Israel celebrates Irgun hotel bombers

The Telegraph ^ | 07/22/2006 | Harry de Quetteville

[Peter Libra]

For many years I held it against Israel. Worse, certain members of London's Jewish community. One said at the time-"I could give those boys (terrorists) the Victoria Cross". Still, it may help to give the actual figures of the dead. I am going to go right off with my memory.

Palestinians, 41 dead.

British, 28 dead

Jews, 17 dead

A group of four people of Egyptian,Turkish and maybe an Armenian dead.

I do not hold any hate here. Merely that what the Jewish people are suffering, is horrendous. What many do not know is that the terrorists tried to take over, when the British left in 1948. The official Jewish government, intercepted them running arms supplies, some of them went to jail. Officially, the main body of Jews, distanced themselves from the bombing.

[jabotinsky]

not only were the Irgun and Haganah NOT sister groups...the Haganah went out of its way to betray the Irgun to the Brits.

In a most despicable but classic leftist move, the Haganah literally handed over Irgunists to the Brits ...during the "saison" following the David Hotel attack.

many of the Irgunists betrayed by their fellow 'jews' were hung by the brits.

The Haganah would go on to murder 17 more Jews when it opened fire on Begin's ship the Altalena off the Tel Aviv coast..which was loaded with badly needed ammunition. (read all about it in Begin's autobio. "The Revolt"

Perfidy thy name is socialism.

[Praxeus]

I did not realize it was that acrimonious between the H and the I.

I guess for PR it was smoothed over.

In any case, I have always admired Menachem Begin. God rest his soul.

[managusta]

As I said this opens old wounds :-

Britains-Smallwars.com in its episodes about Palestine reports

"One incident that stands out most is the hangings of Sergeants Martin and Paice.

On the 16th of June 1947, a sentence of death had been passed by the British courts on three Jews who had participated in the attack on Acre prison in which many Jewish prisoners had regained their freedom.

Almost a month later in the early hours of the 12th of July, two British field security NCOs Sergeants Paice and Martin were on duty in Nathanya in the company of the Jewish Clerk. They were held up by five armed Jews and driven off to a secret hiding place. For the next two weeks and British security forces diligently searched for the kidnapped sergeants but no trace of them was ever found.

On the July 29th British authorities, unable to bow to the blackmail of the Irgun, even though British lives were at stake had no alternative but to allow the sentence of death on the three Jews to take it's course.

Two days later, on the 31st to July, the bodies of the two British NCOs were found hanging from a eucalyptus tree one and a half miles from where they had been kidnapped. They had been dead for about two days.

The area around the bodies was mined. The bodies had also been booby trapped. As the bodies were being cut down a hidden device on one body exploded. In this explosion a British officer was severely wounded. A few days later the Irgun posted notices in Hebrew on the walls around Haifa which read :

"Announcement

The two British spies, Martin and Paice, who were under arrest by the underground since the July 12th have been put on trial, following the inquiry into their criminal anti Hebrew activities in. Martin and pace had been accused of the following crimes

1. Illegal entry into our home land :

2. Membership of the British criminal terrorist organize Asian known as the British army of occupation in Palestine, which is responsible:

for depriving our people of the right to live;
for cruel, oppressive acts;
for tortures;
for the murder of men, women and children;
for the murder of prisoners of war;
and deportation of Hebrew citizens from their country Homeland.

3. Illegal possession of arms intended for the enforcement of oppression and despotism :

4. Anti Jewish spying, disguised in civilian clothes :

5. Conspiracy against the Hebrew underground, it soldiers, bases and arms, the arms of freedom :

The court has found two to be guilty of all charges and sentenced them to die by hanging by their necks until their souls would leave them.

The request of the condemned man for clemency has been rejected.

The sentence has been carried out.

The hanging of the two British spies is not a retaliatory act for the murder of Hebrew prisoners-of-war, but it is an ordinary legal action of the court of the Underground which has sentenced will sentence the criminals who belong to the criminal Nazi British army of occupation.

We shall revenge the blood of the prisoners war who have been murdered by actions of war against the enemy.

The Court of Irgun Zvai Leumi
In Eretz Israel."

If one can not condemn this deed ( in fact as you state "certain members of London's Jewish community could give the perpertrators a Victoria Cross") then how can one condemn Hizbullah for taking two Israeli soldiers?

