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Israel
Index
Ancient Jewish military tradition is deeply rooted in biblical
history and begins with Abraham, who led an ad hoc military force.
Joshua, who conquered Canaan, is an early hero, and David, who
captured Jerusalem, is regarded by Israeli Jews as their greatest
king and warrior. Solomon organized and maintained the first
standing Jewish army
(see Ancient Israel
, ch. 1).
Little in the way of military tradition arose out of the nearly
2,000 years of the Diaspora. In fact, the lack of military prowess
in the Jewish communities of the Diaspora was commonly viewed as a
cause of their hardships and became a major motivation for building
a strong defense establishment within Israel. As a result of the
Russian pogroms of the 1880s, a small number of Jews began settling
in the area of Palestine and, determined to end the centuries of
persecution, created self-defense units called Shomrim, or
Guardsmen, to protect the early settlements. In 1909 the Shomrim
were formally organized throughout the area of Jewish settlement in
Palestine and renamed HaShomer, or the Watchmen. Although HaShomer
numbered fewer than 100 men at the organization's peak, these armed
militias became extremely important to Israeli military tradition.
Many members of HaShomer joined the Jewish Legion, which fought
with the British against imperial Germany during World War I. They
also established a precedent of armed self-defense of the Zionist
movement, which during the War of Independence in 1948 would flower
into the IDF.
Increasing tensions between the Arab communities and the
growing Jewish communities of Palestine brought the need to expand
the capacity of the
Yishuv (see Glossary)
for self-defense
(see Events in Palestine: 1908-48
, ch. 1). In 1920, after serious Arab
disturbances in Jerusalem and in northern Palestine, HaShomer
militias were disbanded and replaced by the Haganah (abbreviation
for Irgun HaHaganah, Defense Organization), which was intended to
be a larger and more wide-ranging organization for the defense of
all Palestinian Jewry. By 1948, when it was disbanded so that the
IDF would be the sole Israeli military organization, the Haganah
was a force of about 30,000.
The Haganah, financed originally through the Zionist General
Federation of Laborers in the Land of Israel (HaHistadrut HaKlalit
shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael, known as Histadrut) and later through
the Jewish Agency (see Glossary),
operated clandestinely under the
British Mandate, which declared the bearing of unauthorized arms by
Palestinian Jews to be illegal. Arms and ammunition were smuggled
into the country, and training was conducted in secret. In addition
to guarding settlements, the Haganah manufactured arms, built a
series of roads and stockades throughout Palestine to facilitate
defense, and organized and defended groups of Jewish immigrants
during periods under the Mandate when immigration was illegal or
restricted.
Arab attacks on Jewish communities in 1921 and 1929 found the
Haganah ill-equipped and ineffective: more than 100 Jews were
killed in 1929 alone. When renewed Arab rioting broke out in Jaffa
(Yafo) in 1936 and soon spread throughout Palestine, the Mandate
authorities--realizing that they could not defend every Jewish
settlement--authorized the creation of the Jewish Settlement
Police, also known as Notrim, who were trained, armed, and paid by
the British. In 1938 a British intelligence officer, Captain Orde
Charles Wingate, organized three counterguerrilla units, called
special night squads, manned by British and Jewish personnel. As
both of these organizations contained a large number of Haganah
members, their formation greatly increased the assets of the
Haganah while providing a legal basis for much of their activities.
Although these nearly continuous disturbances from 1936 to 1939
cost the lives of nearly 600 Jews and more than 5,000 Arabs,
Israeli observers have pointed out that Jewish casualties would
have been far greater were it not for the increasing effectiveness
of these paramilitary units
(see The Palestinian Revolt, 1936-39
, ch. 1).
