Lehi was a fringe group back then. The main Jewish militia Haganah actively fought them and opposed their methods.
Comment on Israeli TV producer calls for 'Gaza holocaust, gas chambers'
chaogomu@lemmy.world 1 week agoThe Lehi terrorist organization was formed shortly before WW2 with the goal of killing the British (who were in control of Mandatory Palestine), Palestinians, and any Jew who advocated for peace.
Under the leadership of their founder, they repeatedly tried to join WW2 on the side of the Nazis.
They also adopted Nazi race science whole cloth, except that “God’s chosen people” had to be on top, with Arabs (Palestinians) being relegated to the bottom.
Their founder was killed by the British in 1942.
Under their second leader, Lehi were directly involved in several brutal massacres of Palestine people.
In 1980, the Second leader of Lehi became the Israeli Prime Minister, and directly mentored a young Benjamin Netanyahu.
Samskara@sh.itjust.works 6 days ago
chaogomu@lemmy.world 5 days ago
“Fringe” groups don’t have their leaders become Prime Minister.
Also, I can find no records of the Haganah fighting the Lehi, even though it was Lehi who assassinated Lord Moyne. The Haganah did attack the Irgun, but the Saison only lasted 4 months and was broadly unpopular with Haganah members. That was also the beginning of the end of the Haganah working with the British. (there was some more cooperation, but there were also Haganah backed terrorist attacks against the British as well, it was a messy time.)
Post 1945, all three militant organizations joined hands to murder Palestinians, and sometimes the British while they still had a presence in Mandatory Palestine. Although there was still some bad blood between the Haganah and Irgun.
That didn’t stop the Haganah from actively helping Irgun and Lehi carry out the Deir Yassin massacre.
Fun fact, the Irgun folded directly into the IDF, and formed Herut, which was the main conservative political party before merging with the remnants of Lehi to form Likud, the current conservative political party led by Netanyahu, sure, it took eight elections for them to gain power, but they did in fact gain power.
Samskara@sh.itjust.works 5 days ago
Menachem Begin was leader of the Irgun, not the Lehi. Although these groups were both extremists. He became prime minister two decades later. Yes, he was a right winger and considered armed conflict to be inevitable. He also became prime minister by catering to the underserved and discriminated Mizrahi population, that had to flee from persecution in Arab countries to Israel.
Another former terrorist becoming President is right next door with Yasser Arafat.
Jews were also massacred and expelled at the time like in 1929 in Hebron and during the 1947/48 war.
That said of course Deir Yassin was a big crime.
chaogomu@lemmy.world 5 days ago
Yitzhak Shamir was the second leader of Lehi after Stern was killed, he too was prime minister.
Not a good look when you have multiple terrorist leaders become prime minister.
As to the 1929 massacre, it was bad, but you can sort of understand the urge to fight against colonizers. Which the Jewish population was already starting to become thanks to the Balfour Declaration and the British betrayal of the Arab fighters who served under T.E. Lawrence.
As to the 1947/1948 war… Some Palestinians fought back, but they were out gunned thanks to Poland of all places. Hundreds of Palestinian villages were depopulated, either through outright massacres or threats of massacres, and none of those people were ever allowed to go home. Their land seized by foreign occupiers, who gave it to their friends.
Which has been the story ever since. Zionists, often foreign born, come in, steal some land, kill some people, and face no consequences because they have the backing of foreign military hardware.
3abas@lemm.ee 5 days ago
The Haganah’s opposition to Lehi wasn’t moral, it was strategic; both were Zionist terrorist militias committed to the same settler-colonial project, and while Lehi was more openly extremist, the Haganah orchestrated and executed the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in 1948 under a more ‘respectable’ facade. Don’t whitewash terrorists.
Samskara@sh.itjust.works 5 days ago
What do you think of Jews being ethnically cleansed from the West Bank and Jerusalem?
SkyezOpen@lemmy.world 5 days ago
What is their purpose in living in the west bank? Genuine question, don’t deflect.
nayksmono@lemmy.cafe 5 days ago
Are you calling evacuating colonies “ethnical cleansing?”. The colonies are illegal under international laws. They have no right to be there
Cocopanda@futurology.today 6 days ago
This is why I don’t cry for dead Israelis. Y’all deserve this shit at this point.
chaogomu@lemmy.world 6 days ago
If you want more reasons to be angry, look up the Lehi service ribbon.
I often focus on Lehi, but the other two militant organizations were just as bad, and all three were rolled into the IDF when it formed.
Cocopanda@futurology.today 6 days ago
I wonder if Lehigh is a word for Jewish community.