From: davidba@carmel.technion.ac.il (David Ben_Ami)
Subject: Re: Mr. Arens, what would you have done?
Organization: Technion, Israel Inst. of Technology
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 09:16:16 GMT

In article <1992Jul29.211757.11201@dscomsf.desy.de> hallam@zeus02.desy.de writes:
>In article <22061@venera.isi.edu>, arens@ISI.EDU (Yigal Arens) writes:
>|>In article <1992Jul28.192217.21828@elroy.jpl.nasa.gov>
>|>ejk@coral.JPL.NASA.gov (Elya Kapelyan) writes:
>|>>
>|>>  While reading Mr. Arens's responses on Lehi's contacts with the
>|>Nazi's,
>|>> a question kept popping into my head, and since I wanted a public
>|>response,
>|>> I decided to ask the question here.  So here it is:
>|>>
>|>>  What would you have done if you were in place of Avraham Stern?
>|>(I
>|>> believe that he was still alive during these attempted contacts.)
>|>
>|>It sounds from your question like you believe that the approach taken
>|>by
>|>LEHI was somehow the only reasonable one possible under the
>|>circumstances.  Do you?
>|>
>|>What confuses me is that you appear to be ignoring the fact that by
>|>far
>|>the great majority of Jews in Palestine, under the leadership
>|>Ben-Gurion, managed to get through WWII without seeking an alliance
>|>with
>|>the Nazis and/or offering to fight on the Axis side.  As bizarre as
>|>it
>|>may seem, many Jews from Palestine actually joined the British
>|>army(!).
>|>
>|>So why ask *me* what I would have done?  Are you not happy with what
>|>the
>|>mainstream Zionist movement chose to do?
>
>I have spoken to a number of people in the civil service who seem to
>think that were it not for LEHI murdering the British High commisioner
>and carrying out various acts of terrorism that the British would have
>been much more in favour of the creation of Israel.

Well, I think that the killing of Lord Moine (if that's what you refer
to) only made the British more shaky about staying here. The rebelion
of the Splitters Organization did have an effect on the British decision 
to leave Palestine in such a rush. (although the Hagana tried to underesimate
this factor for political reasons).

>Providing retrospective explanations of Shamirs actions in terms of
>assisting European Jewry just will not wash. The mindset of the
>terrorist is to justify anything that will assist in achieving their
>aim. Shamir wanted an exclusivist Jewish state in Palestine. I think you
>underestimate the absolute single and literal mindedness of such
>fanatics. 

I think that LEHI didn't submit to killing Civilian population and 
almost in all cases acted against British military/political targets
and occasionally participated in actions against Arab "gangs" as they 
were called then. LEHI didn't participate in the notorious "Sezon"
feud between the Ezel and the Hagana. Lehi has agreed to stop its
actions against the British and to submit to the Yishuv's authority
in the years 1942-1946. in 1946 all the 3 major undergrounds united 
in "Hebrew Reblion Front" that ended abruptly in the King David
Bombout.

The affair with the Nazis, was a mad mistakethat had been taken out 
of historical context by the political adversaries of the Revisionists
and adopted by Arabs and Antisemites gladly as Begin and Shamir came to
power.

>can be no doubt that they would consider anybody and especialy any Jew
>who was not actively working to fulfil their ends as an enemy.

To the best of my knowledge Lehi wasn;t involved in any "civil war"
between the Jewish undergrounds ("Brothers' war"), nor did it kill
any Jewish opponent. There was one case when one of the leaders of the
Lehi began to "make too much waves" (he was more extreme than the
leadership), he was asked to quit it foe he was dangering the existence
of the movememt. He was executed on the beach of Rishon-LeZion after 
"court martial". many allege this incident to Shamir. But that was a 
military decision in the battlefield taken with a very heavy heart.

>Phill Hallam-Baker
>

David.
-- 
=============================================================================
  David Ben-Ami (irc: bigdav)      |   "I can resist anything but Temptation"
  s2780369@Techst02.Technion.Ac.Il |       Oscar Wilde
  davidba@Carmel.Technion.Ac.Il  davidba@Moav.Techniona.Ac.Il
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