Editing Irgun (section)

==Prior to World War II==
===Founding===
The Irgun's first steps were in the aftermath of the [[1929 Palestine riots|Riots of 1929]]. In the [[Jerusalem]] branch of the Haganah there were feelings of disappointment and internal unrest towards the leadership of the movements and the [[Histadrut]] (at that time the organization running the Haganah). These feelings were a result of the view that the Haganah was not adequately defending Jewish interests in the region. Likewise, critics of the leadership spoke out against alleged failures in the number of weapons, readiness of the movement and its policy of restraint and not fighting back. On April 10, 1931, commanders and equipment managers announced that they refused to return weapons to the Haganah that had been issued to them earlier, prior to the [[Nebi Musa]] holiday. These weapons were later returned by the commander of the Jerusalem branch, [[Avraham Tehomi]], a.k.a. "Gideon". However, the commanders who decided to rebel against the leadership of the Haganah relayed a message regarding their resignations to the [[Vaad Leumi]], and thus this schism created a new independent movement.

The leader of the new underground movement was [[Avraham Tehomi]], alongside other founding members who were all senior commanders in the Haganah, members of [[Hapoel Hatzair]] and of the Histadrut. Also among them was [[Eliyahu Ben Horin]], an activist in the [[Revisionist Zionism|Revisionist Party]]. This group was known as the "Odessan Gang", because they previously had been members of the ''Haganah Ha'Atzmit'' of Jewish [[Odessa]]. The new movement was named ''Irgun Tsvai Leumi'', ("National Military Organization") in order to emphasize its active nature in contrast to the Haganah. Moreover, the organization was founded with the desire to become a true military organization and not just a [[militia]] as the Haganah was at the time.

In the autumn of that year the Jerusalem group merged with other armed groups affiliated with [[Betar]]. The Betar groups' center of activity was in [[Tel Aviv]], and they began their activity in 1928 with the establishment of "Officers and Instructors School of Betar". Students at this institution had broken away from the Haganah earlier, for political reasons, and the new group called itself the "National Defense", הגנה הלאומית. During the riots of 1929 Betar youth participated in the defense of Tel Aviv neighborhoods under the command of Yermiyahu Halperin, at the behest of the Tel Aviv city hall. After the riots the Tel Avivian group expanded, and was known as "The [[Right Wing]] Organization".

After the Tel Aviv expansion another branch was established in [[Haifa]]. Towards the end of 1932 the Haganah branch of [[Safed]] also defected and joined the Irgun, as well as many members of the [[Maccabi World Union|Maccabi]] sports association. At that time the movement's underground newsletter, ''Ha'Metsudah'' (the Fortress) also began publication, expressing the active trend of the movement. The Irgun also increased its numbers by expanding draft regiments of Betar – groups of volunteers, committed to two years of security and pioneer activities. These regiments were based in places that from which stemmed new Irgun strongholds in the many places, including the settlements of [[Yesod HaMa'ala]], [[Mishmar HaYarden]], [[Rosh Pinna|Rosh Pina]], [[Metula]] and [[Nahariya]] in the north; in the center – [[Hadera]], [[Binyamina]], [[Herzliya]], [[Netanya]] and [[Kfar Saba]], and south of there – [[Rishon LeZion]], [[Rehovot]] and [[Ness Ziona]]. Later on regiments were also active in the [[Old City of Jerusalem]] ("the Kotel Brigades") among others. Primary training centers were based in [[Ramat Gan]], [[Qastina]] (by [[Kiryat Mal'akhi]] of today) and other places.

===Under Tehomi's command===
{{Main|1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine}}
[[File:Tehomi.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Avraham Tehomi]], the first Commander of the Irgun]]
In 1933 there were some signs of unrest, seen by the incitement of the local Arab leadership to act against the authorities. The strong British response put down the disturbances quickly. During that time the Irgun operated in a similar manner to the Haganah and was a guarding organization. The two organizations cooperated in ways such as coordination of posts and even intelligence sharing.

Within the Irgun, Tehomi was the first to serve as "Head of the Headquarters" or "Chief Commander". Alongside Tehomi served the senior commanders, or "Headquarters" of the movement. As the organization grew, it was divided into district commands.

