Trudy Gold
The Split: Confronting the British Empire 1944-1947

Trudy Gold | The Split: Confronting the British Empire 1944-1947

- Good evening from an incredibly sticky, stuffy London. And I must tell you, I’ve just had the chart sent through, which gives us an idea of where students live. And it seems that America has now overtaken Britain as the largest number of students, and then England, Britain, I should say. Then I think it’s Canada, South Africa, Israel. So, interesting. Now, the reason I’ve laboured the point about these years, talking about Zionism and the British, is because I call this the, if you like, the area that’s not really talked about. To understand modern Israel, these are what I call the missing years. Certainly in terms of general understanding. As someone who’s been involved in Holocaust education for over 40 years, there is a real conundrum. Never has the Holocaust been taught so widely. Never have there been so many films on it and so many documentaries, and never has anti-Semitism been so high in my cognizant lifetime. And it’s quite obvious actually. The Holocaust is taught in schools and universities, period ‘33 to '45. The Jews don’t really appear on a syllabus anywhere except, and Israel, it starts in 1948. What is not taught is between '44 and '48, '45 and '48 and the connection between the Shoah and the State of Israel. Now, this is not an easy presentation to give, and you’ll be delighted to know, I hope, that because of the darkness around us, August is going to be fun.

I’ve asked all our best lecturers to give topics that really they enjoy, either to look at their heroes. I’m actually going to look at the icons of Hollywood, for example. I want us to have fun because it is so dark out there. We need the knowledge, but at the same time, we need fun because how else can we continue otherwise? And I think the point is, in 1945, many Jews felt that they had been totally betrayed as the enormity of the Shoah finally hit. And it’s all very well for me to tell you when the knowledge came through, et cetera, et cetera. But I think for many people it was the seeing of the films that really sealed it. And of course, the Zionists had been begging, begging, begging either for the Allies to bomb the camps or to do something. And in the main, there were certainly some Zionists who believed, and this is very, very hard to say, that were the majority of the Allies bystanders, or was there a certain amount of collusion? And I think this does affect the modern situation because I think there is, in Israel, if Israel is the heir to the Holocaust, which Israel sees itself as, I think there is this terrible feeling of betrayal. And of course, it’s when the British continue to have a very strict policy of immigration into Palestine that all hell breaks loose. Don’t forget that even when the Labour Party were in opposition back in 1939. Can we see the first slide, please? I wanted to show you the Jewish Brigade, that many Jews did fight for the British in the First World War, not only as soldiers within the countries in which they lived, but also of course, they fought, and you find many of Haganah Palmach and even Irgun were fighting for the British. David Raziel was killed fighting for the British. I’ve talked about that. The Jewish Brigade was not founded until July, 1944.

And of course then it was stationed in Italy, and it becomes very important in the Brihah movement. But the belief was when the New Labour government came to power, they would rescind the White Paper. Let’s have a look at the White Paper. You all know the White Paper of 1939 when basically the British said from now on 15,000 a year for five years, and then whoever has the majority has the state. It’s slamming the doors of Palestine when the Jewish world was completely vulnerable. And Bevin refuses to alter the White Paper, we spent quite a lot of time on him. Remember what he said? “If the Jews with all their suffering want to get too much to the head of the queue, you have the danger of another anti-Semitic reaction through it all.” And June '46, at a Labour Party conference, the Americans favour the admission of 100,000 Jews to Palestine because they don’t want them in New York. So, and he goes on to say, “We have reached the conclusion that the hostility between Jews and Arabs, in particular, the determination of each to achieve domination, if necessary by violence, makes it almost certain that now and for some time to come, any attempt to establish either an independent Palestine state or independent Palestinian states would result in civil strife, such as might threaten the peace of the world. We therefore recommend that until this hostility disappears, the government of Palestine to be continued under the mandate.”

So basically the British are intractable. Can we see the next slide, please? Now, the extraordinary character of Begin. There were giants that dominated Jewish life at this period, whether you agree with them or not, and Begin is perhaps one of the most controversial of all. But of course, you had Ben-Gurion, you had Begin, you had Weizmann. Jabotinsky had died in 1940. So you have these characters. And I want to get one thing over to you, whether you agree with them or not, in their own way, they wanted to solve the problem of the Jewish world. But like today, as ever, we are completely divided. Now, Begin the intellectual, had been involved, he’d been involved in Betar, he later becomes part of the Irgun. He is imprisoned by the Russians. He escapes, he joins General Anders’ army, the Polish army, and he is in Palestine. He is demobbed, and he becomes the leader of the Irgun. He had a huge admiration for Jabotinsky. And on February 1st, 1944, he comes to Palestine, he’s in Palestine, he’s taken on the Irgun, the Haganah is by far the largest group. And in 1941, out of the Haganah had come the Palmach. Can we see what Begin actually said? “There is no longer an armistice between the Jewish people and the British administration in the land of Israel, which hands our brethren over to Hitler.” And he takes the view that the British are as bad as the Nazis because their actions result in the death of Jews. It’s such a complicated story this, and don’t forget later on, the man who is wanted in Palestine, he’s seen as one of the most dangerous figures in Palestine under the British administration, he later on is going to be Prime minister of Israel. Now, if you remember in 1939, after the White Paper, the Irgun declared war on the British. When war was declared against Hitler, the Irgun rejoined the fight against the Nazis.

