British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume II - Page 600

CHAPTER XV.

and operate, they are secret associations of armed persons whose activities show subversive intention. The illegal organizations are described below.

(i) IRGUN HAGANA (Defence Organization).

37. This society is colloquially and ungrammatically designated "The Hagana". It appears to have been an offshoot of a body known as Hoshomcr (the Watchman) which derived some impulse [ram the secret societies of Tsarist Russia. Hashomer was 'recognized by the Turks as a body for the protecting of Jewish property. Its legitimate descendant, the General Organization of Jewish Watchmen in Palestine, is an officially recognized body. Its other descendant, the Hagana, is an illegal organization.

38. The Hagana appears to be under some form of control by the Jewish Agency_ and to be regarded as a "semi-official" paramilitary organization. The association certainly played a substantial part in beating off Arab attacks on Jewish property during the rebellion of 1936-39 and, through the medium of the Jewish Agency, selected units were provided and trained by British officers to assist in maintaining public security, the guarding of vulnerable points and guerilla warfare; such were Major (later Major-General) Wingate's special night squads. At no time, however, has there been official recognition of this illegal organization. The argument Ior its existence lies principally in the contention that the various changes in the security forces in the country since the occupation (they have been briefly outlined above) have left the Jewish community open to attack in successive periods of disturbances with, consequentially, a heavy loss of Jewish lives and much damage to Jewish property ; and that it is accordingly incumbent on the Jewish community to make their own supplementary security arrangements. It should perhaps be made clear, at this point, that constitutionally and legally, full and exclusive powers for the maintenance of public security and the protection of all communities in Palestine are vested in the High Commissioner.

39. Since the Hagana is a secret association a precise statement of its strength cannot be given. Its membership has been variously estimated at between some tens of thousands and 80,000. Again, figures of the quantity of arms possessed by the organization cannot be given, although the quantity must be substantial. Types of armament are known to be diverse and to range from pistols and rifles to heavy automatic weapons, mortars, bombs, mines, etc. The degree of training of its members must vary considerably since both during the rebellion and the war a proportion have doubtless had both military and police instruction. The Haqana operates an illicit broadcasting transmitter, Kol Israel (Voice of

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