In August 1933 a "Supervisory Committee" for the Irgun was established, which included representatives from most of the Zionist political parties. The members of this committee were [[Meir Grossman]] (of the Hebrew State Party), Rabbi [[Meir Bar-Ilan]] (of the [[Mizrachi (Religious Zionism)|Mizrachi Party]]), either [[Immanuel Neumann]] or [[Yehoshua Supersky]] (of the [[General Zionists]]) and [[Ze'ev Jabotinsky]] or [[Eliyahu Ben Horin]] (of [[Hatzohar]]).

In protest against, and with the aim of ending [[Jewish immigration to Palestine]], the [[1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine|Great Arab Revolt of 1936–1939]] broke out on April 19, 1936. The riots took the form of attacks by Arab rioters ambushing main roads, bombing of roads and settlements as well as property and agriculture vandalism. In the beginning, the Irgun and the Haganah generally maintained a policy of restraint, apart from a few instances. Some expressed resentment at this policy, leading up internal unrest in the two organizations. The Irgun tended to retaliate more often, and sometimes Irgun members patrolled areas beyond their positions in order to encounter attackers ahead of time. However, there were differences of opinion regarding what to do in the Haganah, as well. Due to the joining of many [[Betar]] Youth members, Jabotinsky (founder of Betar) had a great deal of influence over Irgun policy. Nevertheless, Jabotinsky was of the opinion that for moral reasons violent retaliation was not to be undertaken.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Kessler |first=Oren |title=Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict |date=2023 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-5381-4881-5 |location=Lanham, Maryland |pages=145-151}}</ref>

In November 1936 the [[Peel Commission]] was sent to inquire regarding the breakout of the riots and propose a solution to end the Revolt. In early 1937 there were still some in the [[Yishuv]] who felt the commission would recommend a partition of [[Mandatory Palestine]] (the land west of the [[Jordan River]]), thus creating a Jewish state on part of the land. The Irgun leadership, as well as the "Supervisory Committee" held similar beliefs, as did some members of the Haganah and the [[Jewish Agency]]. This belief strengthened the policy of [[Havlagah|restraint]] and led to the position that there was no room for defense institutions in the future Jewish state. Tehomi was quoted as saying: "We stand before great events: a Jewish state and a Jewish army. There is a need for a single military force". This position intensified the differences of opinion regarding the policy of restraint, both within the Irgun and within the political camp aligned with the organization. The leadership committee of the Irgun supported a merger with the Haganah. On April 24, 1937, a referendum was held among Irgun members regarding its continued independent existence. David Raziel and Avraham (Yair) Stern came out publicly in support for the continued existence of the Irgun:

<blockquote>The Irgun has been placed ... before a decision to make, whether to submit to the authority of the government and the [[Jewish Agency]] or to prepare for a double sacrifice and endangerment. Some of our friends do not have appropriate willingness for this difficult position, and have submitted to the Jewish Agency and has left the battle ... all of the attempts ... to unite with the leftist organization have failed, because the Left entered into negotiations not on the basis of unification of forces, but the submission of one such force to the other....<ref>[[Yosef Kister]], ''The Etzel'', (Hebrew) p. 38</ref></blockquote>

===The first split===
In April 1937 the Irgun split after the referendum. Approximately 1,500–2,000 people, about half of the Irgun's membership, including the senior command staff, regional committee members, along with most of the Irgun's weapons, returned to the Haganah, which at that time was under the Jewish Agency's leadership. The Supervisory Committee's control over the Irgun ended, and Jabotinsky assumed command. In their opinion, the removal of the Haganah from the Jewish Agency's leadership to the national institutions necessitated their return. Furthermore, they no longer saw significant ideological differences between the movements. Those who remained in the Irgun were primarily young activists, mostly laypeople, who sided with the independent existence of the Irgun. In fact, most of those who remained were originally Betar people. [[Moshe Rosenberg]] estimated that approximately 1,800 members remained. In theory, the Irgun remained an organization not aligned with a political party, but in reality the supervisory committee was disbanded and the Irgun's continued ideological path was outlined according to Ze'ev Jabotinsky's school of thought and his decisions, until the movement eventually became Revisionist Zionism's military arm. One of the major changes in policy by Jabotinsky was the end of the policy of [[Havlagah|restraint]].