A group called the Stern had broken away. Avraham Stern died in police custody in 1942. But they also were continuing the fight against the British. Can we see their symbol? This is of course the Lehi. And what happens is they begin the attack. I mean, for example, the Irgun bomb the immigration office in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa on February the 12th, ‘44. On the 14th, two British police are shot by Lehi after the British tried to arrest them. February the 27th, the Irgun bomb the tax offices in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa. This is week after week after week. In the end, there are going to have to be a 100,000 British soldiers and policemen stationed in Palestine. Now look at it from a British point of view. Once the war is over, they’d fought this terrible war, for a long time they stood alone, and now the Jews in Palestine are making life very, very difficult. So it goes on. Attacks against the police. How did the British react? They reacted with a curfew. Now it’s at this stage. Let’s see the next slide, please. The Irgun, I beg your pardon, the Lehi perform an act which really does shock the world.

They murder or assassinate or kill, whatever words you want to use. You know, Karl Popper said, the 20th century is only about the meaning of words. I’ve said this to you many times. What word do I use? Lord Moyne, who is in charge of the Middle East, he is the cousin of Churchill’s wife. He is a heroic Englishman, as far as the English are concerned, he is the perfect English gentleman. He was an adventurer. He was the chap who brought the Komodo dragon to England. His father’s stately home, his father had given his home Kenwood House to the nation. He was a great art collector. The money was based on the Guinness Brewery Factory. And this is the wealthy aristocrat who gave his home over to Polish airmen during the war. He is the hero. And he is shot by the Lehi and so is his driver. And this is when things become very, very difficult. You can imagine the reaction in England. The war’s not over yet. And that, of course, is when Churchill turns against Zionism. So, can we go on please? Next slide. And this is when something very controversial happens. There’d been an attempted attack attack on Harold McMichael who of course, he was in charge of the mandate. So there are more and more attacks, Now, Weizmann still wants to deal. He, remember, is the world statesman. And later on he’s going to be incredibly useful persuading Truman, we’ve already discussed this, for American backing against Zionism. And what is decided by the Jewish Agency, against the wishes of many of the Haganah and the Palmach.

The Palmach had been founded in 1941. It was really the intensive fighting force of the Haganah. Many of them didn’t want this, and today it’s still a controversial issue, because what happens is the Jewish Agency decide they have to stop the insurrection. And the Haganah, therefore, is told to open a training centre for 170 men to wage a war against the Irgun and the Lehi. The first thing the British do, they deport 251 suspected Irgun and Lehi supporters to internment camps in Africa. Many of them have written their autobiographies about it, actually. It makes fascinating reading. Why on Earth send them to Africa? And in fact these African internment camps, sending fighters there would continue till 1947. Now, the Jewish Agency protested against the Lehi and the Irgun people being sent, but nevertheless, they continue to plan The Saison. And it’s Lord Moyne that really, that is the final straw. And we know that the people who were involved in it, it led to over 1,000 Irgun and Lehi being handed over to the British. And unfortunately we also know that there were tortures. And ironically, we know now from British sources that some of the people who were claimed by the Jewish Agency to be terrorists, were in fact political opponents that they wanted to get rid of. So The Saison caused a real problem. Can we see the next slide please? It was run by a man called Shimon Avidan, a fascinating character. He was born and like so many of these pioneers, he was born Siegbert Koch in Germany. He moved with his family to Palestine in 1934. He was a communist. He was an idealistic communist. He’d been a member of the German Communist Party. Not only was he a Jew, he was a communist. He lived on a kibbutz, HaShahar and then Ein HaShofet. In 1936, you find him fighting with the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War.

He is part of those soldiers trained by Orde Wingate. Remember the night squads that Wingate had taken, people like Moshe Dayan, but Shimon Avidan was one of the characters that was trained by Wingate. And during World War II, he was incredibly useful to the British because he and some of his German-speaking colleagues, remember they had perfect German, they were incredibly brave. They were involved in all sorts of operations against the Axis powers, particularly in Germany and Austria, remember they’ve got the languages. And they were taking a huge risk. Not only were they going behind enemy lines, but they were Jewish. And he was the man who was chosen to command The Saison against the Irgun and the Lehi. I’m going to tell you a little more what happened to him, because some of these characters, their lives are so rich and it’s really worth reading biographies. He became the commander of the Givati Brigade in the 1948 war. And of course the symbol of the Givati Brigade is the fox. Think of Samson’s foxes. How often did they go back to the Hebrew Bible? He was the man behind Operation Nashon. Nashon, of course, was the first Jew to cross the Jordan, beg your pardon, to cross the Red Sea. And what was that about? In biblical times, that was the opening up of the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem road. He was also involved in Operation Barak, which was to capture villages north of Gaza in the '48 War, in anticipation of the arrival of the Egyptian army. He also was involved in Operation Yoav. It was Yoav Or, they called it Operation Template because it was an operation to conquer the Negev. He in the end, resigns from the army.

