MI5 feared attacks by Jewish terrorists

[ShockediSay]

JEWISH terrorists planned to assassinate Cabinet ministers in Clement Attlee’s government, together with other VIPs in 1940s London, the British security service feared.

The threat of extremists sending cells to the UK capital was also causing concern, according to the confidential records which were released yesterday.

The armed struggle against the British Mandate of Palestine had seen the murder in Cairo in late 1944 of Britain’s minister resident in the Middle East, Lord Moyne, by members of the extremist Stern Gang....




http://www.sundayherald.com/54453

[The Magistrate]

1. The Hell You Say, Sir!

What a shocking new development....

[Violet_Crumble]

3. So you knew all this in detail already?

n/t

[Englander]

12. The claims are old, papers released 3 yrs ago said the same;

Terrorists plotted death of Bevin

Plan to assassinate foreign secretary

Jamie Wilson
Thursday May 22, 2003
The Guardian

MI5 feared that Zionist "terrorists" were plotting to assassinate the then British foreign secretary, Ernest Bevin, and set up IRA-style cells in London during the war for an Israeli state, papers released today by the national archives reveal.

In an ironic twist on the current situation in Israel, a 1946 MI5 briefing document, called Present Trends in Zionism, said that the Stern Group, which in 1944 assassinated Lord Moyne, the British military governor in the Middle East, had been steadily recruiting and was believed to number as many as 600 followers "most of whom are desperate men and women who count their own lives cheap".

The note continued: "In recent months it has been reported that they have been training selected members for the purpose of proceeding overseas and assassinating a prominent British personality - special reference having been made several times to Mr Bevin in this connection."

Another document in the files, prepared for the prime minister, Clement Attlee, which a handwritten note records he read on August 28 1946, deals with the setting up of IRA-style cells in the UK.

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/politicspast/story/0,9061,961081,00.html

[Jim Sagle]

2. That was then, this is now. Do try to keep up.

[Violet_Crumble]

4. There's no time limit on things that are discussed...

n/t

[Name removed]

5. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Englander]

6. Jewish plot to kill Bevin in London

JEWISH terrorists plotted to assassinate Ernest Bevin, the foreign secretary, in 1946, as part of their campaign to establish the state of Israel, newly declassified intelligence files have shown. The plan was devised by Irgun, the insurgent group led by Menachem Begin, who went on to become a Nobel peace prize winner and prime minister of Israel.

Begin, whom MI6 believed was backed by the Soviet Union, planned to send five terrorist cells to Britain to carry out bombings and assassinations that would “beat the dog in his own kennel”.

The Jewish insurgents aimed to force British occupying forces out of Palestine, enabling the founding of the Jewish state. Details of the plot are included in MI5 files released at the National Archives in Kew, London.

Lord Bethell, author of The Palestine Triangle and an expert on Soviet intelligence, said Bevin was detested by Zionist groups. He added, however: “Zionists would be very angry if you compared these people with terrorists now. You have to remember that Irgun were the grandfathers of today’s ruling politicians.

“They would say they were at war with the British and behaved well, fighting under Marquess of Queensberry rules. They would say that they didn’t target civilians.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2069967,00.html

[Jim Sagle]

7. And they'd be right. But hey, you knew that.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bemildred]

9. This seems littered with hearsay and speculation.

While I don't think it's unbelieveable as such, I'll wait for confirmation and elaboration before putting much weight on it.

[Englander]

13. It does.

The idea that the pre-state terror-gangs could emulate the Ira & operate in
the Uk is certainly fanciful stuff. In Palestine, Rome, Egypt & Vienna, the
Colonial Secs, & Embassies, &tc weren't immune from Irgun's explosive attempts
at assassination, but the idea that they could operate in London isn't practical.
The intent was there (& still is, weirdly) but not the ability.

[bemildred]

14. Sounds about right.

The British in the old days were no slouch at dealing with this sort of disobedience themselves, either, just ask the Irish for example. But it's hard to see how it relates to the present situation other than in kicking partisans off their pedestal of moral superiority when they have the chutzpah to climb up on it.

[Coastie for Truth]

10. Certainly under the "Rules" of "Assymetric Warfare"

Ernest Bevin could have been targeted. The personification of evil.

[Wordie]

11. Oh, the irony. eom

[Coastie for Truth]

15. IMHO - Ernest Bevin was at least as bad a war criminal as

Aviv Kochavi or Ariel Sharon are accused of being.