As World War II was coming to an end, the Zionist Movement leaders were hopeful that the British government would amend the White Paper policy, allow the Jews to migrate to Eretz, Israel, and govern themselves. However, after the end of the Second World War, it became evident that the British government was not ready to change any of its foreign policies.
The Jews were disappointed by the turn of events and decided to rebel against the British Government. The Yishuv, the Jewish residents in Palestine, decided to organize the Jewish Resistance Movement (JRM) which was headed by the Haganah, in collaboration with Lehi and Etzel (Best 2).
As a Jew, I had to join the movement and help in fighting for our freedom. Being a freedom fighter entails a lot; it requires you to be strong, brave, and daring. We were made to take oaths of readiness to die for the sake of our country. We also had to be loyal to the movement in order to be entrusted with various responsibilities. I was to help the JRM fight against the common enemy.
I was to be ready to endure suffering and fight selflessly in order to help the movement achieve its mission. By joining the JRM, we were responsible for the protection of the Palestinian people, their property, and dignity. I was trained on very vital military skills and survival tactics. Fighting for freedom was not an easy task; I was required to be ready for everything because I dedicated my life to my country.
Being a freedom fighter was not a very pleasant experience as I had to sacrifice a lot in order to perform my duties. I had constantly to face the death as the British army was relentlessly looking for the Jewish rebels. I lost the touch with my usual social life since I could no longer spend time with my friends as I used to. In fact, I lost my wife and son in one of the raids that was conducted by the British army.
Besides the death of my beloved ones, the episodes at the British prisons were another traumatizing experience I had as a freedom fighter. I remember being arrested together with the other rebels as we were preparing to ambush the British soldiers who were on patrol. We were taken to prison and subjected to torture.
I do not exactly remember what happened to my colleagues in the prison since we were blindfolded and taken to different cells. I was forced to share a small cell with some hardened criminals who made my life in the prison even more unbearable. I was subjected to hard labor and isolation from the sun with ridiculous food ratios. I could not have lived to tell this story unless I had managed to escape from that prison.
Fortunately, I made a lucky escape when I was taken to one of the JRM’s camps to identify my partners in crime. This occurred when the freedom fighters started to fire at the soldiers who surrendered after being overpowered. I rejoined the movement and assumed my responsibilities.
Having lost part of my family coupled with experience I had in prison, I became more ruthless in my operations and could even confront the British soldiers face to face, while fighting them. It was during one of my daring confrontations with the British army when I lost my left leg because of a bullet shot.
The Jewish Resistance Movement was formed by a number of the Jewish leaders who were not satisfied with the British policies and rule over the Palestinian people.
Britain was not ready to stop oppressing the Jewish community even after making agreements with the Jewish leaders to loosen some of their foreign policies after World War II. The movement was formed in order to fight for the Jewish freedom from Britain. After the Second World War, the Jews were more determined than ever to stand up for their rights and demand for self-governance.
The leadership of the JRM comprised of two Haganah representatives, Moshe Sneh and Yisrael Galili, a Lehi representative, Yelli-Mor Nathan, and an Irgun representative, Begin Manahem. The Haganah was the chief authority of the entire organization (Dekmejian 89). The movement was strong and conducted some major attacks on the British Army.
Being one of the notable freedom fighters, I participated in the railroads raids as well as attacks on the British coast guard stations, radar installations, air-fields, and police stations. Later in 1946, we blew up the bridges that linked Palestine with some neighboring states.
Even though the JRM showed solidarity in its operations, the movement later collapsed due to some internal and external conflicts. Because of the King David Hotel Bombing, which killed both the enemies and the civilians, and the Agatha operation, some of the leaders for an end to the movement’s operations (Cohn-Sherbok 176).
The leaders did not come to an agreement which would lead to the dismantling of the movement, and each group decided to operate on its own (Haganah, Lehi, & Irgun). Some of the leaders together with the hundreds of their followers were arrested by the British government. Most of the freedom fighters were disarmed, so they were unable to conduct operations anymore.
Works Cited
Best, Steven. Terrorists or Freedom Fighters? Reflections on the Liberation of Animals. New York: Lantern Books, 2010. Print.
Cohn-Sherbok, Dan. Atlas of Jewish History. New York: Routledge, 2010. Print.
Dekmejian, Hrair. Patterns of Political Leaderships: Israel, Lebanon. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2011. Print.