And according to Chaim Herzog, his left wing philosophy was too much at odds with David Ben-Gurion. He comes back in 1975 when Shimon Peres appoints him controller of the Ministry of Defence. There’s a wonderful description by Herzog. “He was slight, he was fair haired, one of the most determined men I have ever known. He was a natural leader. And it’s said of him, 'the man who was a brigade.’” He was evidently absolutely fearless. So he’s the man who has to really be in charge of this group who are going to try and halt the troubles with the Lehi and Irgun in Palestine. Now let’s try and be as even as possible about it because I’m sure there are people in Israel and throughout the Jewish world who take sides on these kind of issues. The war is over. The British, there’s a huge amount of sympathy for the Jewish world. Whether sympathy ever really achieves anything is another story. Chaim Weizmann still believes in diplomacy. Ben-Gurion and Golda in the Jewish Agency still want to soft peddle. Who was right, who was wrong? Now let’s have a look at some of the other characters who are going to be. So this is Yitzhak Sadeh, another great hero. He was born Izaak Landoberg. He was the grandson of a rabbi. He was born in Lublin. He was in the Russian army in World War I. He becomes a battalion commander. He is decorated for bravery by the Czarist army. Now he’d already met Joseph Trumpeldor, and in the melee of the terrible civil war, after the collapse of the Czarist Empire, he finally emigrates to Palestine. And in honour of the man he’d met and adored, Joseph Trumpeldor, he founded the Haganah Labour Battalion. And he also was the man who initiated the policy of defending the settlements against the Arab riots of 1929. Instead of just defending the settlements, he said, “Let’s go on the attack against the marauders.

Rather than wait behind the perimeter fence, go beyond the fence, go beyond the fence.” And he was one of the founders of the Palmach in 1941. And he became the commander and chief of the Lehi and chief of the Haganah general staff. He actually, later on when the all the groups are going to come together, he is going to coordinate the whole resistance against the British. Of course he was part of the War of Independence. And he retired at the end of the ‘48/'49 war. He had a profound influence on army strategy. He is considered to be one of the great heroes of Israel. And also he said that there were quite a few British who assisted them. And it wasn’t just Wingate in 1936 to '39. He talked about the Colonel Dorsett, who was already a great hero. Now what happened to him in his later years? He was also an intellectual. He wrote stories, he wrote plays, he wrote essays. He also promoted sports. Now, let’s go on. This is Eitan Livni. And he is going to be the chief operations man for the Irgun, under Begin. He was born in Grodno. Again, the Czarist empire, the anti-Semitism. The family moved to Palestine in 1925. He joins Betar. And in 1938 he joins the Irgun. He goes on a commander’s course and is in charge of operations for the Irgun. He’s going to be involved in an episode I’m going to talk about later called The Night of the Trains and the Night of the Bridges. And he is imprisoned by the British for 15 years. And he’s freed in the daring Acre Prison break. He went into Europe for the Irgun because the Irgun and the Lehi are going to take their policies out of Palestine in '45, '46, '47. And he returns for the War of Independence for a family matter. He married Sarah Rosenberg and they were the first couple to actually marry in the new Jewish state.

He combined politics with business. He was in the Knesset. And when he died, he requested that the Irgun emblem be on his grave. His daughter Tzipi Livni, of course, went into politics. And I know she’s actually a friend of Wendy’s. So the world goes on and on and on, doesn’t it? Now let’s have a look at the next one. This is Eliav Yaacov Yashka, 1917 to 1985. He was born in Lisichensk, born into a Zionist family. They settled in Tel Aviv in 1924. He was very much a character who believed in the fight, the fight, the fight. And he was accepted onto a commando course in Poland. Now, when we looked at the last years of independent Poland, I said that Irgun and Lehi were training their people in Poland because the anti-Semitic Polish government wanted to get Jews out of Poland. And they believed that if they trained the fighters to go to Palestine, then that’s a way they could get rid of their Jewish problem. Isn’t it an extraordinary world we live in? And he, in 1939, is put in charge of the Irgun activities in Jerusalem. And when the Irgun split, he went with Abraham Stern, he was injured, arrested by the British and sentenced to life. After Stern’s death, he believed that all Jewish underground should unite. He escaped from prison in 1943 and he commanded Lehi’s fighting operation in something I’m going to talk about in a minute, the United Hebrew Resistance. And in the end of February, he became the chief in Europe, February '46, relocating to Paris. And he is the man behind many of the terror attacks against the British. He was arrested at the Belgian border, sentenced to prison, and was returned to Israel during the War of Independence. He became a battalion commander of the Galvani Brigade. And he served in the IDF to 1953. 1955, he was sent to Europe on a state security mission. How many of these characters went into Mossad? It’s a fascinating story. Later on, he headed security at the Bank of Israel. He became a businessman. He took a master’s degree in chemistry and he graduated in political science at the Hebrew University. His book, if you have an opportunity, is called “Wanted.”

