---
category: Paramilitary
end: 1948
location: Palestine
start: 1920
summary: The Haganah was the main Zionist paramilitary organization in British Mandate
  Palestine (1920-1948) that became the core of the Israel Defense Forces upon Israeli
  independence.
tags:
- Organization
- Paramilitary
- Israel
---

The Hagannah was the military arm of the Zionist movement in Palestine. In 1936, it requested a chemist to help produce an effective high explosive for use in the underground war against the Arabs and the British. [Ernst David Bergmann](/people/ernst-david-bergmann/) was assigned this mission and subsequently joined the Hagannah's technical committee.[^1]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 2.