LEHI

LEHI (Lohamei Herut Israel, Hebrew for Fighters for the Liberation of Israel), also known as the Stern Gang, was a Jewish terrorist group. It was founded by David Stern and later led by Yitzhak Shamir.¹

Gourdji, the father of Ari Ben-Menashe, was involved with LEHI in Palestine during 1940. Although the organization had a reputation as right-wing, many of its members were formerly part of the communist movement. LEHI was virulently anti-British, and Yitzhak Shamir was even willing to negotiate with the Nazis for Jewish lives, offering to fight alongside German troops against the British if the Germans would allow interned Jews to emigrate to Palestine.¹

LEHI members were persecuted and hunted down, even by other Jews in Palestine, due to opposition from the British, U.S. governments, and the Jewish labor movement. Most individuals affiliated with the Stern Gang were not welcomed in the State of Israel after its establishment. Yitzhak Shamir was an exception, becoming a prominent figure in Mossad.¹