http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lehi_%28group%29
Contact with Nazi authorities
German covering letter attached to Stern's January 1941 offer of an
alliance with Nazi Germany
In 1940 and 1941, Lehi proposed intervening in the Second World War on
the side of Nazi Germany to attain their help in expelling Britain from
Mandate Palestine and to offer their assistance in "evacuating" the Jews
of Europe arguing that "common interests could exist between the
establishment of a new order in Europe in conformity with the German
concept, and the true national aspirations of the Jewish people as they
are embodied by the NMO (Lehi)." Late in 1940, Lehi representative
Naftali Lubenchik was sent to Beirut where he met the German official
Werner Otto von Hentig and delivered a letter from Lehi offering to
"actively take part in the war on Germany's side" in return for German
support for "the establishment of the historic Jewish state" [1]. Von
Hentig forwarded the letter to the German embassy in Ankara, but there
is no record of any official response. Lehi tried to establish contact
with the Germans again in December 1941, also apparently without
success.
[edit]
Actions
As a group that never had over a hundred members, Lehi relied on
audacious but small-scale operations to bring their message home, as
such they described themselves as a terrorist group and adopted the
tactics of groups such as the IRA, who had successfully used guerrilla
warfare to force the British out of the Southern Republic of Ireland
back in the 1920s. To this end, Lehi conducted small-scale operations
such as assassinations of British soldiers and police officers and, on
occasion, Jewish "collaborators". Another strategy, (1947) was to send
bombs in the mail to many British politicians. Other actions included
sabotaging infrastructure targets: bridges, railroads, and oil
refineries. Lehi financed their operations from private donations,
extortion, and bank robbery.
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Assassination of Lord Moyne
In November 6, 1944 Lehi assassinated Lord Moyne in Cairo. Moyne was the
highest ranking British government representative in the region and was
directly responsible for blocking Europe's Jews from reaching Palestine
during the Holocaust. The assassination act rocked the British
government, and outraged Winston Churchill the British Prime Minister.
The two young assassins, Eliahu Bet-Zouri and Eliahu Hakim were captured
and used their trial as a platform to make public their struggle for
freedom to the world. Although rejected by the official Zionist
leadership and enraging the British authorities, their dignified
behavior and bold statements publicized their cause to the West and even
won them the sympathy of Egyptian Muslim students. The two boys refused
to ask mercy from a court they did not recognize and were each sentenced
to death by hanging. When asked by their hangman why they appeared to be
in such high spirits before their death, Hakim answered that they were
"smiling to the next generation that would see a Jewish flag over
Jerusalem". Like all Irgun and Lehi prisoners sentenced to death in
those years, both sang Hatikva (the Zionist anthem) directly prior to
their execution.
[edit]
Assassination of Count Folke Bernadotte
UN mediator Count Folke Bernadotte was assassinated by Lehi in Jerusalem
in 1948.
September 17, 1948, Lehi assassinated the UN Mediator, Count Folke
Bernadotte, who had been sent to broker a settlement in the dispute. The
assassination was directed by Yehoshua Zetler and carried out by a
four-man team led by Meshulam Markover. The fatal shots were fired by
Yehoshua Cohen. Lehi leaders Nathan Yellin-Mor and Matitiahu Schmulevitz
were arrested two months after the murder. Most of the suspects involved
were released immediately and all of them were granted general amnesty
on the 14th of February, 1949.
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Dissolution and integration
The conflict between Lehi and mainstream Jewish and subsequently Israeli
organizations came to an end when Lehi was formally dissolved and
integrated into the Israeli Defense Forces on May 31, 1948, its leaders
getting amnesty from prosecution or reprisals as part of the
integration. It however maintained independent operations in Jerusalem
until it was forcefully broken up after the assassination of the
UN-envoy Count Folke Bernadotte. Members of the Lehi founded a political
party known as "Fighters", and Yellin-Mor was elected to the first
Knesset, but the party was short-lived.
In 1980 Israel instituted the Lehi ribbon, red, black, grey, pale blue
and white which is awarded to former members of the Lehi underground who
wished to carry it.
In 1999, the Magshimey Herut movement was founded as an educational
Zionist organization for young adults. Although officially a movement
alligned with the ideology of Zev Jabotinsky and Revisionist Zionism, it
has been argued that the movement is actually closer to Lehi in
philosophy. Much of Magshimey Herut's written and educational material
seem directly influenced by the teachings of Avraham Stern, Uri Zvi
Greenberg and Israel Eldad.
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Justification of terrorism
An article titled "Terror" in He Khazit (The Front, a Lehi underground
newspaper), Issue 2, August 1943, argued as follows. The full text of
the article is available at Wikiquote.
Neither Jewish morality nor Jewish tradition can negate the use of
terror as a means of battle.
....
We are quite far from moral hesitations on the national battlefield. We
see before us the command of the Torah, the most moral teaching in the
world: Obliterate - until destruction.[1] We are particularly far from
this sort of hesitation in regard to an enemy whose moral perversion is
admitted by all.
But primarily terror is part of our political battle under present
conditions and its role is large and great.
• It demonstrates, in clear language, to those who listen
throughout the world and to our despondent brothers outside the gates of
this country of our battle against the true terrorist who hides behind
his piles of papers and the laws he has legislated.
• It is not directed against people, it is directed
against representatives. Therefore it is effective.
• If it also shakes the Yishuv from their complacency,
good and well.
Only so will the battle for liberation begin.
1. ^ The italicised quotation is a combination of two
Biblical references to the Amalekites, Exodus 17:14 and Numbers 14:45:
"Utterly blot out their remembrance...and destroy them completely."
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Lehi er bedre kendt som Stern grupperne
--
Jesper
The saw is family!