On April 27, 1937, the Irgun founded a new headquarters, staffed by Moshe Rosenberg at the head, [[Avraham Stern|Avraham (Yair) Stern]] as secretary, [[David Raziel]] as head of the Jerusalem branch, [[Hanoch Kalai]] as commander of Haifa and [[Aharon Haichman]] as commander of Tel Aviv. On 20 [[Tammuz (Hebrew month)|Tammuz]], (June 29) the day of [[Theodor Herzl]]'s death, a ceremony was held in honor of the reorganization of the underground movement. For security purposes this ceremony was held at a construction site in Tel Aviv.

Ze'ev Jabotinsky placed Col. [[Robert Bitker]] at the head of the Irgun. Bitker had previously served as Betar commissioner in China and had military experience. A few months later, probably due to total incompatibility with the position, Jabotinsky replaced Bitker with Moshe Rosenberg. When the [[Peel Commission]] report was published a few months later, the Revisionist camp decided not to accept the commission's recommendations.<ref name=":0" /> Moreover, the organizations of Betar, [[Hatzohar]] and the Irgun began to increase their efforts to bring Jews to ''[[Eretz Israel]]'' (the Land of Israel), illegally. This [[Aliyah]] was known as the עליית אף על פי "Af Al Pi (Nevertheless) Aliyah". As opposed to this position, the Jewish Agency began acting on behalf of the Zionist interest on the political front, and continued the policy of restraint. From this point onwards the differences between the Haganah and the Irgun were much more obvious.

===Illegal immigration===
[[File:Parita22839.jpg|thumb|The ship [[:he:פאריטה|''Parita'']] unloading immigrants at the beach in [[Tel Aviv]]]]
According to Jabotinsky's "Evacuation Plan", which called for millions of [[European Jews]] to be brought to Palestine at once, the Irgun helped the [[Aliyah Bet|illegal immigration]] of European Jews to Palestine. This was named by Jabotinsky the "National Sport". The most significant part of this immigration prior to [[World War II]] was carried out by the [[Revisionist Zionism|Revisionist]] camp, largely because the [[Yishuv]] institutions and the Jewish Agency shied away from such actions on grounds of cost and their belief that Britain would in the future allow widespread Jewish immigration.

The Irgun joined forces with [[Hatzohar]] and [[Betar]] in September 1937, when it assisted with the landing of a convoy of 54 Betar members at Tantura Beach (near [[Haifa]].) The Irgun was responsible for discreetly bringing the [[Olim]], or Jewish immigrants, to the beaches, and dispersing them among the various Jewish settlements. The Irgun also began participating in the organisation of the immigration enterprise and undertook the process of accompanying the ships. This began with the ship ''Draga'' which arrived at the coast of British Palestine in September 1938. In August of the same year, an agreement was made between Ari Jabotinsky (the son of Ze'ev Jabotinsky), the Betar representative and [[Hillel Kook]], the Irgun representative, to coordinate the immigration (also known as [[Ha'apala]]). This agreement was also made in the "Paris Convention" in February 1939, at which Ze'ev Jabotinsky and David Raziel were present. Afterwards, the "Aliyah Center" was founded, made up of representatives of Hatzohar, Betar, and the Irgun, thereby making the Irgun a full participant in the process.

The difficult conditions on the ships demanded a high level of discipline. The people on board the ships were often split into units, led by commanders. In addition to having a daily roll call and the distribution of food and water (usually very little of either), organized talks were held to provide information regarding the actual arrival in Palestine. One of the largest ships was the ''Sakaria'', with 2,300 passengers, which equalled about 0.5% of the Jewish population in Palestine. The first vessel arrived on April 13, 1937, and the last on February 13, 1940. All told, about 18,000 Jews immigrated to Palestine with the help of the Revisionist organizations and private initiatives by other Revisionists. Most were not caught by the British.

