"We are engaged in a war of life or death, a war for the very existence of our people" – a forceful proclamation by ...

"We are engaged in a war of life or death, a war for the very existence of our people" – a forceful proclamation by the Irgun organization

"To the People and to the Youth!" A forceful double-sided proclamation issued by the Irgun organization against those calling for peaceful means and negotiation to achieve the goals of Zionism, and in support of intensifying the armed struggle, through which alone the homeland will be attained. Adar 5707 (March 1947).

“Within besieged Zion, the men of impure anarchy once again attempt to raise their voice and incite civil war. They – who lied to themselves and deceived the people, they – who erred and misled, dragging us from disaster to disaster...” The proclamation accuses the hypocrites who, with their words, call for struggle against the British occupier, but when he strikes them, they run to Paris and London to try to gain achievements through negotiations. These hypocrites claim that the Irgun’s attacks provided the enemy with a pretext to impose martial law in Eretz Israel, and the text rebukes them: “Indeed, an interesting argument. If so, one must say... the Greeks’ refusal to surrender to Mussolini gave him a ‘pretext’ to go to war against Greece. The partisans’ war against the Nazi invader throughout Europe gave Hitler a ‘pretext’ to persecute the subjugated population in the occupied countries...” It continues, stating that “these crooked minds... do not understand that we are engaged in a war of life or death, a war for the very existence of our people, and that in this war many sacrifices must be made, and we must suffer inhuman torment.” It further argues that had it not been for the Irgun’s path of war: “within two or three years they would have crowned the Mufti as president of the ‘Palestinian state’...” and that the Irgun’s war is what saved the Jewish people from despair, and it is what will bring victory. It concludes: “We believe!”

The proclamation was published in the final months before the end of the British Mandate. During this period, the Irgun was in the midst of its armed struggle against the British, continuing alone in direct attacks against the Mandate authorities, particularly targeting British military, police, and transportation infrastructure, while at the same time suppressing any internal opposition to the armed struggle, as demonstrated by the proclamation before us.

[1] Printed leaf, double-sided. 33×22 cm. Tear with slight loss and minor damage to two words on the verso of the proclamation. Apart from that, good condition.