The plaque should be burned....

[monkeyshine]

Very bad timing.

But at least they gave a warning. The reason they blew up the hotel was not because they wanted to kill the soldiers or the civilians or even the hotel. They blew up the hotel because days before the British has raided the Jewish Agency and confiscated all their documents. The documents contained a lot of information about who was doing what kind of covert action, where they were getting their supplies etc. This information put them and others at risk of execution and interception. So the Irgun wanted to destroy the documents before they could be thoroughly inspected.

[monkeyshine]

Maybe. This incident in particular though has very clear military motives. See the post above. They weren't out to destroy anything or anyone just for the sake of it. They wanted to destroy the documents.

[gogogodzilla]

Wow, an attack on a military HQ... complete with advanced warning is a terrorist attack to Britons.

Well, that let's me know what the British think terrorism is. Perhaps if the attack was aimed at an apartment building or else staged without warning, the British would have found it a legitimate attack?

[managusta]

"On the morning of the 22nd of July 1946 a party of between 15 and 20 Jews, dressed as an Arabs entered the King David Hotel.

The hotel housed the Secretariat of the Government of Palestine and Headquarters of the British Forces in Palestine and Transjordan. The terrorists were able to enter the building without arousing too much attention because part of the building was still being used as a hotel and other people frequented it.

The Jews pretended to be an Arab working party. Having unloading from their lorry several milk churns filled with 225 kilogram's of explosive, they placed them in the basement of the wing of the hotel occupied by the Secretariat.

A British officer standing nearby, one Major Mackintosh, became suspicious of this group of Arabs and began to ask questions, but was suddenly gunned down by a member of the Jewish gang and subsequently died.

A policeman stationed at the tradesman's entrance suffered a similar fate when he challenged the Jewish terrorists. Both victims were unarmed.

A gun battle soon began between the terrorist and guards during which time the Jews ignited the fuse and bolted from the building as the alarm was given.

As they ran several were shot and wounded by guards, but most managed to make good their escape. There was no time to evacuate the building and the charge exploded with devastating effect.

Many were killed instantly as the whole wing of the building collapsed about them, others were trapped and many more injured."

There are no excuses,no misdirections (we were only after the paper) no justification (we gave them a warning).Perhaps Timothy Mcvay had the same justifications.

In Eitan Livni's obituary it was written "WE SHOULD always be charitable to the dead, but Eitan Livni was not a leader of a militant Jewish independence movement. The Irgun Zwai Leumi was a terrorist oganization, and a particularly nasty one.

"Even its defenders, who argued that the end could justify the means at decisive moments in history, were horrified by the massacre at Deir Yassin and the hanging of the British sergeants."

Burn the plaque....stop the charade that elevated these criminals to national martyrs.

[litehaus]

'They ' warned' them then, 'they' have warned a different them---now....

---

That's one heluva lot better than the Palis, or Nasrallahs murdering sobs can claim.

[toddlintown]

"relatively low casuality attack"

91 people were killed. That's relative low to what?

[Peter Libra]

Thanks for your careful research. Happily there are some persons who call a spade a spade. No cause deserves a blanket accolade.

I smile ironically at the story of a British Sgt Major. He was called Sgt Major Coward. He was imprisoned as a POW in Germany. He apparently exchanged identities with a Jewish person, whether soldier, I cannot recall. The man had faced imminent death. Coward was shipped off to a concentration camp. He survived and received a commendation from "World Jewry". I will have to go back to Sgt Major Coward's story.

I remember the pitiful photographs in the British Sunday newspapers. British soldiers opening up the concentration camps. Of course, so did the Americans.

I sadly note the statement "the Nazi British Army". Small thanks- still, it is good to know and indeed to remember, many Jews did not support that kind of terror.

[Praxeus]

Bull.

The Irgun was fighting for the survival of a people that had been nearly exterminated, and were being sold down the river by the British.

That you would equate in ANY way the Irgun with the disgusting arab terrorist animals shows your total lack of judgement, or perhaps you just don't like Jews.

The arabs are killing for pure hatred. They are evil.

The Irgun and such were doing what they had to do to preserve the existence of the Jewish people.. we're talking survivors of the Warsaw ghetto uprising and such.

And..

It is THEIR country. They decide who their heroes are and what their views are. Not you or any other foreign entity.

