Page 376 - עלי זית וחרב - כרך כ

Prof. Yigal Elam

The Hagana through the Veils of Time

There are serious misconceptions about the Hagana and its role in the history of
the new Jewish Yishuv in Mandatory Palestine. The Hagana, in essence, was not
an underground organization aiming at freeing the country from British rule. The
whole picture of the relationship between Zionism and Great Britain and the
unique role the British played in the build-up of Jewish power in Palestine is
utterly distorted. The Hagana, first of all, was a defence organization whose roots
were implanted in the Zionist ideology envisioning the appearance of a new race
of Jews, self-reliant and capable of defending themselves. The Hagana started at
the grass-roots. It was not established by any leadership or authority. Nevertheless,
it accepted the authority of the recognized leading institutions of the Yishuv and
the Zionist Organization and did not formulate an independent security policy
contradicting that of the political leadership. Yet no political authority could order
the dissolution of the Hagana, and an initiative of the political leadership to
dismantle the Hagana in accordance with British demands was thwarted twice.
The growth of the Hagana went hand in hand with the growth of the Yishuv. By
the eve of the Arab mutiny in 1936, the Yishuv had become strong enough to
withstand any local Arab attack. During the mutiny the Hagana doubled its
capabilities due to its military cooperation with the British forces. The Hagana
entered a new phase, becoming a power device at the service of the Yishuv's
political leadership. It fulfilled a major function in the combined effort to fight the
new White Paper policy after the Second World War. The Hagana fought the
Independence War and very naturally transformed into the IDF – the Israeli
Defence Force.

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