During these disturbances, the Haganah's policy of
havlaga, or self-restraint, under which retaliation against
the Arab community at large was strictly forbidden, was not
aggressive enough for some. Under Vladimir (Zeev) Jabotinsky and
later Menachem Begin, these dissidents in 1937 established the
National Military Organization (Irgun Zvai Leumi, known both as the
Irgun and by the acronym Etzel). Initially the Irgun waged a
campaign of terror, sabotage, and reprisal against the Arabs. After
the British government issued a white paper in May 1939 extending
the Mandate for ten years and placing limits on Jewish immigration,
however, the Irgun turned its terrorist activities against the
British troops in Palestine in an all-out struggle against the
Mandate authority.
With the outbreak of World War II, Irgun leaders settled on a
policy of cooperation with the British in the war effort; but a
hard core within the organization opposed the policy and
accordingly split off from the larger body. This group, led by
Avraham Stern, formed the Fighters for Israel's Freedom (Lohamei
Herut Israel--Lehi), known as the Stern Gang. The Stern Gang, which
included Begin and later Yitzhak Shamir, specialized in the
assassination of British and other officials. At their peaks, the
Irgun contained about 4,000 men; the Stern Gang, 200 to 300. Defeat
of Nazi Germany in 1945 precipitated a resumption of anti-British
activities by both Haganah and Irgun in pursuance of their common
ultimate goal, the establishment of a national home and the
creation of a sovereign Jewish state.
During World War II, about 32,000 Palestinian Jews, both men
and women, volunteered for the British army. In 1944 about 5,000 of
these were formed into the Jewish Brigade, which fought
successfully in Italy in 1945. With so many of its members serving
abroad, the ranks of the Haganah were depleted, and in 1941 its
leaders decided to raise a mobile force--the
Palmach (abbreviation
of Pelugot Mahatz--Shock Forces--see Glossary)--of approximately
3,000 full-time soldiers, whose mission was to defend the Yishuv.
Trained with the aid of the British, the Palmach was the first
full-time standing Jewish army in more than 2,000 years and is
considered the direct forerunner to the IDF. For many years, the
vast majority of IDF officers were veterans of either the Palmach
or the Jewish Brigade.
Data as of December 1988
Historical Background
Ancient Jewish military tradition is deeply rooted in biblical
history and begins with Abraham, who led an ad hoc military force.
Joshua, who conquered Canaan, is an early hero, and David, who
captured Jerusalem, is regarded by Israeli Jews as their greatest
king and warrior. Solomon organized and maintained the first
standing Jewish army
(see Ancient Israel
, ch. 1).
Little in the way of military tradition arose out of the nearly
2,000 years of the Diaspora. In fact, the lack of military prowess
in the Jewish communities of the Diaspora was commonly viewed as a
cause of their hardships and became a major motivation for building
a strong defense establishment within Israel. As a result of the
Russian pogroms of the 1880s, a small number of Jews began settling
in the area of Palestine and, determined to end the centuries of
persecution, created self-defense units called Shomrim, or
Guardsmen, to protect the early settlements. In 1909 the Shomrim
were formally organized throughout the area of Jewish settlement in
Palestine and renamed HaShomer, or the Watchmen. Although HaShomer
numbered fewer than 100 men at the organization's peak, these armed
militias became extremely important to Israeli military tradition.
Many members of HaShomer joined the Jewish Legion, which fought
with the British against imperial Germany during World War I. They
also established a precedent of armed self-defense of the Zionist
movement, which during the War of Independence in 1948 would flower
into the IDF.
Increasing tensions between the Arab communities and the
growing Jewish communities of Palestine brought the need to expand
the capacity of the
Yishuv (see Glossary)
for self-defense
(see Events in Palestine: 1908-48
, ch. 1). In 1920, after serious Arab
disturbances in Jerusalem and in northern Palestine, HaShomer
militias were disbanded and replaced by the Haganah (abbreviation
for Irgun HaHaganah, Defense Organization), which was intended to
be a larger and more wide-ranging organization for the defense of
all Palestinian Jewry. By 1948, when it was disbanded so that the
IDF would be the sole Israeli military organization, the Haganah
was a force of about 30,000.
