Kol TSion HaLokhemet
Encyclopedia
Kol Tsion HaLokhemet (lit. "Voice of Fighting Zion") was the underground radio station of the Irgun
.
.
The radio station effectively communicated the Irgun's political goals, military objectives, and ideology. Irgun leader Menachem Begin
, who eluded capture during the struggle with the British during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine, used Kol Zion to communicate with the Jews of Palestine
. For example he declared:
In 1939 Esther Raziel-Naor
, the sister of fellow Irgun leader David Raziel
, became the first broadcaster of the radio station.
In September 1945 the radio station was used to attack Chaim Weizmann
, of the Jewish Agency, as a "Jewish Quisling
."
In August 1946 the station was used to call for a revolt and war against the Palestine Administration.
In November 1946 the station was used to denounce as lies British assertions that the Irgun intended to assassinate high-ranking statesmen and military figures. That same month the Irgun used the station to appeal to the Haganah
to join it in fighting the British. It also used the station that month to indicate that it would be expanding its activities outside of Palestine.
In December 1947, the station was used to announce "Enough [with restraint]. From now on we [shall attack] the nests of murderers."
When the Irgun was attacked by the Haganah at the Altalena, Begin used the radio station to urge his men not to counter-attack, while at the same time excoriating Ben Gurion
.
A number of its radio broadcast transcripts between 1936 and 1948 are collected by Psychological Warfare and Propaganda: Irgun Documentation.
Irgun
The Irgun , or Irgun Zevai Leumi to give it its full title , was a Zionist paramilitary group that operated in Mandate Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization haHaganah...
.
History
Kol Zion HaLokhemet was operated from February 1939. It may have been the first underground radio station in the world. Its secret location was opposite Meir Park, in the center of Tel AvivTel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
.
Menachem Begin
' was a politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Before independence, he was the leader of the Zionist militant group Irgun, the Revisionist breakaway from the larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah. He proclaimed a revolt, on 1 February 1944,...
, who eluded capture during the struggle with the British during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine, used Kol Zion to communicate with the Jews of Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. For example he declared:
- Not only were Jews injured and thousands of pounds worth of damage done to Jewish property in Jerusalem. Our national pride was injured as well. Once again we became 'protected Jews' as British troops pretended to defend us...
In 1939 Esther Raziel-Naor
Esther Raziel-Naor
Esther Raziel-Naor was a Revisionist Zionist, Irgun leader and Israeli politician. She was the sister of fellow Irgun leader, David Raziel.-Early life:...
, the sister of fellow Irgun leader David Raziel
David Raziel
thumb|David RazielDavid Raziel was a fighter of the Jewish underground during the British mandate, and one of the founders of the Irgun.-Biography:...
, became the first broadcaster of the radio station.
In September 1945 the radio station was used to attack Chaim Weizmann
Chaim Weizmann
Chaim Azriel Weizmann, , was a Zionist leader, President of the Zionist Organization, and the first President of the State of Israel. He was elected on 1 February 1949, and served until his death in 1952....
, of the Jewish Agency, as a "Jewish Quisling
Quisling
Quisling is a term used in reference to fascist and collaborationist political parties and military and paramilitary forces in occupied Allied countries which collaborated with Axis occupiers in World War II, as well as for their members and other collaborators.- Etymology :The term was coined by...
."
In August 1946 the station was used to call for a revolt and war against the Palestine Administration.
In November 1946 the station was used to denounce as lies British assertions that the Irgun intended to assassinate high-ranking statesmen and military figures. That same month the Irgun used the station to appeal to the Haganah
Haganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
to join it in fighting the British. It also used the station that month to indicate that it would be expanding its activities outside of Palestine.
In December 1947, the station was used to announce "Enough [with restraint]. From now on we [shall attack] the nests of murderers."
Ben Gurion
Ben Gurion can refer to the following persons:* Nicodemus ben Gurion, a Biblical figure, probably a rich Jewish member of the Sanhedrin that felt sympathetic to Jesus Christ...
.
A number of its radio broadcast transcripts between 1936 and 1948 are collected by Psychological Warfare and Propaganda: Irgun Documentation.