Amichai Paglin, code name "Gidi" ( he, עמיחי פאגלין;1922–1978) was an Israeli businessman who served as Chief Operations Officer of the
Irgun
Irgun • Etzel
, image = Irgun.svg , image_size = 200px
, caption = Irgun emblem. The map shows both Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan, which the Irgun claimed in its entirety for a future Jewish state. The acronym "Etzel" i ...
during the Mandate era. He planned and personally led numerous attacks against the British during the
Jewish insurgency in Palestine
A successful paramilitary campaign was carried out by Zionist underground groups against British rule in Mandatory Palestine from 1944 to 1948. The tensions between the Zionist underground and the British mandatory authorities rose from 1938 an ...
, commanded the battle to conquer
Jaffa
Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...
1948 Arab–Israeli War
The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...
. Following independence, he ran an industrial oven factory together with his father, and was later appointed Prime Minister
Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. B ...
's
counter-terrorism
Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...
adviser.
Biography
Amichai Paglin was born in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
, the son of Gershon and Sima Paglin. His family had immigrated from
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
in 1920. Paglin attended Tel Nordau elementary school and Balfour high school. He was in the same class as Lehi fighter
Eliyahu Bet-Zuri
Eliyahu Bet-Zuri ( he, אליהו בית צורי 10 February 1922 – 22 March 1945) was a member of Lehi, who was executed in Egypt for his part in the assassination of Lord Moyne, the British Minister Resident in the Middle East.
Biogr ...
and future IDF Chief of Staff
Tzvi Tzur
Tzvi Tzur ( he, צבי צור, also transliterated Zvi Tsur, 1923 – 28 December 2004) was an Israeli officer who served as the IDF's 6th Chief of Staff (1961–1963).
Biography Early life
Tzur was born in the Zaslav in the Soviet Union (now ...
.
At a young age he joined the
Haganah
Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the ...
, and was appointed the signaller of Efraim Dekel, the commander of
Shai
Shai (also spelt Sai, occasionally Shay, and in Greek, Psais) was the deification of the concept of fate in Egyptian mythology. As a concept, with no particular reason for associating one gender over another, Shai was sometimes considered femal ...
(the Haganah intelligence unit). He participated in a squad commander course, and expected to participate in significant operations against the British. However, to his disappointment, he was commanded to scrape posters off walls and to do other simple activities.
Activity in the Irgun
Paglin's family was associated with the
Labor Movement
The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other.
* The trade union movement ...
. His older brother, Neriel, was a member of the
Palyam
Palyam ( he, פלי"ם, an abbreviation of ''Plugat HaYam'' (), lit. ''Sea Company'') was the sea force of the Palmach.
History
Palyam was set up in April 1945 as the Palmach's tenth company (Pluga Yud) which originated from the Palmach's Naval ...
, the naval commando unit of the Haganah's strike force, the
Palmach
The Palmach (Hebrew: , acronym for , ''Plugot Maḥatz'', "Strike Companies") was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of the British Mandate for Palestine. The Palmach ...
, and was an assistant to Haganah commander
Yisrael Galili
Yisrael Galili ( he, ישראל גלילי; 10 February 1911 – 8 February 1986) was an Israeli politician, government minister and member of Knesset. Before Israel's independence in 1948, he served as Chief of Staff of the Haganah.
Biography
Y ...
. Neriel was one of the 23 Palyam soldiers who died on the ship ''Ari HaYam'' when it sank off of Vichy-controlled
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
in May 1941, during
Operation Boatswain
Operation Boatswain was the first of the operational missions carried out by the Palmach as part of the cooperation between the Jewish Yishuv in Mandatory Palestine and the British during World War II. The mission to sabotage oil refineries in Tri ...
, a mission for the
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
. This frustrated Amichai greatly, who felt that his brother had given his life for the British, and yet the British did not open Palestine to Jewish immigration. This encouraged him to join the more anti-British Irgun.
