Bidspirit | car auction (ZIONISM) Large collection of printed | May 6, 2021 Kestenbaum & Company

(ZIONISM) Large collection of printed papers issued by and relating to Jewish militant groups of the Mandate period, including: * 2 issues of Lechi newspapers, HaMa’as from 1948 and HeChazit from 1944 [items 1-2]. * 13 Irgun and Lech”i broadsides/fliers [items 3-14]. * 2 English-language fliers from the Irgun to soldiers of the British army [items 15-16].” Hebrew, English, Arabic. Many items bearing the insignia of the Irgun. Variously browned, stained, creased, torn. Palestine: 1944-1948 1. 1948. HaMa’as, “The Betrayal of the American Government. Our Response Will Be: Intensification of the War of Liberation, Turning to the Soviet Union, Replacement of Bankrupt Leadership.” The “betrayal” is referring to President Truman’s vacillation on his support of the founding of a Jewish state; the “bankrupt leadership” refers to the leaders of political Zionism of the time, including David Ben Gurion. pp.(1). Folio. 2. 1944. HeChazit: Iton Lochamei Cheirut Yisrael [The Front: The Newspaper of the Lech”i]. Only first page--”LaNoflim B’Krav” [To Those Who Died in Battle] (eulogizing Lech”i soldiers who had recently fallen)--and last pages. pp.(1-2), 21-(22). Folio. 3. 1948. Lochamei Cheirut Yisrael [Lech”i], Az-hara. Lech”i Broadside informing the British that the organization is targeting their Government offices, and warning the public not to frequent these locations. pp.(1). 8vo. 4. 1947. Az-hara, from the Irgun. Irgun Broadside warning that the organization has planted landmines underneath railway lines, because these lines have been “supplying the enemy with troops and military equipment.” pp.(1). 8vo. 5. 1948. Yeda HaAm [For the Public’s Knowledge], from the Irgun. Irgun broadside accusing the Haganah, the militant group that the Irgun had split off from 17 years earlier, of smearing the Irgun. Also levels accusations against the Haganah. pp.(1). Folio. 6. 1948. HaKetz Lehishtolelut HaPor’im [The End of the Frenzied Rioters], from the Irgun. Irgun broadside in which the organization threatens civil war if the Haganah continues to try and persecute the Irgun. pp.(1). Folio. 7. El Kol Ivri BeMoledet [To Every Jew in the Homeland], from the Irgun. Irgun article exhorting Jews not to act as informers for the British, whom the Irgun accuse of betraying the Jewish people. pp.(1). Folio. 8. HaYahapokh Kushi Ivuro [Can a colored person change his skin?], from the Irgun. Irgun promotional poster encouraging young men to question the leadership of the Mapai (left-wing political organization which founded the Haganah, with whom the Irgun frequently clashed) and join the Irgun. pp.(1). 8vo. 9. 1947. Cherut, Irgun newspaper. Headline article reads, “Dov Gruner Ma’ashim” [Dov Gruner Accuses]. Gruner, an Irgun member (who had previously fought for the British army in WWII), was sentenced to death by a British military court. The article reprints his famous remarks when the court asked if he pled guilty: “I do not recognize your right to judge me … You came to the land of Israel … to correct the greatest wrong in human history … [But you betrayed this mission, ] because it is well-known to you that the theft of this land and the shutting of its gates, it is like constantly spilling the blood of millions of men, women, and children--my people… The obligation [of people oppressed by their rulers]--is to fight against such an administration and topple it. This is the Jewish youth are doing, this is what it will continue to do.” Although he was offered a lighter sentence if he agreed to plead guilty, Gruner refused, and was hanged on April 17, 1947. pp.(2). Folio. 10. 1947. El HaAm VeEl HaNoar! [To the Nation and to the Youth!], by the Irgun. Irgun poster insinuating that the British are trying to stir up a civil war among Jewish militant groups, and declaring that the Irgun will not give up its struggle to liberate the Jewish homeland [MORE! --something about giving up the eastern bank of the Jordan(?)]. pp.(1). Poster. 11. 1947. Mul Mezimat HaOyev [Against the Enemy’s Conspiracy], by the Irgun. Irgun broadside accusing the British of betraying the Jews, and advocating that Jews abandon the “defensive psychology” characteristic of the Warsaw ghetto and take the offensive. pp.(1). Folio. 12. 1947. Hoda’ah [Notice], from the Irgun. Irgun broadside notifying the British that they plan to attack British Headquarters in the Northern part of the country, as revenge for the “Hamburg disgrace.” This refers to the turning away of the SS Exodus, a ship of Holocaust survivors bound for Palestine, by the British; the passengers were returned to the refugee camp in British-occupied Hamburg. pp.(1). Folio. 13. 1947. Azhara! Dirua B-alkam! Warning! Irgun broadside in Hebrew, Arabic, and English warning the British government and civilian populations of an intended attack on British government offices. pp.(1). Broadside. 14. 1944. El HaYishuv [To the Jewish Settlements]. Irgun leaflet to the Jewish settlements,