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27th July 2007
Haganah - A History of the Jewish Underground Defense force in Palestine
The birth of the Haganah
The Haganah (means defense in Hebrew - pronounced "Hah Gah nah')Jewish underground was created in 1920. Beginning in January 1920 activists in Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv in particular formed defense committees acquired some light weapons, and recruited and trained volunteers. After the fall of Tel Hai, the Jerusalem committee headed by Ze'ev Jabotinsky and Pinchas Ruttenberg took the lead. In April of 1920, the Haganah had some role in defending against Arab attacks during the Passover riot. In that period, Palestine was still under British military rule, and the Jewish community was administered by the delegate committee (Vaad Hatzirim) of the World Zionist Organization/ Jabotinsky was charged by the Vaad Hatzirim with organizing the defense of Jerusalem. He did so to some effect, though six Jews were killed and about 200 injured in the disturbances. The British arrested Jabotinsky and sentenced him to 15 years in prison. When the Mandate government took over, he was amnestied, along with all the Arabs and Jews arrested in the various disturbances.
The Haganah before 1929
The existence of the Haganah was formalized by the Achdut Ha'avoda party, which combined Poalei Ziyon and the Federation of Agricultural workers, in its convention in Kibbutz Kinneret in June of 1920. The volunteers were mostly veterans of the Jewish Legion (Gdudim Ivri'im - Jewish Brigades) and Zion Mule Corps, who had fought for the British in WW I, and the Hashomer guards group, that had been formed in 1907-09 to guard Jewish settlements. Friction soon developed between the army veterans who wanted a tight-knit professional group, and the Hashomer people, who wanted a popular militia. The argument was futile. The Haganah was illegal, had no source of weapons and few opportunities for training. It could not really be either a militia or a body of professional soldiers. In December of 1920 it was put under the control of the Histadruth Labor federation, but in the May 1921 riots the Haganah was not effective. Thereafter, the political leadership of the Zionist organization wanted the Haganah to become a legal body subordinated to the British, while the soldiers of the Haganah objected, because they would lose their independence and probably their arms. The Zionist organization deprived it of funds. In any case, the British would never allow any independent Jewish self defense, though they did eventually create the "notrim" (monitors) and the SNS under Wingate. In 1923, the Hashomer people left the Haganah, weakening it further. There were three main chapters in Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, with about 350 members in the Tel-Aviv chapter in 1926. The Haganah had 750 rifles, 750 hand grenades, about a thousand pistols and 27 machine guns, all weapons of uncertain vintage. The Haganah was a tiny underground at this time, that used small boys to carry messages. Weapons were hidden in caches in the kibbutzim, which also afforded places for training.
The riots of 1929 turn the Haganah into a force
In the riots of 1929, the Haganah proved more successful, especially in Tel Aviv, Haifa and the center of Jerusalem, and eventually in peripheral settlements as well. The case for a militia seemed to be proven. With the backing of the political leadership, the Haganah now became a country-wide organization that involved all youth and young adults of the kibbutzim and settlements and several thousand in the cities. Some light arms were brought in from Europe. A clandestine arms industry was set up in Palestine. The factories were literally underground - in subterranean cellars where imported war surplus machinery eventually produced quantities of ammunition.
The birth of the Irgun
In 1930, a small group of officers set up the "Second Organization" - Irgun Beth, which wanted to take offensive as well as defensive action. This group soon identified itself with the revisionist movement, and in April 1937 it renamed itself the Irgun Zvai Leumi (National Military Organization, IZL or Irgun).
The Haganah in the Arab Revolt
In the Arab revolt of 1936-1939, the Haganah, under the guidance of Charles Orde Wingate, organized Special Night Squads (S.N.S.) trained in commando tactics, surprise attack and mobility. Field squads (Plugot Sadeh) were organized by Yitzhak Sadeh. The primary mission of these groups was to guard the Iraq to Haifa oil pipeline (TAP), but these squads also learned to bring the offensive to the enemy rather than remaining behind the protective fencing of settlements under attack. The Haganah was officially illegal, and yet at the same time the British cooperated with it during the Arab riots and later during World War II. Beginning in 1939, the Haganah helped to greet and guard illegal immigrant ships organized by the Mossad Le'Aliyah Bet. After the British had squelched the Arab revolt with massive use of force, they clamped down on the Haganah. Haganah members went into hiding, and some were arrested. In 1941 however, the British amnestied a group of 41 Haganah members who were held in Acco prison, including Moshe Dayan. They joined the British war effort. The Haganah also cooperated in special operations sending Zionist Parachutists Hannah Senesh Enzo Sereni, Haviva Reik (Chaviva Reich) and over thirty others into Nazi-occupied Europe in daring commando rescue and liaison operations.
The Birth of the Palmach
In 1941, under British tutelage, a special mobile strike force, the Palmach, (Plugoth Machatz) was created by Yitzhak Sadeh, to meet an anticipated Nazi takeover of Vichy Syria. Beginning in 1944, the Haganah cooperated briefly with the British in the "Sezon" (season) arresting members of the rival Irgun and Lehi groups.
The Revolt against the British
At the conclusion of World War II, it became apparent that Britain would not change its policies in Palestine and would not allow Jewish immigration. The Haganah then joined forces with the Irgun and Lehi in attacking the British in various commando raids and sabotage attacks.
