Jewish insurgency in Mandatory Palestine

Lore & Background

The tensions between the Zionist underground and British mandatory authorities rose from 1938 and intensified with the publication of the White Paper of 1939, which placed further restrictions on Jewish immigration and land purchases and declared the intention of giving independence to Palestine with an Arab majority within ten years. Though World War II brought relative calm, tensions escalated into armed struggle towards the end of the war when it became clear the Axis powers were close to defeat. The Haganah, the largest Jewish underground militia under the control of the officially recognized Jewish leadership, remained cooperative with the British, but in 1944 the Irgun, an offshoot of the Haganah, launched a rebellion, joining Lehi, which had been active throughout the war. Both were small, dissident militias of the right-wing Revisionist movement.

Reader's Guide

The Jewish insurgency in Mandatory Palestine marked a critical phase in the struggle for a Jewish state, directly challenging British authority and contributing to the end of the Mandate. The conflict began with the Irgun's revolt in February 1944 and Lehi's assassination of Baron Moyne in 1944, which led the Haganah to actively oppose them during the Hunting Season. However, after World War II ended in 1945, the Haganah cooperated with Irgun and Lehi in the Jewish Resistance Movement, attacking British immigration controls while Irgun and Lehi targeted military and police. The movement dissolved after the King David Hotel bombing in July 1946, and the groups acted independently until the UN Partition Plan in November 1947 shifted focus to the civil war between Palestinian Jews and Arabs. The insurgency caused deep divisions in the United Kingdom, including anti-Jewish rioting after the hanging of two British sergeants by the Irgun in August 1947, and strained Anglo-American relations.

Did You Know?

• The Haganah actively opposed the Irgun and Lehi during the Hunting Season after the assassination of Baron Moyne in 1944.
• The Jewish Resistance Movement formed in autumn 1945 after World War II ended, but dissolved in July 1946 following the King David Hotel bombing.
• In August 1947, after the Irgun hanged two abducted British sergeants, widespread anti-Jewish rioting occurred across the United Kingdom.
• The White Paper of 1939 restricted Jewish immigration to 75,000 over five years and limited Jewish land purchases.