===End of restraint===
{{More citations needed section|date=August 2022}}
{{Main|List of Irgun attacks}}
[[File:David raziel.jpg|thumb|upright|[[David Raziel]], commander of the Irgun]]
While continuing to defend settlements, Irgun members began attacks on Arab villages around April 1936, thus ending the policy of restraint. These attacks were intended to instill fear in the Arab side, in order to cause the Arabs to wish for peace and quiet. In March 1938, [[David Raziel]] wrote in the underground newspaper "By the Sword" a constitutive article for the Irgun overall, in which he coined the term '''"Active Defense"''':

<blockquote>The actions of the Haganah alone will never be a true victory. If the goal of the war is to break the will of the enemy – and this cannot be attained without destroying his spirit – clearly we cannot be satisfied with solely defensive operations.... Such a method of defense, that allows the enemy to attack at will, to reorganize and attack again ... and does not intend to remove the enemy's ability to attack a second time – is called passive defense, and ends in downfall and destruction ... whoever does not wish to be beaten has no choice but to attack. The fighting side, that does not intend to oppress but to save its liberty and honor, he too has only one way available – the way of attack. Defensiveness by way of offensiveness, in order to deprive the enemy the option of attacking, is called ''active defense''.</blockquote>

By the end of World War II, more than 250 Arabs had been killed. Examples include:
*After an Arab shooting at Carmel school in Tel Aviv, which resulted in the death of a Jewish child, Irgun members attacked an Arab neighborhood near [[Kerem Hatemanim]] in Tel Aviv, killing one Arab man and injuring another.
*On August 17, the Irgun responded to shootings by Arabs from the [[Jaffa]]–[[Jerusalem]] train towards Jews that were waiting by the train block on Herzl Street in Tel Aviv. The same day, when a Jewish child was injured by the shooting, Irgun members attacked a train on the same route, killing one Arab and injuring five.
During 1936, Irgun members carried out approximately ten attacks.

Throughout 1937 the Irgun continued this line of operation.
*On March 6, a Jew at Sabbath prayers at the [[Western Wall]] was shot by a local Arab. A few hours later, the Irgun shot at an Arab in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Rechavia.
*On June 29, a band of Arabs attacked an [[Egged Bus Cooperative|Egged]] bus on the Jerusalem – Tel Aviv road, killing one Jew. The following day, two Jews were also killed near [[Pardes Hanna-Karkur|Karkur]]. A few hours later, the Irgun carried out a number of operations.
**An Arab bus making its way from [[Lifta]] was attacked in Jerusalem.
**In two other locations in Jerusalem, Arabs were shot as well.
**In Tel Aviv, a hand grenade was thrown at an Arab coffee shop on Carmel St., injuring many of the patrons.
**Irgun members also injured an Arab on Reines St. in Tel Aviv.
**On September 5, the Irgun responded to the murder of a rabbi on his way home from prayer in the [[Old City of Jerusalem]] by throwing explosives at an Arab bus that had left Lifta, injuring two female passengers and a British police officer.

A more complete list can be found [[List of Irgun attacks during the 1930s|here]].

At that time, however, these acts were not yet a part of a formulated policy of the Irgun.<ref>"Tagar u'Magen (Jabotinsky and the Etzel)" {{in lang|he}}, Jabtotinsky Publishing, p. 28</ref> Not all of the aforementioned operations received a commander's approval, and Jabotinsky was not in favor of such actions at the time. Jabotinsky still hoped to establish a Jewish force out in the open that would not have to operate underground. However, the failure, in its eyes, of the [[Peel Commission]] and the renewal of violence on the part of the Arabs caused the Irgun to rethink its official policy.

===Increase in operations===
14 November 1937 was a watershed in Irgun activity. From that date, the Irgun increased its reprisals. Following an increase in the number of attacks aimed at Jews, including the killing of five [[kibbutz]] members near [[Kiryat Anavim]] (today kibbutz [[Ma'ale HaHamisha]]), the Irgun undertook a series of attacks in various places in Jerusalem, killing five Arabs. Operations were also undertaken in [[Haifa]] (shooting at the Arab-populated [[Wadi Nisnas]] neighborhood) and in [[Herzliya]]. The date is known as the day the policy of restraint ([[Havlagah]]) ended, or as [[Black Sunday, 1937|Black Sunday]] when operations resulted in the murder of 10 Arabs. This is when the organization fully changed its policy, with the approval of Jabotinsky and Headquarters to the policy of "active defense" in respect of Irgun actions.<ref>"The Birth of an Underground Organization", Yehuda Lapidot, p. 62 {{in lang|he}}</ref>

The British responded with the arrest of Betar and Hatzohar members as suspected members of the Irgun. [[Military court]]s were allowed to act under "Time of Emergency Regulations" and even sentence people to death. In this manner [[Yehezkel Altman]], a guard in a Betar battalion in the [[Nahalat Yizchak]] neighborhood of Tel Aviv, shot at an Arab bus, without his commanders' knowledge. Altman was acting in response to a shooting at Jewish vehicles on the Tel Aviv–Jerusalem road the day before. He turned himself in later and was sentenced to death, a sentence which was later commuted to a life sentence.

