Word: haganah
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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...Haganah and the Jews of Palestine, the entrance of European refugees is no longer a question of the wisdom or foolishness of policy, but simply something that must be accomplished. When Haganah men gather, the toast is always, "To the ships...
There has been so much irresponsible and incorrect reporting of terrorism and terrorists in Palestine, I feel it necessary to clarify the differences between Haganah and the two so-called "terrorist" gangs, the Stern Group, responsible for the murder of Lord Moyne in Cairo some years ago, and the Irgun Zeval Leumi, National Military Organization, responsible for the recent bombing of British headquarters at the King David Hotel...
...Haganah, which means "defense," is the peoples' army of Palestinian Jewry. Its history goes back to Czarist Russia, where small groups organized to protect themselves against pogroms. The idea was brought to Palestine before World War I, and an organization called Hashomer, "The Watchman," was formed. At first they were merely armed guards for the new agricultural settlements, but with the end of the war, the idea of an all-inclusive defense organization took root. With returned veterans of the Jewish Legion of Allenby's Middle Eastern British Army, a nucleus of Haganah was formed...
...Haganah first paid off in 1929, when, after the British had withdrawn all licenses for the possession of weapons in Jewish settlements, two hundred Jews were massacred by Arab raiders. Arab onslaughts continued. Where the Jews had "illegal" arms, they protected themselves. Where they had none, it was slaughter. The communities were convinced they could not depend on British protection and steps were taken to train and arm a large-scale defense organization...
...Today, Haganah regards defense in a different light. Where once defense meant merely protection against Bedouin raiders, it is now the defense of the lives and the futures of hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees whose only hope is Palestine...