“Jewish terrorists have just blown up the King David Hotel!”
– United Press International, London
On July 22, 1946, the militant Zionist underground organization, Irgun, smuggled 350 pounds of explosives, hidden in milk cans, into the basement of the King David Hotel, home to the British headquarters in Palestine, before detonating a blast that leveled one half of the hotel’s southern wing, killing 91 and injuring 46.
The attack, initially planned with the consent of the Palmach and the Hagannah, aroused sufficient controversy that the two groups distanced themselves from Irgun, who publicly accepted responsibility for the bombing. David Ben Gurion went as far as to label Irgun, “the enemy of the Jewish people.”
From one perspective, the attack could be called a success. The indiscriminate nature of the bombing, as well as the casualties suffered, intensified domestic criticism of the Mandate in Britain. However, the ambivalence or outright disapproval of the attack among Jewish circles suggests otherwise. Though they signed off on the attack, once they witnessed it, members of the Hagannah regarded the bombing with disgust, as if they decided that this was not the way Zionists should fight.
Functionally, this reticence helped pave the way for a successful transition from paramilitary to military operations once Israel declared statehood. Allegorically, it reminds us that each choice we make, no matter how desperate, is indicative of our character and that even the noblest ends cannot justify the means.
— Rabbi Josh Knobel