Shlomo Ben-Yosef
Encyclopedia
Shlomo Ben-Yosef was a noted (and controversial) member of the Revisionist Zionist
underground Irgun
. He is most noted for his participation in an April 21, 1938 attack on a bus carrying Arab
civilians, intended as a retaliation for an earlier attack by Arabs against Jews
, and emblematic as a rejection of the establishment policy of Havlagah
, or restraint. For this reason, and especially for having been the first Jew executed by the British authorities during the mandate period, Ben-Yosef is revered in the highest terms by right-wing Zionist groups such as Betar
, Irgun, Jewish Defense League
and the Kach movement.
Shalom Tabachnik immigrated to Palestine in 1937. He joined the nationalist Betar movement, living in the village of Rosh Pina and working at the Haifa
port. He took the Hebrew name Shlomo Ben-Yosef and later joined the Rosh Pina cell of the paramilitary Zionist organization Irgun.
members from Rosh Pina staged an attack on an Arab bus on the Tiberias–Rosh Pina road. The Israeli-British historian Avi Shlaim
recounts the April 21, 1938 incident as follows:
The incident occurred at the crest of the 1936-1938 Arab Revolt
, and during a high point in tensions between British authorities and the Revisionist Zionist movement. The three perpetrators were soon discovered hiding in a nearby cowshed in the possession of pistols and home-made bombs. They were put on trial in the Haifa
Military Court, charged with offenses under the Emergency (Defence) Regulations. They pleaded not guilty. Shein and Ben-Yosef were found guilty of discharging a firearm and carrying firearms, bombs and ammunition, but not guilty of a third charge of throwing bombs with intention to cause death or injury. Zurabin was found "not guilty of all three charges on grounds of insanity" and was "ordered to be kept in custody as a criminal lunatic until further notice". Shein and Ben-Yosef were sentenced to death by hanging, but the sentence of Shein was commuted to life imprisonment when his birth certificate fetched from Poland proved he was under 18 years old. Ben-Yosef was hanged in Acre
prison on June 29 after many appeals for clemency were declined. Shein was released in 1946.
According to Shlaim, as the verdict was announced, Shein and Zurabin stood up and shouted at the top of their voices: "Long live the Kingdom of Israel on both banks of the Jordan!" In conversations with friends, Ben-Yosef's last words were "Havlagah is fatal."
Revisionist Zionism
Revisionist Zionism is a nationalist faction within the Zionist movement. It is the founding ideology of the non-religious right in Israel, and was the chief ideological competitor to the dominant socialist Labor Zionism...
underground Irgun
Irgun
The Irgun , or Irgun Zevai Leumi to give it its full title , was a Zionist paramilitary group that operated in Mandate Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization haHaganah...
. He is most noted for his participation in an April 21, 1938 attack on a bus carrying Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
civilians, intended as a retaliation for an earlier attack by Arabs against Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, and emblematic as a rejection of the establishment policy of Havlagah
Havlagah
HaHavlagah was a strategic policy used by the Haganah members with regard to actions taken against Arab groups who were attacking the Jewish settlement during the British Mandate of Palestine. Its core principles were fortification and abstention from taking revenge on Arabs by attacking innocent...
, or restraint. For this reason, and especially for having been the first Jew executed by the British authorities during the mandate period, Ben-Yosef is revered in the highest terms by right-wing Zionist groups such as Betar
Betar
The Betar Movement is a Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Vladimir Jabotinsky. It has been traditionally linked to the original Herut and then Likud political parties of Israel, and was closely affiliated with the pre-Israel Revisionist Zionist splinter group...
, Irgun, Jewish Defense League
Jewish Defense League
The Jewish Defense League is a Jewish organization whose stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary"...
and the Kach movement.
Shalom Tabachnik immigrated to Palestine in 1937. He joined the nationalist Betar movement, living in the village of Rosh Pina and working at the Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
port. He took the Hebrew name Shlomo Ben-Yosef and later joined the Rosh Pina cell of the paramilitary Zionist organization Irgun.
April 21, 1938 revenge attack
On March 28, 1938, a car containing 10 Jews was ambushed by Arabs on the Acre-Safad road and six of them were killed. In revenge, Ben-Yosef (24), Avraham Shein (17) and Yehoshua Zurabin (19), BetarBetar
The Betar Movement is a Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Vladimir Jabotinsky. It has been traditionally linked to the original Herut and then Likud political parties of Israel, and was closely affiliated with the pre-Israel Revisionist Zionist splinter group...
members from Rosh Pina staged an attack on an Arab bus on the Tiberias–Rosh Pina road. The Israeli-British historian Avi Shlaim
Avi Shlaim
Avi Shlaim FBA is a British/Israeli historian. He is a professor of International Relations at the University of Oxford and a fellow of the British Academy.Shlaim is especially well known as a historian of the Arab-Israeli conflict...
recounts the April 21, 1938 incident as follows:
- 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.
The incident occurred at the crest of the 1936-1938 Arab Revolt
Arab Revolt
The Arab Revolt was initiated by the Sherif Hussein bin Ali with the aim of securing independence from the ruling Ottoman Turks and creating a single unified Arab state spanning from Aleppo in Syria to Aden in Yemen.- Background :...
, and during a high point in tensions between British authorities and the Revisionist Zionist movement. The three perpetrators were soon discovered hiding in a nearby cowshed in the possession of pistols and home-made bombs. They were put on trial in the Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
Military Court, charged with offenses under the Emergency (Defence) Regulations. They pleaded not guilty. Shein and Ben-Yosef were found guilty of discharging a firearm and carrying firearms, bombs and ammunition, but not guilty of a third charge of throwing bombs with intention to cause death or injury. Zurabin was found "not guilty of all three charges on grounds of insanity" and was "ordered to be kept in custody as a criminal lunatic until further notice". Shein and Ben-Yosef were sentenced to death by hanging, but the sentence of Shein was commuted to life imprisonment when his birth certificate fetched from Poland proved he was under 18 years old. Ben-Yosef was hanged in Acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
prison on June 29 after many appeals for clemency were declined. Shein was released in 1946.
According to Shlaim, as the verdict was announced, Shein and Zurabin stood up and shouted at the top of their voices: "Long live the Kingdom of Israel on both banks of the Jordan!" In conversations with friends, Ben-Yosef's last words were "Havlagah is fatal."
External links
- http://www.etzel.org.il/english/people/benyosef.htm - profile at the Irgun website
- http://www.betar.org/history/hist-h.htm - profile at betar.org
- http://www.betar.co.uk/betaris/shlomo.php - profile at the UK Betarist website
- http://www.csuohio.edu/tagar/shlomo.htm - Letters from Ben-Yosef at Acre Prison