They decide when to celebrate what they want to celebrate, and how they want to celebrate it.

Now.. why don't you run along and research all the atrocities the arab animals were perpetrating on Jews in the Mandate with British inaction and tacit approval. Let's hear all that, wonderboy.

Let's see the whole picture and then judge why groups like the Irgun and Stern Gang took desperate measures for the very survival of the Jewish people.

I can't believe more people aren't calling you on this canard. The British got what they deserved in the Mandate situation. They treated the Jews like crap and favored the arab animals at the point of bayonet.

Menachem Begin was a hero. The Irgun's cause was just and it worked!

---

Why the HECK are you Jews sitting back on this? Do I have to go dig up all the facts on the Irgun vs the British in the 'Mandate'?

[Praxeus]

Call a spade a spade?

The man is an misinformed idiot.. or anti-semite.

They were fighting for their survival? What trumps that?

People like you and your friends is why the Israelis must NEVER leave their survival up to foreign entities.

You and they WILL sell the Jews out.. like you have EVERY time in the past.

America is the exception. And people like myself intend to do what it takes for it to stay that way.

[Praxeus]

By the by...

Got any pictures of Dresden in your portfolio?

[Praxeus]

"Very bad timing"

Mealymouth reply.

Israel must not cede ANY ground in this paradigm. What you suggest is politically correct garbage.. that the Israelis should tip-toe round the sensibilities of idiots and enemies.

Like we should have not celebrated the 4th of July in 1970.

[Peter Libra]

I understand your anger.

Yes, what has happened to the Israeli proves that they have hitherto have guarded responses. I know the day the Israeli pulled out of Gaza, rockets were hurled into Israel. The fools who did that, could have settled down and made Gaza into a showpiece. They could have shown the world what can be done.

As to Israel, other nations would have snapped long ago. Continued threat might drive one to suicide or absolute revenge. I recognise what continued threat does to any nation, or any person come to that. It is the last straw here.

I must make one riposte however. If one celebrates Irgun, should not others celebrate Hezbollah?. Is there any difference?

[Praxeus]

The difference?

One people just wanted to live. The other wants to kill.

Any response is justified in answer to those that are trying to kill you.. and any that might be facilitating them to do it.

The Irgun made the decision that to try and play the "play nice" game and leave their fate in the hands of others would mean their people's destruction. They had just witnessed that in Europe.

Nobody is trying to destroy the Iranians or the Syrians or the "Palestinians". Quite the opposite.. THEY are wanting to be destroyers.

Hezbollah does not have their back to the wall. They can just put down their weapons and go home.

The Jews did not have a home to go to. They DID have their back to the wall. They had to fight to the death to stay in the one place on earth where they would not be outsiders and hated.. The land of Israel.

The Arabs were not going to abide by any decisions the UN made concerning Partition. The Brits knew it and facilitated the Arabs strengthening their hand at every turn, while denying the Jews to arm and defend themselves.

Had the Irgun and such had the divisions to face off the British in a manner that was "honorable", they would have done so. As it was, honor means nothing if your people are all dead.

So they made the choice they HAD to make. Israelis realize this and appreciate the sacrifices made by these men (and women).

[monkeyshine]

Your analogy is incorrect. We celebrate the 4th of July every year. This was a ceremony to unveil a new plaque commemorating an event that many in Britain find offensive, at a time when Israel needs Britain to support it diplomatically and politically.

It has nothing to do with political correctness, just political astuteness. People and governments defer these sorts of things all the time for political purposes. In fact, Israel itself deferred its own creation - it's own declaration of independence - until it knew it would receive political and diplomatic support from the United Nations.

[Praxeus]

The scheduling of the celebration means nothing. Rather we were celebrating a revolution that used some of the same tactics our enemy the VC were using on us. There is the analogy.

Political astuteness is high tone for political correctness.

Sorry. Israel does not need Britain and never did. You know, the Britain that voted to condemn Israel?

The difference between Israel's independence and now, is then they HAD to eat feathers. Now they DONT.

To back off commemorating heroes that risked all for the sake of sensitivities is too much. Israel is sovereign and everybody better get used to it. They are through showing up with their hat in their hands.

I think you are a Jew, so I'll say this..

Your people have their back against the wall, and there are times it is better to just shut up than offer criticisms. There are plenty enough of your enemies here to do that.