He joined the "Hayil Kravi" (Combat Corps) of the Irgun and immediately began acting as a simple soldier. He participated in one of their first operations, the Irgun's bombing of the Immigration Department in
Haifa
Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
, carried out as a protest against the British refusal to allow large numbers of Jewish refugees into Palestine. Afterwards, he participated in attacks against the Income Tax offices and the
CID
CID may refer to:
Film
* ''C.I.D.'' (1955 film), an Indian Malayalam film
* ''C.I.D.'' (1956 film), an Indian Hindi film
* ''C. I. D.'' (1965 film), an Indian Telugu film
* ''C.I.D.'' (1990 film), an Indian Hindi film
Television
* ''CID'' ( ...
building in Tel Aviv.
Paglin stood out for his courage, his technical knowledge, his fertile imagination, and his daring and original plans to strike the enemy. Menachem Begin (the leader of the Irgun), would later write about him, "this amazing young man, his military ability borders, without doubt, on the genius...."
In 1946, after the arrest of
Eitan Livni
Yeruham "Eitan" Livni ( he, ירוחם "איתן" לבני; 1 April 1919 – 27 December 1991) was a Revisionist Zionist activist, Irgun commander and Israeli politician, father of Israeli politician Tzipi Livni.
Life and career
Livni was born in ...
, the Chief Operations Officer of the Irgun, "Gidi" was appointed to the position in his place. In this position he planned over 200 attacks: both against the British, and in the
1947–1949 Palestine war
The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. It is known in Israel as the War of Independence ( he, מלחמת העצמאות, ''Milkhemet Ha'Atzma'ut'') and ...
, against the Arabs. In many of these attacks, he personally participated.
Paglin planned the
King David Hotel bombing
The British administrative headquarters for Mandatory Palestine, housed in the southern wing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, were bombed in a terrorist attack on 22 July 1946 by the militant right-wing Zionist underground organization the ...
Acre Prison break
The Acre Prison break was an operation undertaken by the Irgun on May 4, 1947, in the British Mandate of Palestine, in which its men broke through the walls of the Central Prison in Acre and freed 27 incarcerated Irgun and Lehi members.
History
...
Netanya
Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate I ...
, as a response to the hanging of convicted Irgun members by the British. He also led the battle for Jaffa in the
1947–1949 Palestine war
The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. It is known in Israel as the War of Independence ( he, מלחמת העצמאות, ''Milkhemet Ha'Atzma'ut'') and ...
r and an unsuccessful attempt to conquer
Ramle
Ramla or Ramle ( he, רַמְלָה, ''Ramlā''; ar, الرملة, ''ar-Ramleh'') is a city in the Central District of Israel. Today, Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with both a significant Jewish and Arab populations.
The city was f ...
.
After the Irgun merged with the
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
in the coastal area, he transferred to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, where the Irgun continued as an independent entity. He participated in the joint attempt to break the siege on Jerusalem's Old City (together with the Haganah and the Lechi).
When the Irgun tried bringing the
Altalena
The ''Altalena'' Affair was a violent confrontation that took place in June 1948 by the newly created Israel Defense Forces against the Irgun (also known as IZL), one of the Jewish paramilitary groups that were in the process of merging to form ...
arms ship, Begin did not believe that the IDF would shoot at the Jews of the Irgun. Paglin warned him that they would likely attack, and therefore should direct the ship elsewhere. In the end, Paglin was correct, and fighting broke out. As the ship was being shelled, Paglin headed towards
Ramat Gan
Ramat Gan ( he, רָמַת גַּן or , ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv and part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. It is home to one of the world's major diamond exchanges, and many ...
in an attempt to capture the seat of government. However, he was detained by IDF soldiers. He eventually managed to escape, but it was too late to help the Altalena or threaten the government. In the end, the Irgun was disbanded and integrated into the IDF.
When the Irgun disbanded, there was an agreement that three commanders from the Irgun would be appointed as generals in the new army. Paglin attempted to be drafted twice, but was rejected due to "health reasons" (apparently by direct order of Prime Minister
David Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the name ...
.)
After 1948
He married Tzipora Perl, who served with him in the underground. They had two children, a son named Neriel and a daughter named Galia. Together with his father Gershon, he built a factory in
Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of ...
for industrial ovens, which became famous for building the oven in which the body of Nazi war criminal
Shmuel Tamir
Shmuel M. Tamir ( he, שמואל תמיר, born Shmuel Katznelson; 10 March 1923 – 29 June 1987) was a prominent Israeli independence fighter, lawyer, patriot and Knesset member. After a successful career fighting the British he entered the K ...
challenged Begin for the leadership of the
Herut
Herut ( he, חֵרוּת, ''Freedom'') was the major conservative nationalist political party in Israel from 1948 until its formal merger into Likud in 1988. It was an adherent of Revisionist Zionism.
