kook Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook (; 7 September 1865 – 1 September 1935), known as HaRav Kook, and also known by the Hebrew-language acronym Hara'ayah (), was an Orthodox rabbi, and the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine. H ...

. His conviction was overturned on a technicality by the highest British Court of Appeals in Palestine in 1934. The appeal court stated that "had the case been heard in England itself, or in most of the territories of the British Empire, the conviction would rightly have been upheld." Later Israeli investigations into the murder disagreed with the court's assessment and concluded that Stavsky was innocent.Bechor, David; Berkowitz, Eliezer; Keneth, Max. (1985). "State Investigative Committee of the Murder of Dr. Haim Arlosoroff" ("ועדת החקירה לחקירת רצח ד"ר חיים ארלוזורוב הי"ד"). Jerusalem: State of Israel. pp. 95–104. Stavsky went on to work with the

Irgun The Irgun (), officially the National Military Organization in the Land of Israel, often abbreviated as Etzel or IZL (), was a Zionist paramilitary organization that operated in Mandatory Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of th ...

in smuggling thousands of Jews out of Europe during the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. He died on the beached

Altalena The ''Altalena'' Affair was a violent confrontation that took place in June 1948 between the newly created Israel Defense Forces and the Irgun (also known as Etzel), one of the Jewish paramilitary groups that were in the process of merging to ...

in the midst of exploding onboard munitions during heavy machine gun exchange with

Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...

forces. Ironically, Stavsky died 50 yards from the very spot where Chaim Arlosoroff was murdered 15 years and 5 days earlier.

References

1906 births 1948 deaths 1933 crimes in Asia Aliyah Bet activists People from Brest, Belarus People from Brestsky Uyezd Betar members Belarusian Jews Belarusian people convicted of murder Belarusian prisoners sentenced to death Belarusian Zionists Deaths by firearm in Israel Irgun members Israeli military personnel killed in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War Jews from the Russian Empire {{criminal-stub Prisoners sentenced to death by Mandatory Palestine People acquitted of murder Zionist assassins

See also

References