| Following
World War II, the British continue to limit Jewish immigration to Palestine,
directing those who had survived the concentration camps to the camps
for displaced persons. Three Resistance groups assure the defense of the
Jewish settlements against the armed gangs of Arabs and propel the fight
against the presence of the English: the Haganah (Defense) gathers members
and sympathizers of the labor party as well as those of the religious,
Zionist movement; the Irgun, also known as Etzel - short for Irgun Tzvai
Leumi or the National Military Organization - regroups the members of
the Revisionist Party; Lehi - Lohamai Herut Israel or the Fighters for
the Liberation of Israel - is a splinter group of the Etzel. The latter,
under the direction of Menachem Begin, was a partisan of a war of attrition
against the British to force them to leave Palestine. Their rallying cry,
rak kach (only this way!), was tattooed on an arm brandishing a gun with
a map of Greater Israel including the two banks of the Jordan in the background.
Begin - who became Prime Minister in 1977 - had a price on his head.
The Etzel, which had no more than 2000 members
in 1948, would attack the arsenals of the British army to secure arms
and ammunition to harry the British. Overwhelmed by the situation, the
latter condemn six of their prisoners to death. Begin's men focus on
a plan to free them and to save them from hanging. But on April 14th,
1947, four of them, Gruner, Drezner (Rosenbaum), Alkachi and Kachani
are transferred from the prison in Jerusalem to a cell in Akko where
they are hung while waiting to be granted a reprieve by the Royal Council.
The Jewish population in Palestine is shocked: Begin describes his reaction
as follows:
On April 16th, at seven
in the morning, tens of thousands of people were tuned into their
radio stations that emitted the voice of Lea Porat. She read an "official
statement". Her voice was no longer that of a radio announcer employed
by the British. It was the voice of a Jewess. It was the heart of
a daughter of Israel in distress to the depth of her soul that spoke.
Her voice was overwhelmed with tears.
" This morning, Dov Gruner, Dov Rosenbaum, Mordechai Alkachi, Eliezer
Kachani were hung to death in the prison in Akko..."
God of Israel!
They had set our blood on fire.
So they assassinated them.
Secretly. Without a Rabbi's prayer of consolation. Through ruse. With
hypocrisy. In fear. Tortured.
Master, we could not save them. At least make it possible for us to
avenge the blood of your servants.
Why should the people say: " Where is their God? "
See our overwhelming grief. You know it. Harden our hearts. Do not
allow us to succumb to our pain.
Fortify our will so that we can pay back our enemy-executioner with
the same means.
For if we do not punish them for their evil, they will continue to
torment your people, to hang and to kill those who sacrifice themselves
in your great name, to disturb your fighters, God of life.
Menachem
Begin, The Revolt
One week
later, two other prisoners, Meir Feinstein and Moshe Barzani, blow themselves
up in their cells a few hours before they were to be hung. On May 4th,
1947, the Etzel attacks the prison in Akko. The operation is led by
one of the most daring commanders of the organization, Dov Cohen, a
veteran of World War II, known by the code name of Shimshon (Samson).
Wearing British uniforms to escape notice, they arrive at the foot of
the Akko fortress where they wait for the prisoners to blow up the interior
locks in order to penetrate the walls. The attack is carried out in
broad daylight and the prisoners escape under a heavy exchange of fire.
Battles take place between the attacking units and the English reinforcements.
Shimshon and many of his men are killed. The attack on the citadel of
Akko - «The English Bastille» - is nonetheless a success that resounds
throughout the entire world...
On June 16th, three of the
assailants, arrested by the British, are also condemned to death. The
Etzel abducts two sergeants of the British Secret Services in an attempt
to annul the verdict and free the prisoners. But on May 29th, the latter
are hung and the order is given to execute the hostages. Profoundly
shaken by the hangings and executions, international public opinion
exerts pressure to settle the problem of Palestine.
Since the independence of the State
of Israel in 1948, new neighborhoods in Akko have not ceased to welcome
Jewish immigrants from all parts of the world, especially Morocco and
Georgia. One of the most important Arab communities in the country settled
in the old city. The walls, the Crusader masonry, the citadel and the
tiny harbor give it the appearance of those cities that have retired
from history. In the beginning of autumn, it hosts an annual theater
festival. Today, Akko has a population of almost 45,000 inhabitants;
25 % are Arabs.
|