Havlagah

Havlagah (Hebrew: הַהַבְלָגָה ha-Havlagah, lit. 'The Restraint') was the strategic policy of the Yishuv during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine. It called for Zionist militants to abstain from engaging in acts of retaliatory violence against Palestinian Arabs in the face of Arab attacks against Palestinian Jews, and instead encouraged the Jewish community to respond to the attacks through non-violent means, such as by fortifying their settlements. The policy was supported by the Yishuv's political leadership and many left-wing Zionists. It was adopted by Haganah, the main Zionist paramilitary in Mandate Palestine, as an official operational strategy. On the other hand, Irgun, Lehi, and other like-minded Zionist paramilitaries rejected the policy and engaged in indiscriminate violence against the Arab community.