Menachem Begin – Irgun Commander

All public discussion on Eretz Israel is a good thing.  We are sure of our cause. We don’t like this reprisal system; we wish it would end.  Retaliation is bad; if they would treat us as combatants it would end. Is not this movement one of the most humanitarian in all history?  It is not … Continued

8 Points For Peace

“8 Points for Peace”   JEWISH RIGHT to the Land of Israel is basic and inseparable from our right to security, without which there can be no prospect of peace. The choice does not lie between maintaining our right to the Land of Israel and obtaining peace for a Jewish State in some part of … Continued

Menahem Begin – Irgun Commander

An interview Menachem Begin gave to the Herald Tribune in March 1947 and reprinted later for relevance to the formation of a provisional government in Israel. The IZL is prepared for a long and difficult struggle with the British. Though the IZL wants to end the policy of reprisals, it will continue the policy until its members are treated as combatants, even if it means hanging British soldiers if its own members are hanged. The IZL has had contact with Arabs in Palestine, though it has been limited. The IZL has plans to carry out attacks outside of Palestine. They do not favor but will not oppose the discussion of Palestine at the UN. The Soviet Union is against the idea of Jewish immigration to Israel from other countries but has a point in that some Jews seem to favor elements of British imperialism. The IZL is not Fascist because it is fighting for survival, is against totalitarianism, and is in favor of democracy and individual freedoms.

Issues and Answers – Barbara Walters

There is a Jewish state for the first time after 1900 years of humiliation and dispersion and ultimately physical destruction. We have to thank God what we achieved in our generation. And nobody gave us this as a present. We had to fight for it. We had to give sacrifice in life. But, with God’s … Continued

The Statesman

Let us recognise that just as there is the great musician, the painter and the sculptor—and there are but few in the history of mankind—so there is the statesman, who is a statesman by virtue of specific talents which are not bestowed upon many. But by what do we recognise the statesman?  How can he … Continued