Ideologically the Stern Gang and the Irgun were in the same camp in believing in the establishment of a Jewish state, using force if necessary. However, the methods they chose to enforce their common beliefs were quite different throughout most of the 1940-1948 period in which they existed. The Sternist's methods of individual terrorist assassinations of British officials and security men contrasted with Irgun resort to confiscation raids on British government and military installations for symbolic purposes. The Stern Gang killed people at every opportunity as opposed to the Irgun's use of controlled killings. On the other hand, the Haganah, and to some degree the Palmach (Plugot Machaz-Strike Companies) which had been formed in 1941 to help the British fight the Germans in Palestine, were similar to the Irgun in their aim to defend and support the Jewish community. But as the military arms of the Jewish Agency, the Haganah and the Palmach were reduced to ineffectiveness. On several occasions, despite the disparity in ideology as well as methodology, the Jewish Agency, the Haganah, and the Palmach collaborated with the British against the Irgun. Most characteristic of this collaboration was "The Season," the period so called in 1944 in which Ben-Gurion (Jewish Agency executive) joined with the British to crush the Irgun because he felt its terrorist activities would bring world opinion against the general idea of Zionism.
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In spite of the repression of the Irgun in the 1944 "season" mentioned earlier, the Irgun and Haganah joined together in 1945 for a united resistance to the British. For the next three years the bond between the two organizations, especially the bond between Begin and Ben-Gurion, was fragile at best. Throughout the "season," Begin had forbidden any type of retribution against the Jewish Agency or Haganah to avoid a civil war among the Jewish factions. But later, in 1946, when the Haganah again turned on the Irgun, Begin unleashed the forces of the Irgun on the Haganah officers and men responsible for armed actions against Irgun members.
As the British government became more determined to withdraw totally from Palestine, the Arabs became increasingly violent and dedicated to preventing the establishment of a recognized Jewish Homeland. The destruction of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem in July 1946 by the Irgun, causing more than two hundred casualties (wounded or dead), again led to the Jewish Agency's collaboration with the British against the Irgun and later to the imposition of martial law on March 1, 1947. Throughout 1946 and 1947 the Irgun and the Haganah resolved their differences over the means of securing a Jewish state in recognition of the Arab threat. However, the consistent terror campaign waged by the Irgun, its need for arms, and a defiant sense of independence from central authority led to the "Altalena" incident in June 1948.
The Altalena, a ship used to transport men and arms, was sunk by the Haganah on June 20, 1948 at Tel Aviv. Sixteen members of the Irgun were killed and forty wounded during the incident, as were two Haganah soldiers killed and several wounded. Civil war between the Jewish elements was again narrowly averted by (1) Begin's opposition to a civil war, (2) an impending resumption of the war with the Arabs, and (3) the foresight that cohesion would be necessary for the security and survival of a Jewish state. In September, 1948, the Irgun disbanded and joined with Haganah and Palmach forces forming ZAHAL--the Israeli National Defense Forces.
Begin's belief in creating tension, provocation and destruction was the basis for the particular tactics used by Irgun throughout its existence. Much of the Irgun effort was directed against the British for the purpose of achieving an independent Jewish State. The rest of it was directed against the Arabs in retribution for attacks they had made earlier. After the British had begun withdrawal from Palestine in 1948, the position of the Irgun with regard to the Arabs changed substantially. The Irgun and the Stern Gang were accused on a number of occasions of instigating the Arab-Palestinian exodus. For example, on April 1, 1948 an Irgun unit totally destroyed the Arab village of DIR YASSEN killing two-hundred and fifty people. This act contributed heavily to the state of fear against Jewish attacks among the Palestinian Arabs.
Although there is some debate whether the unit involved in the attack was of Irgun origin, the fact remains that terrorist acts such as those perpetrated at DIR YASSEN are partly responsible for the present Palestinian refugee situation. Terrorist acts of such nature drive people to leave their homes to seek safe refuge wherever it may be found. With the state of Israel secured, and the inclusion of the Irgun into the ZAHAL, there was no longer a need for the tactics of terrorism which had served the Irgun, and seemingly the Jewish people, so well. However, the ideology of the men involved in the leadership of Irgun was perpetuated by the establishment of a political party, the HERUT which was based on the same zeal and ideals upon which the Irgun had thrived. The new State of Israel would respect those ideals through incorporation of Irgun leadership in the new legitimate state.
~ Major James Larry Fields, USA, "Irgun Zvai Leumi: The Jewish Terrorist Element of the Arab-Israeli Conflict," Air Command and Staff College student report, April 1985
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| Deir Yassin, April 1948 |
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