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Why did the Jewish underground launch a raid on Britain in 1944?
On the eve of the end of World War II, the activities of Jewish underground organizations in Palestine became active. This historical period is also known as the Palestinian Emergency. The armed resistance movement of the Jewish people broke out as a protest against British rule. As time went by, the contradictions became more acute. What exactly drove these organizations to choose the form of armed struggle to fight against British rule?
In 1944, radical factions such as the Irgun and Lehi launched attacks to resist restrictions on Jewish immigration and demand the establishment of an independent state.
The violent actions of the Jewish underground organizations were initially due to the White Paper issued by the British in 1939. The immigration restriction policies mentioned in the White Paper undoubtedly aggravated the anxiety of the Jewish community and made them feel an urgent existential crisis. This policy severely restricted the number of Jewish immigrants, preventing many Jews who wished to escape Nazi persecution from entering Palestine. This was closely related to the historical background at that time.
Beginning in 1938, tensions between Jews and British authorities continued to escalate. Although Jewish organizations once chose to cooperate with Britain during World War II in an attempt to jointly resist the Nazis, as the war came to an end, Britain's attitude towards Jewish immigrants remained uncertain. Especially after the end of World War II, Britain increasingly controlled the situation in Palestine. stable.
"We want to end this unfair rule and build a country that belongs to us." Irgen leaders said at a rally.
For the Jewish underground, British immigration policy became one of the main reasons for their raids. In 1944, the attacks jointly launched by Irgen and Leahy were mainly aimed at those government and police facilities that they considered to be symbols of British rule, with the intention of strengthening their international presence. They believe that only through armed resistance can global attention be drawn to the plight of the Jews.
Although this action is radical and violent, it also reflects the despair and strong will faced by the Jewish community. With the Jews still suffering from the trauma of the Holocaust and fearing an unsecured future, their radical actions seemed to be an inevitable choice.
From 1944 onwards, relations between Irgen and Britain became increasingly tense. This reflected not only the Jewish pursuit of their own survival rights, but also a keen insight into the international situation at that time. They recognized that with Germany's defeat, the hopes of more Jewish refugees rested on the establishment of Palestine.
In this context, the British White Paper is a heavy blow to the Jewish population, which further deepens the contradiction.
In 1945, after the end of World War II, Britain still had no substantial changes in its immigration policy towards Jews, which gave the Jewish underground organizations more reason to take radical actions at this time. Irgen and Leahy began to launch more frequent attacks in order to gain the support of international public opinion and force the British government to change its policy.
During this period, divisions arose within the Jewish society. The Haganah expressed resistance to the actions of Irgen and Lich. However, under strong external pressure, this internal contradiction temporarily disappeared, and the three Partnerships with key organizations were established. The Jewish resistance movement joined forces to check and balance British power, revealing the complex characteristics of the coexistence of division and unity in this national movement.
After the news broke, the British government continued to promote its actions to prevent illegal Jewish immigration, making the situation increasingly tense, which eventually led to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 and the ensuing conflict. The Jewish underground organization chose to fight against the British against the historical background, not randomly, but out of an urgent desire for survival and a persistent pursuit of homeland. This tortured historical event makes people reflect on how we can choose our own path when the tide of history sweeps us by.