Despite the arrests, Irgun members continued fighting. Jabotinsky lent his moral support to these activities. In a letter to Moshe Rosenberg on 18 March 1938 he wrote:
<blockquote>Tell them: from afar I collect and save, as precious treasures, news items about your lives. I know of the obstacles that have not impeded your spirit; and I know of your actions as well. I am overjoyed that I have been blessed with such students.</blockquote>

Although the Irgun continued activities such as these, following Rosenberg's orders, they were greatly curtailed. Furthermore, in fear of the British threat of the death sentence for anyone found carrying a weapon, all operations were suspended for eight months. However, opposition to this policy gradually increased. In April, 1938, responding to the killing of six Jews, Betar members from the [[Rosh Pinna|Rosh Pina]] Brigade went on a reprisal mission, without the consent of their commander, as described by historian [[Avi Shlaim]]:
<blockquote>On 21 April 1938, after several weeks of planning, he and two of his colleagues from the Irgun (Etzel) ambushed an Arab bus at a bend on a mountain road near Safad. They had a hand grenade, a gun and a pistol. Their plan was to destroy the engine so that the bus would fall off the side of the road and all the passengers would be killed. When the bus approached, they fired at it (not in the air, as Mailer has it) but the grenade lobbed by Ben Yosef did not detonate. The bus with its screaming and terrified passengers drove on.<ref>{{cite magazine
| title = Bombers not Martyrs
| author = Avi Shlaim
| date= January 6, 2005
| magazine = London Review of Books
| url = http://www.lrb.co.uk/v27/n01/letters.html}}</ref></blockquote>

Although the incident ended without casualties, the three were caught, and one of them – [[Shlomo Ben-Yosef]] was sentenced to death. Demonstrations around the country, as well as pressure from institutions and people such as [[Haim Weizman|Dr. Chaim Weizmann]] and the [[Chief Rabbi]] of [[Mandatory Palestine]], [[Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog]] did not reduce his sentence. In Shlomo Ben-Yosef's writings in Hebrew were later found:
<blockquote>I am going to die and I am not sorry at all. Why? Because I am going to die for our country. Shlomo Ben-Yosef.<ref name=":0" /></blockquote>

On 29 June 1938 he was executed, and was the first of the [[Olei Hagardom]]. The Irgun revered him after his death and many regarded him as an example.
In light of this, and due to the anger of the Irgun leadership over the decision to adopt a policy of restraint until that point, Jabotinsky relieved Rosenberg of his post and replaced him with David Raziel, who proved to be the most prominent Irgun commander until [[Menachem Begin]]. Jabotinsky simultaneously instructed the Irgun to end its policy of restraint, leading to armed offensive operations until the end of the Arab Revolt in 1939. In this time, the Irgun mounted about 40 operations against Arabs and Arab villages, for instance:
*After a Jewish father and son were killed in the [[Old City of Jerusalem]], on June 6, 1938, Irgun members threw explosives from the roof of a nearby house, killing two Arabs and injuring four.
*The Irgun planted [[land mine]]s in a number of Arab [[Souk|markets]], primarily in places identified by the Irgun as activity centers of armed Arab gangs.
*Explosives detonated in the Arab [[souk]] in Jerusalem on July 15, killed ten local Arabs.
*In similar circumstances, 70 Arabs were killed by a [[land mine]] planted in the Arab souk in Haifa.

This action led the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|British Parliament]] to discuss the disturbances in Palestine. On 23 February 1939 the [[Secretary of State for the Colonies]], [[Malcolm MacDonald]] revealed the British intention to cancel the mandate and establish a state that would preserve Arab rights. This caused a wave of riots and attacks by Arabs against Jews. The Irgun responded four days later with a series of attacks on Arab buses and other sites. The British used military force against the Arab rioters and in the latter stages of the revolt by the Arab community in Palestine, it deteriorated into a series of internal gang wars.

