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
On this great anniversary, we bow our heads in humility and love as we remember our fallen heroes of the Haganah, Palmach, Irgun, Lechi, Mahal and the soldiers of the Israel Defence Forces. It is their self-sacrifice which brought us out from bondage and regained for us the dignity of independence. They will be engraved … Continued
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Begin emphasized the need of an opposition in a democracy, and described the voting process to condemn the PLO’s invitation to the Geneva conference. Later, he discussed how the Holocaust shaped his national security view and how it affected mankind, and addressed his failure to reject the Reparations Agreement. He then responded to the claims that he was an ex-terrorist, stating that the fight for liberation and the underground’s military operations are not similar to the PLO’s acts of terrorism. Finally, he discussed the relationship between Israel and the Soviet Union over the years, as well as Herzl’s aim of ending anti-Semitism.
A reprinting of a chapter from Begin’s book, THE REVOLT, which appeared as part of a series of reprints of Begin’s book in the New York Post. Begin describes how the King David Hotel was the fortified center of British power in Mandatory Palestine and how striking it would prove to them that it was indeed possible to fight against the powerful British Empire. The Haganah approved the attack on the hotel. The Etzel did not want to cause any cause any casualties in the attack, especially civilian casualties. To that end they set off a warning fire cracker and called several locations, including the hotel, giving warnings about the bombs and instructions to evacuate. Though plenty of time to evacuate was given, the British forces refused to evacuate and many people, including civilians, were killed. Begin and the Irgun were distraught at the needless death and struggled to understand why the British refused to save their own lives or the lives of the civilians by evacuating.
A reprinting of a chapter from Begin’s book, THE REVOLT, which appeared as part of a series of reprints of Begin’s book in the New York Post. Begin describes the two most pressing issues facing the Jews during WW2: the Nazi Holocaust and the British closure of Palestine Jews fleeing the Holocaust. This closure made the revolt inevitable. The Etzel had no desire for any conflict with the Arabs of Palestine and warned them to not interfere with the fight against the British. Some Arabs even helped the Irgun in the revolt. It was only after the UN decided to partition Palestine that the Arabs rose up against the Jews. The British thought they were ‘omnipotent’ and therefore a revolt which they could not suppress would be a terrible blow to their prestige, and indeed the Etzel’s revolt was such a blow. The Etzel did not want to use violence, but the British regime left it no choice. It was the Etzel’s commitment to morality that led it to triumph over the superior British forces.