Now, as a response, can we see the next slide please? As a response to Bevin refusing to lift the quotas and actually turning Jews back to detention centres. And as also a response to, what happens is, as you all know, Truman having looked at the situation, having sent L.Grant Harrison to investigate the situation in the DP camps, the situation in Palestine. He said a 100,000 Jews into Palestine immediately. Bevin was not in a position to say no to America because America was basically bailing Britain out. In fact, I think Britain only paid back the Lend-Lease programme about four years ago. Now, what then happened is Bevin said, “I’m not going to implement anything unless all the Jews surrender their arms.” Meanwhile, an Anglo-American Commission of Inquiry has been established, and it’s at this stage that all the groups are going to come together. It was established in October, 1945 by the Jewish Agency. Negotiations began at the behest of Haganah leaders. Let’s have a look at them. Moshe Sneh and Yisrael Galili. And to coordinate the group, a civilian group, Jews have to have their committees, was established, representing the various political stratum of the Jewish Agency. By the way, Levi Eshkol was one of the politicos. The operation plans were made by Yitzhak Sadeh from the Palmach, Eitan Livni from the Irgun and Yaacov Eliav of the Lehi, who we’ve already talked about. Now, the United movement against the British. All operations are to be performed in the name of the resistance movement. The Irgun and the Lehi would maintain their independence, but give up the right to independent activity, excluding funding of arms and freeing prisoners. All operations will be jointly prepared. But some will be enacted by the Irgun, some by the Lehi. Remember the largest group is the Haganah with the Palmach. But independently they can fund themselves. What they want, they want to establish now, through revolution, a temporary Jewish government to push the British out of Palestine.

Now this is a war of liberation, and it begins on the 1st November, 1945 with the Night of the Trains. But before that, there is a very interesting raid on Atlit Detention Camp. Can we have a look at the next slide, please? There you see Yisrael Galili. Can we go on? Now, this was established by the British in the 1930s. I’m sure some of you who are not living in Israel would’ve been there. There’s a museum. It’s 20 k’s south of Haifa. The camp was surrounded by barbed wire and watchtowers. Who were put there? Mainly refugees from German-occupied Europe who had come in illegally. Men were sent to one side, women to another, they were sprayed with DDT. And then told to undress and to shower. It’s too, I mean if you think about it, it’s quite a frightening situation, isn’t it? And between 1939 and 1942, some Palestinian Germans, including Templars, who were declared enemy aliens were also detained at Atlit prior to deportation. Just as at British detention centres after war was declared, many German and Austrian Jews who were over 16 were also interned, as were Nazi sympathisers. So what an extraordinary situation. In November, 1940, the British decide to send 5,000 of these immigrants to detention camps on Mauritius. And this is when the Haganah, to try and stop it, placed a bomb on the Patria. These are people fleeing the Holocaust. Tragically, there was a serious miscalculation on the amount of dynamite they put on board. As a result, the ship sank. And of the 1800 refugees, 216 of them were drowned. The survivors were detained at Atlit, not sent to Mauritius. The camp was shut down in 1942. It’s reopened following World War II, for whom? Holocaust survivors who have been brought into Palestine illegally by Mossad LeAliyah Bet. And on October 10th, 1945, the Palmach released 208 detainees.

The raid itself was planned by someone you all know, Yitzhak Rabin. And following the event, the immigrants were deported to Cyprus. Okay. So this is the atmosphere. The assassination of Lord Moyne was a huge blow to the British Empire. And now all these operations are going to be performed. During the next 11 months, 11 major operations are going to be executed. Eight by the Haganah, three by the Irgun and the Lehi. Let’s have a look at the Night of the Trains. This is Jewish attacks on the trains. Huge number of people are arrested. Let’s see, the next one. The Night of the Bridges, every bridge that linked Palestine with surrounding countries is blown up. Then there are attacks, there are of course attacks on police stations. It goes on and on and on. And it was at this stage, in fact, I think I should give you a few more of these because it’s absolutely extraordinary. They attacked the railway networks. In December 5th '45 attack on the Jaffa CID headquarters, 10 people were killed, including five British personnel. Lehi-led missions coordinated a raid on the Royal Air Force. And this is what the JC said about it, “Jewish Chronicle” in London, “Attacks lasting several hours were carried out by the Jewish Resistance Movement last night against RAF Aerodromes at Kfar Sirkin and Lydda. 14 aircraft were reported to be destroyed and eight damaged beyond repair.” Now reporting the same incident 'cause it’s going to be headline news in British papers.

