Bidspirit auction | Large Historic Protest Poster Issued

Large Historic Protest Poster Issued by the Irgun (Etzel) - Summer 1948 - One of the Last Posters Published by the Organization Before Its Transformation into the Moledet Movement - ”To the Citizens of Israel!” - Large historic protest poster issued by the Irgun (Etzel) following the arrest of the five Irgun leaders known as the ”Beit She'an Detainees” in the aftermath of the Altalena Affair. Published under the heading ”Homeland and Freedom” alongside the Irgun emblem, it is one of the last posters issued by the Irgun as an independent organization before its incorporation into the historic Herut Movement (with which it was already cooperating at this stage). Rare printing in red ink. Printed by Ephraim Struch & Sons, Tel Aviv, 1948. The poster informs the public of the hunger strike launched by the five Beit She'an Detainees - Yaakov Meridor, Hillel Kook, Eliyahu Lankin, Amitzur, and Moshe Hasson - who were arrested on June 21 (the day after the arrest of Irgun leaders following the Altalena Affair) and held in prolonged detention without due process, without trial, and without any formal charges being brought against them. The organization accuses the Mapai-led government and the Provisional Government of employing the ”Emergency Regulations of the British tyranny” and the ”unclean Nazi-British Emergency Regulations” to imprison Irgun fighters behind bars without trial. It warns that the regime is descending into tyranny and dictatorship, cautioning the citizens of Israel against remaining passive with the words: ”The first victim is someone else - but afterward, your turn will surely come.” The poster calls upon the public not to stand idly by, but to demand the immediate release of the detainees. The poster is printed with the signature: ”Herut Movement – Founded by the Irgun Zvai Leumi.” The historical context and year of publication of this poster are directly tied to the political and military upheaval of the summer of 1948, only weeks after the declaration of Israeli independence. On June 20–21, 1948, following the arrival of the Irgun arms and immigrant ship Altalena and the tragic exchange of fire off the coast, government and army forces launched widespread arrests of Irgun commanders and members throughout the country. The five individuals named on the poster were among the organization's senior leaders: Yaakov Meridor was Deputy Commander of the Irgun; Eliyahu Lankin commanded the Altalena itself; and Hillel Kook (Peter Bergson) headed much of the organization's activity in the United States. They were arrested in Tiberias and Beit She'an and held at the Beit She'an detention camp (later transferred to Jalameh) under the British Mandate Emergency Regulations, which had been adopted by the new Israeli government. The administrative detention without trial of these former underground leaders provoked widespread outrage among supporters of the political right, leading the detainees to embark upon a prolonged hunger strike in protest against the denial of their liberty. During these very months, in July and August 1948, Menachem Begin was transforming the Irgun from a military underground organization into a legal political party within the new state—the Herut Movement, whose name appears on this poster. The public campaign for the release of the five detainees, who were ultimately freed in August 1948, became one of the new movement's first major political and propaganda campaigns against the government of David Ben-Gurion. Beyond its historical significance, Irgun posters printed entirely in red ink are considered extremely rare. This example is not recorded in the National Library of Israel's poster collection. That collection contains a different version of this poster, printed in black and red ink with textual variations. See record no. 997003304720405171 (the original held by the Jabotinsky Institute). Size: 95 × 62 cm. Fold marks. Minor tears. Reinforced with paper repairs on the verso. Good condition.