Middle East Information Resource
Political Entities - Haganah
Haganah is the name of a Zionist military organization operating in Palestine from 1920 to 1948. It was designed to protect the Jewish minority against the Palestinians and the British authorities. The Hagana was poor in equipment, Haganah proved to be very efficient. The Haganah grew during times of Palestinian revolt, first in 1929, then in the period of 1936 to 1939. Over time, the Haganah developed from a poorly orgtanized and weak militia into a disciplined army. The Haganah emerged under influence of the Histradut.
It was officially outlawed by the British Mandatory authorities. During most of its history, the Hagana was more political than military, and it resisted paramilitary operationsand terrorist attacks. However, after World War II British policy became more pro-Arab. The Haganah became involved in bombing bridges, rail lines and interference with ships that were intended to deport Jewish immigrants back to Europe.
The Haganah was formed in 1920 following Palestinian riots; the Jewish community felt that they could not rely on the British Mandatory government for protection. Haganah was set up as a loose organization, essentially a federation of local groups, each with substantial independence. In 1929 there were once again riots in Palestine, this time in protest to the growing importance and strength of the Jewish community. There were rumors of a Jewish plot to take over the holy Muslim places in Jerusalem. In these riots, 133 Jews were killed.
After 1929, the Jewish Community in Palestine perceived a much more specific and imminent threat. Haganah organized into a much more efficient organization, and one that which came to include a large proportion of the Jews in Palestine. Haganah also embarked upon a project of arming itself better. They imports of light arms fromm abroad and also began clandestine production in Palestine.
In 1939 the British adopted a policy of aggressively trying to stem the tide of immigration of Jews to Palestine from Europe. Haganah began to organize demonstrations against Great Britain, and at the same time facilitate illegal immigration. In 1941 the Haganah established its first mobilized fighting unit, the Palmach. In 1945 the British Mandatory government showed itself to be increasingly pro-Palestinian, and the Haganah responds by launching terror attacks on important British installations.
In 1947 a partition plan for Palestine is offered by a United Nations resolution. Haganah assumed the role of the defence forces of the emerging Jewish state, under the leadership of becomes David Ben-Gurion. In 1948, with the declaration of the State of Israel, war broke out between the Arabs and the Jews. Haganah took control over most of the areas desiignated for the Jewish state, but also Arab areas of strategic importance, like the cities of Acre and Jaffa. On May 26 the provisional government of Israel supercedes the Haganah with the Israeli Defence Forces (Tzva Haganah l`Yisrael).