The Haganah, financed originally through the Zionist General
Federation of Laborers in the Land of Israel (HaHistadrut HaKlalit
shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael, known as Histadrut) and later through
the Jewish Agency (see Glossary),
operated clandestinely under the
British Mandate, which declared the bearing of unauthorized arms by
Palestinian Jews to be illegal. Arms and ammunition were smuggled
into the country, and training was conducted in secret. In addition
to guarding settlements, the Haganah manufactured arms, built a
series of roads and stockades throughout Palestine to facilitate
defense, and organized and defended groups of Jewish immigrants
during periods under the Mandate when immigration was illegal or
restricted.
Arab attacks on Jewish communities in 1921 and 1929 found the
Haganah ill-equipped and ineffective: more than 100 Jews were
killed in 1929 alone. When renewed Arab rioting broke out in Jaffa
(Yafo) in 1936 and soon spread throughout Palestine, the Mandate
authorities--realizing that they could not defend every Jewish
settlement--authorized the creation of the Jewish Settlement
Police, also known as Notrim, who were trained, armed, and paid by
the British. In 1938 a British intelligence officer, Captain Orde
Charles Wingate, organized three counterguerrilla units, called
special night squads, manned by British and Jewish personnel. As
both of these organizations contained a large number of Haganah
members, their formation greatly increased the assets of the
Haganah while providing a legal basis for much of their activities.
Although these nearly continuous disturbances from 1936 to 1939
cost the lives of nearly 600 Jews and more than 5,000 Arabs,
Israeli observers have pointed out that Jewish casualties would
have been far greater were it not for the increasing effectiveness
of these paramilitary units
(see The Palestinian Revolt, 1936-39
, ch. 1).
During these disturbances, the Haganah's policy of
havlaga, or self-restraint, under which retaliation against
the Arab community at large was strictly forbidden, was not
aggressive enough for some. Under Vladimir (Zeev) Jabotinsky and
later Menachem Begin, these dissidents in 1937 established the
National Military Organization (Irgun Zvai Leumi, known both as the
Irgun and by the acronym Etzel). Initially the Irgun waged a
campaign of terror, sabotage, and reprisal against the Arabs. After
the British government issued a white paper in May 1939 extending
the Mandate for ten years and placing limits on Jewish immigration,
however, the Irgun turned its terrorist activities against the
British troops in Palestine in an all-out struggle against the
Mandate authority.
With the outbreak of World War II, Irgun leaders settled on a
policy of cooperation with the British in the war effort; but a
hard core within the organization opposed the policy and
accordingly split off from the larger body. This group, led by
Avraham Stern, formed the Fighters for Israel's Freedom (Lohamei
Herut Israel--Lehi), known as the Stern Gang. The Stern Gang, which
included Begin and later Yitzhak Shamir, specialized in the
assassination of British and other officials. At their peaks, the
Irgun contained about 4,000 men; the Stern Gang, 200 to 300. Defeat
of Nazi Germany in 1945 precipitated a resumption of anti-British
activities by both Haganah and Irgun in pursuance of their common
ultimate goal, the establishment of a national home and the
creation of a sovereign Jewish state.
During World War II, about 32,000 Palestinian Jews, both men
and women, volunteered for the British army. In 1944 about 5,000 of
these were formed into the Jewish Brigade, which fought
successfully in Italy in 1945. With so many of its members serving
abroad, the ranks of the Haganah were depleted, and in 1941 its
leaders decided to raise a mobile force--the
Palmach (abbreviation
of Pelugot Mahatz--Shock Forces--see Glossary)--of approximately
3,000 full-time soldiers, whose mission was to defend the Yishuv.
Trained with the aid of the British, the Palmach was the first
full-time standing Jewish army in more than 2,000 years and is
considered the direct forerunner to the IDF. For many years, the
vast majority of IDF officers were veterans of either the Palmach
or the Jewish Brigade.
Data as of December 1988
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