“The Manchester Guardian,” later “The Guardian” reported that 14 planes valued at three quarters of a million pounds were destroyed. Then there is a Haganah attack on the British Coast Guard because the Coast Guard was very important in the hunt for refugees. Similarly, the attack on the planes, because the planes were used to spot illegals. And then let’s have a look at the next slide, please. The British decide this has gone too far. So Operation Agatha, Black Sabbath, 17,000 British soldiers mount an operation to break the Palmach. There is a complete curfew. 2,700 Jews were arrested. Leaders of the Yeshiva, members of the Jewish Agency, mayors of various towns, arms are seized. And as a response, the resistance movement response included the bombing of the King David Hotel. Let’s have a look at the next. This is July the 22nd, 1944. And here we come to another terrible controversy. The Irgun were the people who led it. According to the Irgun, this is the British military headquarters in Palestine. According to the British, they never received the letter bomb, the warning. According to the Irgun, they sent a warning and it was also sent to a French newspaper. Actually, on balance, you have to make your own minds up. I’m pretty sure the Irgun did what they said they did, because when the British were interviewed, you know, I really advise you to look at some of the documentaries, not just read the books. Look at some of the documentaries. There’s an incredible documentary series on the birth of Israel, “Pillars of Fire,” which I believe you can still get, and it gives you all the interviews with people who were still alive at the time and it’s very important. But 91 people were killed because the British did not evacuate. The commanding officer said even if they’d known, they wouldn’t have had time to evacuate. The bombs were placed in milk churns. It was a very precise operation.

And Jews were killed, Arabs were killed, and a lot of British personnel. And as a response, General Sir Evelyn Barker, let’s have a look his face, who is in charge of the mandate. He said, “Boycott all Jewish establishments, restaurants, shops, and private dwellings. No British soldier is to have social intercourse with any Jew. I appreciate that these measures will inflict some hardship on the troops. Yet I’m certain that if my reasons are fully explained to them, they will understand their propriety and will be punishing the Jews in a way the race dislikes as much as any by striking at their pockets and showing our contempt from them.” Now, I don’t know what you think of that comment, I’m not going to say anything. He was later relieved of his post. He returned to London. He was sent a letter bomb by the Irgun, but it was detected. By this time, the tension in Palestine, as you can imagine, are unbelievable. Some 90 economic targets were hit by the Irgun and the Lehi. Trains damaged, lots of attacks on the oil industry. Shell Oil in March, 1947 was destroyed, the refinery was destroyed. 16,000 tonnes of petrol. Palestine is being called a police state. They are bringing more and more people in to deal with it. There are bombs in London, the Colonial Club, at the Colonial Office. The bomb malfunctioned at the Colonial Club. There were injuries but no fatalities. 21 letter bombs were sent to Attlee, Bevin. There was an Irgun explosions factory in London, thousands of arrests, the use of floggings in Palestine. In December '46, the Irgun captured British soldiers known as the Night of the Beatings. Now… After the attack on the King David, the Jewish Agency distances itself and breaks the Hebrew Resistance Movement. And to this day, it is a sore because the organisation that plans the King David Hotel bombing was actually the Hebrew Resistance Movement.

And it intensified because the British had refused, the Anglo-American Commission of Inquiry when they said a 100,000 Jews into Palestine immediately, the British won’t implement it. And that’s why it gets worse and worse and worse. Now, the impact on Anglo Jewry was extraordinary. You can just imagine what it was like for Jews in England. Things in Israel affecting the diaspora. Things in Palestine at this stage, seriously affecting the diaspora. This is what the AJA, the Anglo Jewish Association said, “They view with great concern the outbreak of violence in Palestine, misguided men blind to the tragic implications of the calamitous consequences of their conduct have embarked on a course of actions which have already resulted in loss of life and is calculated to lead to further bloodshed.” The shock from the Board of Deputies in the “Jewish Chronicle.” Earl Winterton, you might remember him. He had been one of the British reps at Evian who had apologised after the Evian Conference for the unwarranted interference in the affairs of a sovereign state when no one was prepared to open the doors of Palestine. And he demanded that “The Jewish Chronicle” took a more lenient state. As it said, “The Jewish resistance movement is not anti-British. We have devoted ourselves to a struggle against the hostile policy pursued against us by Great Britain. We have no animosity towards the British people or the British Commonwealth.” And at this stage, Winterton demanded and on account of the “Jewish Chronicle’s” sympathetic stance, the newspaper should be persecuted for seditious libel. And it’s at this stage that they, the “Jewish Chronicle,” they get rid of their editor who actually was an Igurn supporter and bring in John Shaftesbury. “A tragic rift has grown between the two peoples who in partnership have been steadily creating the Jewish national home. In spite of all that has happened, in spite of the formidable errors which have been committed by both parties, we still believe that the highest Jewish and British interests are intertwined. The Board of Deputies believes that the two facets of Anglo Jewry, their Jewishness and their Britishness can be combined.

