Pages in Section 7 |
![]() 1937 The Irgun Retaliates |
i. The Arab Revolt Continues ii. The Irgun retaliate iii. The Army takes over iv. Tegart's Wall v. Wyngate's Night Squads vi. Arabs capture Old City vii. White Paper viii. Assassination of Inspectors Ralph Cairns & Robert Barker ix. 1939 Jewish Political Scene |
From 1937 onward a Revisionist Zionist illegal militant group named Haganah Bet made counter attacks on Arabs, rebels and innocent citizens alike. Half of Haganah Bet, disagreeing with these random attacks on non-militants, left to rejoin the main semi-official underground Jewish Defence group,Haganah. The remainder of Haganah Bet renamed themselves "the Irgun".
In New York, exiled Jabotinsky, leader of Hagaah Bet, also disapproved of attacks on civilians but nevertheless, stayed on as overall commander of Irgun until his fatal heart attack in 1940. Stern was responsible for smuggling Jews illegally into Palestine and training Jabotinsky's Beter army of 40 000 to invade Palestine and wrest it from the British. David Raziel and Avraham Stern collaborated to write a text book on firearm usage and composed the Irgun's aims and principles. In addition Avraham Stern, a brilliant scholar and master of spin, concocted Irgun's propaganda. Their explosives expert devised bombs with far more killing power than anything the Arabs had managed to create. The local Irgun, many trained in Poland as members of Betar, detonated them in crowded Arab markets. They also left time bombs on trains and a first ever letter bomb in the main Jerusalem Post office. The situation could no longer be controlled by a civilian police force. |
Text - Copyright British Palestine Police Association