Ask Haviv Anything – Episode 98: What Israel’s Founding Fathers Knew About Terrorism, with Dr. Bruce Hoffman
Date: March 15, 2026
Host: Haviv Rettig Gur
Guest: Dr. Bruce Hoffman

Episode Overview

This episode delves into the roots and evolution of terrorism during the British Mandate in Palestine, illuminating how political violence shaped the Zionist movement and, ultimately, the path to Israeli statehood. Renowned terrorism scholar Dr. Bruce Hoffman (author of Anonymous Soldiers) joins Haviv Rettig Gur to provide historical context, philosophical analysis, and powerful comparisons between past and present forms of terrorism. The conversation not only explores key incidents—such as the bombing of the King David Hotel and the assassination of Lord Moyne—but also the complex ethical dilemmas these acts raised and their seismic influence on British, Israeli, and world politics.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Historical Scene

[04:05–25:17]

• Dr. Hoffman gives a sweeping timeline from General Allenby’s conquest of Jerusalem in 1917 to the end of the British Mandate in 1948.
  • Early optimism rapidly unravels due to escalating communal violence and British policy challenges.
  • Initial rioting (notably the Nebi Musa riots of 1920) establishes the perceived need for Jewish self-defense organizations, catalyzing Jabotinsky’s founding of groups that would become the Haganah and, later, the Irgun (Etzel).
  • Rising Jewish immigration—especially after Hitler’s ascent—fuels Arab fears and sparks the widespread Arab Revolt (1936–39), brutally suppressed but prompting severe British immigration limits (1939 White Paper).

“When you read the British reports of the 1929 riots, I mean, they really read as something akin to...wanton, cruel, absolutely heinous acts of violence, the murder, execution, rape, all those kinds of things that we saw in October, October 7th occur in 1929.”
— Dr. Bruce Hoffman [12:56]

• World War II brings a moratorium on Jewish violence against the British, but the war’s end reignites the underground struggle as Menachem Begin arrives to lead the Irgun’s campaign.

2. Roots and Evolution of Jewish Underground Tactics

[16:00–28:35]

• Rise of dual Jewish undergrounds: Etzel/Irgun (more organized, led by Begin) and Lehi/Stern Gang (smaller, more radical—openly acknowledged use of terror).
  • Begin’s pivotal choice in 1944: resume revolt, “but only target inanimate symbols of British rule...not human life.”
  • The Lehi, unique for openly admitting terrorist tactics: “We’re trying to terrorize the British into leaving.” [19:35]
  • The assassination of Lord Moyne (1944) is highlighted as a dramatic turning point, derailing vital support for Zionism within British circles—especially Prime Minister Churchill.

“History could have been completely different had Lord Moyne not been assassinated. The loss of Churchill’s dear friend meant that Churchill never really spoke out in favor of Zionism again.”
— Dr. Bruce Hoffman [22:10]

3. Three Defining Events: King David Hotel, Lord Moyne, and the British Sergeants

[25:17–35:38]

• King David Hotel Bombing (1946): The nerve center of British rule—housing civil, military, and intelligence offices—targeted by Irgun.
  • Despite warnings, 91 people (including 17 Jews) killed; most were government employees.
• Assassination of Lord Moyne (1944): Carried out by Lehi; led to the “hunting season” (cizon) where the Haganah cracked down—sometimes brutally—on the Etzel, but not Lehi, exposing deep intra-Jewish organizational rifts.
• Hanging of Two British Sergeants (1947): In retaliation for British executions of Etzel members, a pivotal act that hastened British withdrawal by sparking anti-Jewish riots in Britain and eroding public support.

“Warnings were issued...but they were not nearly with enough time to effect the evacuation. And even if the King David had been evacuated...the shards of glass and broken masonry may well have killed even more people.”
— Dr. Bruce Hoffman [31:16]

4. Defining Terrorism—A Philosophical Debate

[35:38–46:26]

• Host and guest openly dissect the difference between “legitimate resistance” and terrorism, rooted in intent and targeting of civilians.
  • Retrospective and present-day definitions of terrorism compared.
  • Host argues: targeting civilians (as pre-Begin Etzel did) is unequivocally terrorism; attacks on governmental/military targets much grayer.
  • Dr. Hoffman emphasizes the enduring ambiguity and the influence of historical context.

“Terrorism, like war, is easy to begin but difficult to control. And the result is often tragic, most tragic to civilians.”
— Dr. Bruce Hoffman [43:37]

5. Terrorism as Propaganda and the Glass House Strategy

[46:26–54:35]

• Begin’s masterstroke—using violence as orchestrated propaganda to manipulate British and global opinion.
  • Operations choreographed to create maximum diplomatic and public relations pressure.
  • The “Glass House Strategy”: provoke the British into overreacting, win power via “the war of ideas” and shape world perception (notably at the fledgling United Nations).

