Lohamei Herut Yisrael (Lehi)
An acronym for Lohamei Herut Yisrael (Fighters for
the Freedom of Israel), Lehi was an underground organization that operated from
1940 to 1948. At first, it was composed chiefly of a group headed by Avraham
("Yair") Stern, that broke off from Etzel in 1940. The split was due to disagreement on three main issues: (a) the group's
demand that the military struggle against the British government be continued
irrespective of the war against Nazi Germany; (b) opposition to enlistment in
the British army, which Jabotinsky supported; and (c) willingness to collaborate, as a tactical measure, with
anyone who supported the struggle against the British in Palestine.
Lehi rejected the authority of the yishuv's
elected institutions and the worldwide Zionist
movement, and sometimes clashed bitterly with the Haganah.
Lehi's goals were maximalist: conquest and
liberation of Eretz Israel; war against the British Empire; complete withdrawal
of Britain from Palestine; and establishment of a "Hebrew kingdom from the
Euphrates to the Nile." In contrast to the scope of these goals, Lehi's
strength was limited; it never had more than a few hundred fighters and its arms
stores were meager. The disparity between its aspirations and its real power
dictated Lehi's method of fighting: bold, extremist actions, intended both to
obtain funding and weapons and to demonstrate that it was possible to strike at
the enemy successfully.
As a result of its activities, Lehi found itself
isolated in the yishuv. The yishuv's institutions condemned it and the British
police hunted its members. On February 12, 1942, Avraham
("Yair") Stern, the leader of Lehi, was captured in a Tel Aviv
apartment and murdered by British detectives. The remaining fighters continued
to wage his war, and a new command structure was established. Terrorism
continued to be the organization's guideline, in the belief that a series of
painful attacks would force the British to re-evaluate the wisdom and price of
remaining in Palestine.
On November 6, 1944, two Lehi members assassinated
Lord Moyne, the British Minister for Middle East Affairs in Cairo. The
perpetrators, Eliyahu Beit-Tzuri and Eliyahu Hakim, were caught, tried by a
military tribunal, and hanged on March 23, 1945.
When the Hebrew Resistance Movement was founded in November
1945, Lehi joined it, along with the Haganah and Etzel. Lehi carried out several operations as part of the movement,
the largest of which was the bombing of the Haifa railroad workshops
in June 1946, in which 11 Lehi members were killed. After the Hebrew Resistance Movement broke up following Etzel's bombing
of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem on July 22, 1946, Lehi continued with its harassment and attrition policy.
In 1947, Lehi decided to concentrate its activities
in Jerusalem so as to prevent
implementation of the partition plan and internationalization of Jerusalem.
When the IDF was established on May 31, 1948, Lehi was disbanded and its
members enlisted in the IDF.
Only in Jerusalem did Lehi remain an independent organization, arguing that at the time of the
proclamation of independence the city's fate had not yet been determined.
On September 17, 1948, Swedish Count Folke
Bernadotte, a UN mediator, was assassinated in Jerusalem,
and Lehi members were suspected. The government outlawed the
organization's branch in Jerusalem and shut down its publication, Hamivrak.
The leaders of Lehi, Natan Yellin-Mor and Mattityahu Shmuelevitz,
were sentenced to long jail terms by a military court, but were released
in a general amnesty.
Sources: Israeli Foreign
Ministry |