There is nothing inconsistent about them.” You know, it’s fascinating, the more I was researching this presentation, so many of these issues are still with us. “There is nothing inconsistent about them. As loyal citizens of this country and as good Jews, they could proceed with a policy which will bring safety to the Jewish people and add to the security and strength of Great Britain and of the British Empire. Because they believe this they have no hesitation in declaring their complete solidarity with suffering Israel with the sovereign issue. And the conviction that Great Britain will appear once again as the power which understood, sympathised with, and wished to remove the sorrows and the suffering of the Jewish people.” And the fact that the British government was saying that the Yishuv was up to its neck made it very, very difficult. And that’s what really led to the big rift in Britain itself. And as I said, Greenberg was actually sacked because he was seen as too sympathetic. And remember this is all happening at the time of the Kielce Pogrom, the 4th July, 1946. There were demonstrations in Trafalgar Square against what the Jews were up to in Palestine. “Manchester Guardian,” “Thousands of Jews demonstrated against the actions of the British government in Palestine.” They said, “Tellingly, the march was the first carried out by London’s Jewish community since 1933, when a similar measure of protest was made against the Nazi persecution of the Jews.” But it’s the King David Hotel that really, really makes it difficult. The Jewish Agency distanced themselves from it. And Clement Attlee said “It’s an insane act of terrorism.”

“The Times” called it “insensate fanaticism.” This is the Irgun statement. They declared their commitment to war with Britain until freedom is achieved. The Board of Deputies, “Horrified by the latest crime committed by a group of terrorists in Jerusalem and expressed its strongest and unqualified condemnation of the dastardly act. The Board extends its sympathy to the victims and to their relatives.” Tabloids were very, very anti. There were many anti-Semitic letters to the press. The protocols of the Elders of Zion were circulating and one headline in a provincial newspaper in Liverpool, “Why I am now an anti-Semite.” So it’s led to the big split in the Hebrew resistance. The Haganah ceases the armed struggle against the British. They are being told to concentrate now on diplomacy and the running of the illegals. And it’s at this stage, as I’ve already mentioned, the Irgun and the Lehi take the fight abroad. And so it goes on. The Irgun attacked the British embassy in Rome and this is the statement they make. “Soldiers of the Irgun, pioneers of the war of liberation of the Jewish people who continue to fight against the British enslaver. The attack against the British embassy is a symbol of Jewish resistance.” I could spend the whole session with you on that. You could just imagine, it was number one item in the news. Can we go on please? And it’s Chaim Weizmann. Let’s see the next slide. It’s Chaim Weizmann who is begging for the calming down of the situation. He believes that it can be pulled off at the United Nations. The next slide please. Oh, I should mention something to you, by the way. The bombing of the King David Hotel was July 22nd, 1946. So think about it. We’re now, what are we? It’s the same week, 1946, and we are now in 2024. And still Israel is front page news. Now what then happens is on May 4th, there is a break of Acre jail. The breakout was actually scheduled for May 4th, 1947. Why?

Because it’s the day the UN is going to begin a debate on Palestine. Because the British, they’re running out of patience, they’re running out of options. And also at this stage, the pictures, this is where the Haganah were clever, because the pictures of Holocaust survivors being sent back to what seemed to be almost concentration camps, well concentration camps on Cyprus. There was a lot of pro-Jewish feeling, in France, in Italy, a lot of the boat captains were helping Jews. All sorts of people were helping gathering up the survivors to send them en route to Palestine. And it’s at this stage, that what had happened was there were many, many prisoners in Acre jail. Four Irgun had already been executed by the British. And what the Irgun want to do is to bring their people out. And we know, and they will free any Jew, any Arab inside the prison. And we also know that some Palmach operators did go with them into Acre jail. And the situation is ratcheting up, ratcheting up. And in July, 1947, as a response to British terror tactics, the British captured some Irgun people and they threatened to execute them. The Irgun then captured two British sergeants. The British went ahead with the hangings. And the next night, the two bodies of the British sergeants were found in the eucalyptus grove in Netanya. The three Haganah people, Avshalom Haviv, Meir Nakar and Yaakov Weiss, these were the ones who were captured during the raid on Acre jail. And they were the ones who were hanged. And then as a response, the British sergeants are hanged. So you can just imagine, its number one item in the news. And then the ship, the Exodus. The British, can we see?

The British are saying to the United Nations, you try and sort it out. Non-essential personnel like the families of soldiers, the families of diplomats are being sent back to Britain. And the issue is handed over to UNSCOP, the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine. 12 representative countries are now to send their delegates to Palestine to investigate what can be done about the situation in Palestine, the British, the Jews and the Arabs. Sorry, it was six countries. I beg your pardon. So-called neutral countries. And they were on the dock in Haifa. Can we see the next slide please? When the ship, the Exodus, perhaps the most famous of all the illegal ships with four and a half thousand Holocaust survivors set sail from Marseilles. It is captured off the coast by the British outside Palestine territorial waters. There is a gun battle. The ship is towed into Haifa Harbour. I’m sure you’ve all seen the film. There’s a brilliant documentary on it as well. And there are many, many accounts of it. And Bevin sends the tragic victims to back to Hamburg. And it was that picture of barbed wire, Jews behind barbed wire in Germany that it went all the way around the world. This was a time when they understood the use of propaganda. The UNSCOP delegates were at the dock in Haifa when it landed. And you had women running at soldiers with knitting needles. It was a tragic situation. And finally, the United Nations come up with a partition plan. And let’s have a look at the map. They decide on a plan to partition Palestine. Remember two thirds of it have already become Transjordan of the original mandate. They are going to partition Palestine into an Arab state and a Jewish state. The leading Arab at the time is still Hajj Amin al-Husayni, And of course we’ve had other presenters looking at the whole situation of what was happening with the Arab community. But this is the partition plan.

