Jerusalem U Presents Pre-IDF Brigades: Haganah, Irgun and Lechi
his week, we’re examining the underground militias that preceded the IDF and looking at the divisions that pitted Jew against Jew in pre-State Israel. Lechi. Irgun. Haganah. We ask who these groups were, what caused them to – briefly – unite and what led them to ultimately disband.
This is one of the more difficult periods in Israeli history and a subject that raises a lot of questions. After all, we aren’t talking about polite squabbles. This was real life-on-the-line-type of disagreements between Jewish groups that led to intimidation, violence and even assassinations and bombings.
The violence and actions of the period we’re talking about, from the 1930s to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 showed the British (who ruled Palestine at the time) and the rest of the international community how important the establishment of a Jewish state meant to the Jewish people.
But did obtaining the Zionist dream come at the expense of morals, especially Jewish morals?
What do you think? Is violence ever a legitimate way to achieve particular goals? Let us know your reactions in the comments below.