====During the same period====
[[File:Irgun poster Erez Jisrael.jpg|thumb|1931 [[propaganda]] poster of the Irgun for distribution in [[central Europe]] – the map shows Israel defined in the borders of both [[Mandatory Palestine]] and the [[Emirate of Transjordan]], which the Irgun claimed in its entirety for a future Jewish state.]]

At the same time, the Irgun also established itself in Europe. The Irgun built underground cells that participated in organizing migration to Palestine. The cells were made up almost entirely of Betar members, and their primary activity was military training in preparation for emigration to Palestine. Ties formed with the Polish authorities brought about courses in which Irgun commanders were trained by Polish officers in advanced military issues such as [[guerrilla warfare]], [[Tactic (method)|tactics]] and laying land mines. [[Avraham Stern|Avraham (Yair) Stern]] was notable among the cell organizers in Europe. In 1937 the Polish authorities began to deliver large amounts of weapons to the underground. According to Irgun activists Poland supplied the organization with 25,000 rifles, and additional material and weapons, by summer 1939 the Warsaw warehouses of Irgun held 5,000 rifles and 1,000 machine guns. The training and support by Poland would allow the organization to mobilize 30,000–40,000 men.<ref>Perspectives on the Holocaust pp. 71–91 The Irgun and the Destruction of European Jewry Yitshaq Ben-Ami pp. 75–76</ref> The transfer of handguns, rifles, explosives and ammunition stopped with the outbreak of World War II. Another field in which the Irgun operated was the training of pilots, so they could serve in the [[Air Force]] in the future war for independence, in the flight school in [[Lod]].

Towards the end of 1938 there was progress towards aligning the ideologies of the Irgun and the Haganah. Many abandoned the belief that the land would be divided and a Jewish state would soon exist. The Haganah founded פו"מ, a special operations unit, (pronounced ''poom''), which carried out reprisal attacks following Arab violence. These operations continued into 1939. Furthermore, the opposition within the [[Yishuv]] to illegal immigration significantly decreased, and the Haganah began to bring Jews to Palestine using rented ships, as the Irgun had in the past.

===First operations against the British===
The publishing of the MacDonald [[White Paper of 1939]] brought with it new edicts that were intended to lead to a more equitable settlement between Jews and Arabs. However, it was considered by some Jews to have an adverse effect on the continued development of the Jewish community in Palestine. Chief among these was the prohibition on selling land to Jews, and the smaller quotas for Jewish immigration. The entire Yishuv was furious at the contents of the White Paper. There were demonstrations against the "Treacherous Paper", as it was considered that it would preclude the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

Under the temporary command of [[Hanoch Kalai]], the Irgun began sabotaging strategic infrastructure such as electricity facilities, radio and telephone lines. It also started publicizing its activity and its goals. This was done in street announcements, newspapers, as well as the underground radio station [[Kol TSion HaLokhemet|Kol Zion HaLochemet]]. On August 26, 1939, the Irgun killed [[Ralph Cairns]], a British police officer who, as head of the Jewish Department in the [[Palestine Police]], had been closing the net on [[Avraham Stern]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Free Jerusalem: Heroes, Heroines and Rogues Who Created the State of Israel|authorlink=Zev Golan|last=Golan|first=Zev|page=144|year=2003|publisher=Devora Publishing Co.|isbn=1930143540}}</ref> Irgun had accused him of the [[torture]] of a number of its members.<ref>{{cite book | last = Bell | first = John Bowyer | title = Terror Out of Zion | publisher = Transaction Publishers | year = 1996 | page = 48 | isbn = 9781560008705}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Ben-Yehuda | first = Nahman | title = Political Assassinations by Jews: A Rhetorical Device for Justice | publisher = State University of New York Press | year = 1993 | page = 155 | isbn = 0791411664}}</ref> Cairns and Ronald Barker, another British police officer, were killed by a remotely detonated Irgun [[landmine]].<ref>"Mine Explosion In Jerusalem." Our Correspondent, ''The Times'' [London, England] 28 Aug. 1939: 12. The Times Digital Archive.</ref>

The British increased their efforts against the Irgun. As a result, on August 31 the British police arrested members meeting in the Irgun headquarters. On the next day, September 1, 1939, World War II broke out.