And finally it goes to a vote on November 29th, 1947, when by 33 in favour, 13 against and 11 abstentions, including the British, the partition plan is agreed by the United Nations for the future of Palestine. And the day after the partition plan, the land is invaded by a group of Arab irregulars, El Faizi. And it begins. And has it ever really ended? So, what we’ve done over the past couple of months, myself and many of my colleagues, and I’d really like to thank them because I know this has been a very, it’s been a very difficult group of lectures to give. And it’s been, I’m sure, a very difficult group of lectures to receive. And I can assure you and I have long, long conversations. We’ve tried as much as possible to be even-handed. Is there such a thing as objective history? I ask myself. So as I said to you, next month, Wendy’s request and mine, we’re going to have a much lighter month for August. But it’s going to be good content, but it’s going to be on a lighter vein in the main. But we will be getting some very important lectures on the up-to-date situation in Israel. So along with the lightness of the five o'clock sessions, you will be getting other important seven o'clock lectures. So let me just have a look at the questions.

Q&A and Comments:

Q: The question is, “When Begin was in the British mandate of Palestine, why didn’t he roll in the Jewish Brigade?”

A: Because he was already in the Irgun and that’s what he wanted. “Avraham Stern was executed by the British while in custody.” Yes, Michael, that seems to be the truth. Yes, I would agree with you. This is from Brian Thal. Oh, I love all these comments. “I’m originally from Bulawayo in Rhodesia. My uncles fought for the British in Egypt, Palestine, Burma and Somalia. My Uncle Basil Tai was unfortunately the first Rhodesian killed in World War II by an Italian sniper. He is buried in the Commonwealth War grave in Hargeisa in Somaliland.” Thank you for that, Brian. Thank you. You see, this is the story, isn’t it? Almost insurmountable issues. Hyman.

Q: “What was the difference in principle between the Irgun and the Lehi?”

A: Towards the end, very little, Hyman. What happened was in 1939, when war was declared, the Irgun decided to fight the British at the beginning. Stern, who was part of the Irgun, left and created his own group, later was known as the Lehi. He’s killed in '42. And the Lehi is waging war against the British all the time. The Irgun only rejoined the war against the British in 1944, February, with Begin. And of course don’t forget, one of the leaders of Lehi was Yitzhak Shamir. There’s an extraordinary story about Shamir. His father was murdered by a group of Polish fascists. And evidently his father screamed, “My son will avenge me.” And this story was told to Shamir by a friend of his.

Oh this is from Michael Block. “Meridor and Landau stayed at our home on two occasions. Both have been in Gilgil Camp in Kenya. They’d been handed over by the Haganah, evidently by the Palmach.” Yes, it was a terrible time, Michael. And it has to be said, if you read the memoirs, many of the Haganah Palmach people were very reluctant about this. You’re back to the same issue. How do you deal with an almost impossible situation?

Yehuda. “I spent my childhood in Israel and only heard about the Altalena subsequently when reading Koestler’s book, "Promise and Fulfilment” in South Africa.“ Yes, we’ve had a lecture already on the Altalena and you can get it online. A very good lecture by Harold Epstein. Michael, "The Jews got short shrift after World War I, in part because of the realpolitik of Churchill in the era, Americans having to deal with Stalin and Soviets in the aftermath of the war.” Yes, of course it’s realpolitik. Look, in the end, if you were sitting in the foreign office, try and throw aside your emotions, and you had to think about what are British interests, how are they best served? Don’t forget the British were up to their necks in the Middle East. They hadn’t really come to terms with the fact that the empire was over. And the Arabs had the oil. And there were many, many Arab countries that made it quite clear that they would not countenance the Jewish state. Plus the events '45 to '48 did really upset an awful lot of English. I must tell you though, that Churchill, although he was furious about Lord Moyne, in his autobiography, he did write some extraordinary things about the Jewish people.

Ali, “Two brothers, my maternal great uncles were interned in Acre Prison by the British soldiers during the War of Independence.” That couldn’t have been the War of Independence, the British got out, must have been before that, Ali. “I found the following book on King David to be balanced, 'By Blood and Fire’ by Thurston Clarke.” Yes, it’s a very good book. I have it.

Rose, “To my mind Evelyn Barker’s statement is disgraceful. As for the rest, imagine being made to shower and be cleansed like what they did in the gas chambers.” Yes, Rose. It is very, very, to put it mildly, unfortunate.

Q: “Who was beating whom with the floggings? Is it true that even Churchill felt the Jews should be flogged for their terrorism?”