History
Herut was founded by Menachem Begin ...
Party. Tamir invited Paglin to speak, where he attacked the management of the party as well. But when the party recovered from its divisions, Paglin became close with Begin again.
In the period leading up to the
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...
in 1967, the
Mossad
Mossad ( , ), ; ar, الموساد, al-Mōsād, ; , short for ( he, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, links=no), meaning 'Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations'. is the national intelligence agency ...
considered a plan to sink a large boat full of mortar in the
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
to prevent all passage. The difficulty was finding a way to sink the boat fast enough before the Egyptians would have a chance to move it. Due to his creativity and experience, Paglin was approached. He quickly came up with plans, but due to the sudden breakout of war, the operation never occurred.
In September 1972, Paglin conspired with Rabbi
Meir Kahane
Meir David HaKohen Kahane (; he, רבי מאיר דוד הכהן כהנא ; born Martin David Kahane; August 1, 1932 – November 5, 1990) was an American-born Israeli ordained Orthodox rabbi, writer, and ultra-nationalist politician who serve ...
, Avraham Hershkowitz, and Yosef Schneider, then members of the
Jewish Defense League
The Jewish Defense League (JDL) is a Jewish far-right religious-political organization in the United States and Canada, whose stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary". It has been classified as "a right w ...
, to smuggle weapons to Rome and take over the Libyan embassy, kill half of those present, and then escape, as revenge for the murder of the eleven Israeli athletes in Munich. Paglin had a number of weapon stores, which he had gathered from the Sinai Campaign and the Six-Day War. He delivered to Hershkowitz two Carl Gustav submachine guns, two 9mm Beretta pistols, three hand grenades and ammunition for rifles and pistols. The crate, which arrived at the El-Al luggage department disguised as biscuit baking equipment on September 13, aroused suspicion and the contents were discovered. Hershkowitz was arrested on September 15 (and claimed that Kahane had handed them over to the authorities). Paglin was arrested on September 19 and the attorney Shmuel Tamir was hired to represent him. Paglin admitted to Tamir that he gave into temptation and fell victim to one time weakness. Through his aunt, former Knesset Member
Beba Idelson
Beba Idelson ( he, בבה אידלסון, 14 October 1895 – 5 December 1975) was a Zionist activist and Israeli politician.
Biography
Beba Idelson (née Trakhtenbereg) was born in Ekaterinoslav in the Russian Empire (now Dnipropetrovsk, Ukra ...
, he sent a message to Prime Minister
Golda Meir
Golda Meir, ; ar, جولدا مائير, Jūldā Māʾīr., group=nb (born Golda Mabovitch; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was an Israeli politician, teacher, and ''kibbutznikit'' who served as the fourth prime minister of Israel from 1969 to 1 ...
saying that he was willing to meet with her and explain that there was no underground movement against the State. During the trial, Tamir hinted that Rabbi Kahane (who was not arrested) had collaborated with the authorities, and questioned why Kahane's passport wasn't confiscated. During the trial, Paglin received favorable treatment, and stayed at the police station in Nes Tziona and at the Basel Hotel in Tel Aviv. At the end of the trial those involved received light sentences, and Paglin received a one-year suspended sentence. MK
Benjamin Halevy
Benjamin Halevy ( he, בנימין הלוי, 6 May 1910 – 7 August 1996) was an Israeli judge and politician.
Biography
Halevy was born Ernst Levi in Weißenfels, Germany and educated at the Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg, Unive ...
, a former Supreme Court judge, summarized the affair in this way: "As a former Irgun member, with serious experience in the underground, Paglin was caught in a trap by people far less serious."
When the Likud took power in 1977, Prime Minister Begin appointed Paglin as his counter-terrorism adviser. He invested in this position his characteristic enthusiasm and diligence. However, a few months after his appointment, he was killed in a traffic accident with his wife Tziporah, when an elderly driver suffered a heart attack, lost control of the wheel, and collided into his car.
The Irgun Museum on the Jaffa coast, Beit Gidi, is named after him.