Editing Haganah (section)

===1920 Palestine riots and 1921 Jaffa riots===
After the [[1920 Nebi Musa riots]] and 1921 [[Jaffa riots]] by [[Palestinians]], the Jewish leadership in Palestine believed that the British, to whom the [[League of Nations]] had given a mandate over Palestine in 1920, had no desire to confront local Arab groups that frequently attacked Palestinian Jews.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.idf.il/1283-19078-EN/Dover.aspx|title=Defending the nation for 65 years|date=30 May 2013|last1=Freund|first1=Gabriel|last2=Sahar|first2=Raz|publisher=IDF Spokesperson}}</ref> Believing that they could not rely on the British administration for protection from these gangs, the Jewish leadership created the Haganah to protect Jewish farms and [[kibbutz]]im. The first head of the Haganah was a 28-year-old named Yosef Hecht, a veteran of the [[Jewish Legion]].<ref name="vanCreveld">{{cite book|title= The Sword And The Olive: A Critical History of the Israeli Defence Force|last= Van Creveld|first= Martin|isbn= 978-1586481551|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=FW8SAQAAMAAJ|publisher=Public Affairs|page= 21|year= 1998}}</ref>

In addition to guarding Jewish communities, the role of the Haganah was to warn the residents of and repel attacks by Palestinians. In the period between 1920 and 1929, the Haganah lacked a strong central authority or coordination. Haganah "units" were very localized and poorly armed: they consisted mainly of Jewish farmers who took turns guarding their farms or their kibbutzim.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

Following the [[1929 Palestine riots]], the Haganah's role changed dramatically. It became a much larger organization encompassing nearly all the youth and adults in the Jewish settlements, as well as thousands of members from the cities. It also acquired foreign arms and began to develop workshops to create [[grenade]]s and simple military equipment, transforming from an untrained [[militia]] to a capable underground army.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}