Preparing for war
David Ben-Gurion foresaw that a large scale clash with the Arabs of Palestine was inevitable. The Zionist Executive raised relatively large sums of money abroad, enabling the Haganah to purchase more light arms and a number of Piper Cub and Auster airplanes, ostensibly for civilian agricultural purposes. About 26,000 Palestinian Jews had served with the British forces in World War II, though most had not seen combat experience. These formed the nucleus of the army that was coming into being. They were joined by illegal immigrants who had served in the Red Army, some who had served in the French Foreign Legion, and eventually by volunteers from the United States and Canada (including notably, about 300 air-force veterans who would serve in the nascent IDF) as well as some British soldiers. Training activities and purchase of arms were stepped up after the partition decision of the UN General Assembly, (Resolution 181) on November 29, 1947. About $130 million were raised abroad and used to purchase arms in Europe, through a clandestine arms purchasing network.
The chief strengths of the Haganah and Palmach formed a tradition that came to characterize the IDF as well. This was a people's militia, a guerilla force that made up for lack of weapons with ingenuity and daring. Underground status forced informality. Many of the men knew each from childhood and were neighbors in civilian life. Ranks were generally informal and a tradition of camaraderie and mutual loyalty developed. Wounded and dead would not be left behind. Soldiers and officers in an army lacking virtually everything developed a high degree of initiative and ability to improvise. The Haganah made good use of mobility and of the commando and night tactics that were taught by Wingate. The Haganah also developed a superb military intelligence system. They had tapped into the telephone lines in Jerusalem and were able to listen in on both British and Arab conversations. They developed excellent covert operations capabilities that allowed them to steal weapons from the British and to infiltrate immigrants and arms under the noses of the British army. Some illegal immigrants were drowned or otherwise killed in the rusting, overcrowded old boats that brought them out of Europe, but far more were saved from certain death in Nazi-occupied Europe.
The chief weaknesses of the Haganah were also inherited by the IDF in many respects. Logistics and battle planning were often lacking. Attacks started late because equipment was missing or units did not assemble in time. Too much "initiative" by local commanders sometimes resulted in chaos, and the chaos sometimes resulted in disaster. Despite the high moral values of the Labor Zionist movement that fathered it, the Haganah developed a tradition of punitive reprisals, often on civilians, that was evident at least as early as the Arab riots of 1929.
The war of Independence
Arab violence broke out almost as soon as the partition plan was announced. In Jerusalem, the Mufti, Haj Amin El Husseini, organized the al futuwah, known to Jews as the "Mufti's Gangs" and led by the Mufti's cousin, Abdel Khadr El Husseini, who proved to be a worthy opponent. In the north, the British had allowed Fawzi Al Kaukji and his Arab Salvation Army, organized by the Arab League, to enter Palestine. These groups, while relatively small, were better armed than the Haganah initially and were backed by tens of thousands of Palestinian villagers. The villagers formed a civilian levee or "faza," that would gather in attacks against Jewish convoys, as well as in assaults on neighborhoods. The Haganah and Palmach were charged with defending the Yishuv against these attacks. Kaukji's army attacked across the Jezreel valley, and was ultimately stopped by the Haganah and kibbutz defenders at Mishmar Haemek, in mid-April, 1948. In the Jerusalem area, the Haganah had to battle the blockade imposed by the Mufti's gangs as well as attacks on Jerusalem and especially the Jewish quarter, and attacks on Gush Etzion that were backed by the Transjordan Arab Legion. A major activity of the Haganah was convoying supplies to Jerusalem in makeshift armored vehicles. Many young men died in those vehicles, which were left by the side of the Jerusalem road as a monument to their bravery. Danny Mas, murdered in a convoy that brought aid to Gush Etzion on foot, became a hero and a symbol of the War of Independence. . Yitzhak Rabin, Ariel Sharon and other future leaders of Israel distinguished themselves in the fight to save Jerusalem from starvation. Bravery and ingenuity, however, were often marred by poor planning, lack of weapons, and poor coordination. The Haganah briefly held Latrun, which was to become a critical position in the battle for the roads to Jerusalem, but gave it up because nobody understood the immense strategic value of this commanding hilltop position, overlooking the road to Jerusalem.
By May 15, 1948, the Haganah had between 25,000 and 35,000 men and women under arms, including 5-6,000 in the elite Palmach. It should be understood however, that these troops included all the support and logistics personnel as well as front-line soldiers. They also included women who served in support positions and middle aged men who were only nominally soldiers given a gun and a uniform, such as the relief troops sent to try to hold the Jewish quarter of the old city in May of 1948. In some cases, the "soldiers" included displaced persons just off the boat who could not speak Hebrew and had never fired a gun.
The Haganah becomes the IDF
When Israel became a state, David Ben-Gurion made a crucial and controversial decision. The new state could have no armed militias or partisan groups. This rule would have to apply not only to the rival Irgun and Lehi of the revisionists, but to the Haganah and Palmach as well. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Tzva Hagannah Leyisrael, were formed on May 26, 1948, and the Haganah became the IDF.
Ami Isseroff |