“The violence was always choreographed for a purpose...to reach a wider audience—London, Washington, New York.”
— Dr. Bruce Hoffman [47:29]

6. Does Terrorism Work? Historical and Modern Lessons

[54:35–61:20]

• The British withdrawal from Palestine is attributed, in part, to the effectiveness of Jewish terrorist operations in shifting both public and governmental resolve.
• Comparison to modern cases (9/11, Hamas)—with both host and guest acknowledging that, while terrorism rarely creates new regimes, it can radically disrupt the status quo, often producing the strategic effects its perpetrators seek.

“Terrorism works. Well, I think we have to admit it always does...Pressuring governments, undermining the resolve of the population...Terrorism does succeed.”
— Dr. Bruce Hoffman [54:39]

• Comparison of ends: Begin’s terrorism aimed at building a state; modern organizations (Al Qaeda, Hamas) often motivated purely by destruction or nihilism—a crucial dichotomy in evaluating political violence.

“Maybe one of the ways that we understand terrorism is what its purpose and what its outcome is for and whether it’s towards creating something or towards destroying something.”
— Dr. Bruce Hoffman [57:39]

7. Ethics, Efficacy, and the Israeli Perspective

[61:20–67:18]

• Host shares an Israeli framework: legitimacy of the goal + moral hierarchy of means, but ultimately, efficacy is the decisive lens—if terrorism fails, it is doubly immoral.
• Guest underscores: perception of terrorism always shaped by identification with either victim or perpetrator.

“The way we define terrorism depends upon whether we identify and sympathize with the perpetrator...or with the victim.”
— Dr. Bruce Hoffman [60:11]

8. Information War: Then and Now

[67:18–73:12]

• Host details contemporary Israeli failures in narrative/public diplomacy during recent conflicts, warning: “We didn’t just lose our enemies...we lost friends. Because Israel couldn’t understand that the framing and the narration of this war...were critical.”
• Dr. Hoffman reflects: Loss of narrative control enabled global demonization of Zionism itself, with catastrophic diplomatic repercussions.

“Israel, by lacking this public diplomacy...has allowed the rest of the world to hijack the word Zionism or Zionist and turn them into epithets.”
— Dr. Bruce Hoffman [71:03]

• Begin and the founding generation’s mastery of both propaganda and humility are presented as a lost art and a deep lesson for today.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Winston Churchill...told Chaim Weizmann...that he had stacked this special committee with all of the Jews' friends in the British government...The Cabinet was about to be presented with a plan that would result in the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine.”
  — Dr. Bruce Hoffman [21:50]

• “I would say that...terrorism, like war, is easy to begin but difficult to control. And the result is often tragic, most tragic to civilians.”
  — Dr. Bruce Hoffman [43:37]

• “Begin’s campaign...was always choreographed for a purpose. It was designed to reach a wider audience...an impact on the fledgling United Nations organization.”
  — Dr. Bruce Hoffman [47:29–48:25]

• “Think of how Begin was catapulted into office: he appealed to the neglected, to the miserable neglected...he united rather than divided.”
  — Dr. Bruce Hoffman [75:27]

• “As Jews and Israelis, we have this enormous capacity for self-reflection, I would argue, to critically assess even the darkest parts of our history.”
  — Dr. Bruce Hoffman [34:43]

Key Timestamps for Reference

• [04:05–25:17] — Historical overview of British Mandate, riots, emergence of Jewish undergrounds
• [25:17–35:38] — Defining violent episodes: King David Hotel, Lord Moyne assassination, British sergeants
• [35:38–46:26] — Debate: defining terrorism, historical and moral complexities
• [46:26–54:35] — Glass House strategy, terrorism as propaganda, effect on British opinion/withdrawal
• [54:35–61:20] — Does terrorism “work?” Historical lessons, ethical frameworks, comparison to modern non-state actors
• [61:20–67:18] — Efficacy and ethics, Israeli and Palestinian perspectives, what moral language is most practical?
• [67:18–73:12] — Israel’s modern-day information war failures; lessons from the founders
• [73:12–76:06] — Reflections on leadership, humility, and the gap between generations

Takeaway Lessons

• The line between terrorism and legitimate resistance is—and was—deeply contextual, fluid, and hotly debated even among Zionist leaders.
• The effectiveness of political violence depends not only on the violence itself, but on how it is narrated, both to one’s own people and to the world.
• Past successes in narrative warfare (Begin’s “Glass House Strategy”) stand in stark contrast to contemporary Israeli struggles in the same arena.
• Ultimately, questions of means and ends are inseparable from the wider historical, political, and ethical context—and the conversation is unfinished, as the present echoes the past.

For deeper historical analysis and a robust exploration of these themes, Dr. Bruce Hoffman's “Anonymous Soldiers” comes highly recommended by both host and guest.