Logo of the Lehi. Source: Wikipedia
Lehi (“Fighters for the Freedom of Israel”)
right-wing splinter group from the irgun, 1940-1948
also known as The Stern Gang
The Lehi was a militant Zionist group that split off from the right-wing Irgun, and became more militant and ruthless. It was founded by Avraham Stern in 1940, to wage a resistance campaign against the British. Its goal was to force the British out of Palestine so that the area could be opened up to unlimited immigration and a homeland could be established. Its members openly referred to themselves as “terrorists.” Under Stern’s leadership the group adopted a fascist and authoritarian ideology, but after his death in 1942 it moved closer to the communism modeled by the Soviet Union.
Throughout the 1940s the group carried out a number of high-profile attacks, most infamously the assassination of Lord Moyne in Cairo in 1944. Though disbanded after Israel was established some members continued carrying out attacks. It was banned as a terrorist group and its members given amnesty. One of its leaders, Yitzhak Shamir, went on to become Prime Minister in the 1980s.