A: I don’t know if he used the word flog. The British soldiers, when they captured Irgun or Lehi, yes, they were beating them. And also unfortunately during The Saison, it is true that some members of the Irgun and Lehi were beaten by the Haganah and Palmach. Look, it’s all going to descend into politics in the Knesset later on.

“It was wrong for the Jews to defend themselves during World War II, just it’s wrong to defend themselves. The Jewish mission is to be the world’s scapegoat. Somehow they don’t quite get it.” Mitzi, that is a very sad, cynical comment of yours. I don’t think we want to be the scapegoat, do we? Jewish history. Jewish destiny. There’s only 14 million of us in the world. It’s such a story. It’s such an extraordinary story. What I’ve decided to do in September, I’m going to run a short course on four sessions on Jewish history. So that for those of you who don’t want to trawl through loads and loads of lectures, it will give you a kind of overview of the major threads.

Q: “What is a good book to read about this period?”

A: I cannot give you one book. This is the problem. I’ve looked at about 20. I can’t tell you which book to read on this. I really can’t. I’ll talk to William. Maybe we can come up with something.

Q: “What was going on between the Jews and the Arabs in Palestine during the period you’ve been discussing?”

A: Have you got 25 hours, Hyman? I think Hagar would’ve been dealing with things, with that issue. But certainly there were moderate Arabs who wanted to deal. But unfortunately the Arab leadership under the Husseini family was, to put it mildly, not wanting any kind of reconciliation whatsoever. They wanted the whole of Palestine. They said it was Arab. There were moderate Arabs, of course. And that’s the tragedy. That’s one of the big tragedies. We got to see each other as people.

Q: “Could you tell us about the Altalena Incident?”

A: Only if you’ve got a couple of hours. But as I said, on the website, there is a lecture on the Altalena. All you’ve got to do, and it’s a very good lecture by Howard Epstein. Just get hold of it. Just put in the search engine and you can get it sent immediately.

“Sadeh’s cousin was Isaiah Berlin.” Ah Saul, thank you for that. Good to have you online. Michael, from you that is really a compliment. He thinks I’ve been balanced. Thank you very much, Michael.

Florence, says she’d learned so much through this and “You and the others have indeed been even-handed. And I feel comfortable talking to friends with facts.” Thank you so much.

“So significant that Bevin explained to parliament that Britain was returning the mandate because the Jews’ primary objective was to have a state in any part of the mandate. The Arab’s primary objective was that the Jews should not have a state. There’s no way to reconcile this. And nothing has changed. The Palestinians still care primarily that the Jews should not have a state.” Look, let’s be careful. I’m sure that there are Palestinians who are bleeding terribly now. It’s such a terrible, terrible situation over such a tiny piece of land. Such a tiny, tiny little sliver of land. You know, and Gaza, remember, in 1948 belonged to Egypt. And it was… And camps were established by the Egyptians. They allowed very few Palestinians into Egypt. A million Jews fled the Arab world. The wonderful Lyn Julius has lectured on that.

Monty, “Holocaust education. I cannot see how it’s reduced anti-Semitism, enlighten me.” Monty, I totally agree with you. It hasn’t. And that’s why I’m going into conversation with Sad Khalidi who came from one of those moderate Palestinian families. And who is a fellow of Yad Vashem. We are going to discuss it. You need to teach this period ‘45 to '48. Particularly what happened to Holocaust survivors. People don’t know Jewish history. And also Holocaust studies has been universalized, general genocide. It’s a real problem. But we’re going to go into depth on that. I haven’t yet seen the Beauty, Stephen asked about “The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem.” I haven’t yet looked at it because frankly I can’t take it at the moment. But I will.

Nora, “My personal view, Begin didn’t want to volunteer to a fighting unit. He was a logistics officer in the Anders’ Army. A lot of soldiers from this army volunteered for the British army, not Begin.” Ah yes, Michael is recommending Menachem Begin’s book “The Revolt.” Yes, of course. But that tells us where you are politically, doesn’t it, Michael? Look, Begin, to so many, is a hero. Just as Ben-Gurion is. I was talking to my son-in-law about this the other day. And you know, basically his view, ‘cause I’m sure many families argue these things. His view is, in the end, to create Israel, you needed all types, you needed all responses. And what would your response have been if you had known about the murder of your people? Would you have gone for diplomacy? Would you have gone for terror? Or was it freedom fighting? You know, these words, every word is loaded.

And on that note, thank you very much. And as I said, next time I see you, it’s going to be on a much lighter subject. I’m going to look at iconic moments and icons of the silver screen because we need it. And look, all I can say to you, we are the eternal people, aren’t we? We were there at the beginning and I’m sure we’ll be there at the end. And nobody can quite see how this is going to end. But I wanted to read you some of those statements on what was going on in Palestine because they remind me very much of the kind of comments that you’re getting in the press today. And also, Jews are now accountable for the State of Israel, the policies of the State of Israel. So it’s a fascinating dilemma we find ourselves in now. So I wish you all a good night and take care of yourselves.