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Britain and the Jewish Underground, 1944-46: Intelligence, Policy and Resistance University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies Legacy Theses 2010 Britain and the Jewish Underground, 1944-46: Intelligence, Policy and Resistance Wagner, Steven Wagner, S. (2010). Britain and the Jewish Underground, 1944-46: Intelligence, Policy and Resistance (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/12667 http://hdl.handle.net/1880/48196 master thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Britain and the Jewish Underground, 1944-46: Intelligence, Policy and Resistance by Steven Wagner A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY CALGARY, ALBERTA SEPTEMBER, 2010 © Steven Wagner 2010 The author of this thesis has granted the University of Calgary a non-exclusive license to reproduce and distribute copies of this thesis to users of the University of Calgary Archives. Copyright remains with the author. Theses and dissertations available in the University of Calgary Institutional Repository are solely for the purpose of private study and research. They may not be copied or reproduced, except as permitted by copyright laws, without written authority of the copyright owner. Any commercial use or re-publication is strictly prohibited. The original Partial Copyright License attesting to these terms and signed by the author of this thesis may be found in the original print version of the thesis, held by the University of Calgary Archives. Please contact the University of Calgary Archives for further information: E-mail: [email protected] Telephone: (403) 220-7271 Website: http://archives.ucalgary.ca Abstract Starting in the 1930s, but especially during the Second World War, the intelligence agencies of Britain and the Jewish Agency for Palestine had a complicated relationship. They often worked together to fight common threats, such as Arab rebels and Nazi Germany. Jewish terrorists presented another common threat during the Second World War, when the Jewish Agency cooperated with Britain, in the hopes of political rewards in the postwar settlement. British Intelligence, unable to penetrate the Jewish terrorist organizations, Irgun and Lehi, relied on the cooperation of the Jewish Agency to maintain security. This dependency and the strengthening of the underground Haganah, weakened the grip of British authority in Palestine, and made the Jewish community, the Yishuv, increasingly powerful. By 1945, when Britain did not fulfil the expectations of the Yishuv to lift immigration restrictions on Jews to Palestine, its dominant figure, David Ben-Gurion, launched a secret war against British policy. Intelligence failed to understand and react effectively to this development because it relied on its liaison with the Jewish Agency, now secretly hostile, to interpret the political and security situation in Palestine. In a classic problem of net assessment, British officials overestimated their own strength and resolve, and underestimated that of the Yishuv. British intelligence failed to accurately assess Jewish threats or intentions in Palestine from 1944 to 1946. These mistakes in intelligence contributed to failures of policy, which destroyed British policy in the Palestine Mandate, and opened the door to the creation of the state of Israel. ii Acknowledgements This project took me to three continents, six archives; it required me to work in three languages and my full-time dedication to its completion. It could not have been done without the generous financial support of the Israel Studies Department at the University of Calgary, the Faculty of Graduate Studies’ Graduate Assistantship (Teaching), the Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship Program, the Jewish Young Scholars Program, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council – Joseph Armand Bombardier Scholarship, Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplements Program, the Jewish Community Foundation of Calgary, the University Research Grants Committee, and the Faculty of Graduate Studies “Special Awards” – Graduate Scholarship for Calgary/Israel Study Exchange. I would also like to thank my parents, whose limitless encouragement and support have guided me from one success to the next. The staff and faculty of the History Department have been another major source of support for my work. I must also express my gratitude to Dr. Yoav Gelber at the University of Haifa for hosting me, and guiding me through the maze of Hebrew literature on the Mandate period. Without his kind direction, I would still be lost. I am grateful to Dr. Shlomit Keren, from whom I learned the fundamentals of Israel Studies, and whose advice and encouragement has guided me throughout my studies. To Dr. John Ferris, I owe my utmost appreciation. Five years ago, beginning in his class, I started a journey that led me across the world searching for spies and unsolved mysteries. In the process, I learned two languages (three, if you count English), published an article, and found my passion for history and discovery. iii Contents Abstract............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii Contents ............................................................................................................................. iv Acronyms ........................................................................................................................... vi Chapter 1............................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction..................................................................................................................... 1 (mis)Understanding Yishuv and British Politics ............................................................ 7 Political structure of the Yishuv ................................................................................. 9 British Policy ............................................................................................................ 13 Tensions and Intelligence: British-Yishuv Relations ................................................... 19 Yishuv Armed Organizations and Intelligence......................................................... 19 British Intelligence.................................................................................................... 29 SIGINT ..................................................................................................................... 41 Teddy Kollek: Caught Between Cooperation and Competition ................................... 45 Chapter 2 ­ ......................................................................................................................... 58 Intelligence, Policy and the Threat of Revolt ............................................................... 58 Assessing British Assessments ................................................................................. 61 The Cairo Conference on Palestine 6-7 April 1944.................................................. 66 Intelligence and the Paralysis of British Policy ........................................................ 69 Assessing the Disposition of the Yishuv: Conflicting Views ................................... 70 Rising Terrorism and Assessments on the Threat of Revolt ..................................... 76 The Assassination of Lord Moyne............................................................................ 85 Intelligence and Counterinsurgency ............................................................................. 90 Begin’s Revolt .......................................................................................................... 90 Agent Y.32 – The CID’s Irgun Informant ................................................................ 92 Alec Kellar’s Visit to the Middle East, Counterterrorism and Cooperation ............. 99 Cooperation and British Security After Moyne’s Assassination ................................ 104 Organizational Weakness, Organizational Changes ............................................... 109 Terrorist Threats Abroad......................................................................................... 114 Palestine Security after V.E. Day ........................................................................... 117 Chapter 3......................................................................................................................... 125 Showdown between Britain and the Yishuv............................................................... 125 The shot unheard around the world ........................................................................ 129 Two Replacements Enter Palestine ......................................................................... 133 The Jewish Resistance Movement .............................................................................. 137 Operation Agatha ...................................................................................................
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