Today In Labor History April 8, 1948: The Irgun and Lehi Zionist paramilitary slaughtered over 100 Palestinians in the Deir Yassin massacre, near Jerusalem. Many of the victims were women and children. Rape and mutilation were also alleged. It was part of the Nakba and expulsion of Palestinians from Palestine. As news of the massacre spread, it sparked terror among Palestinians throughout the region, convincing many to flee their homes. It also strengthened the resolve of Arab governments to attack, which they did a few weeks later, sparking the Arab-Israeli War of 1948. Menachim Begin was leader of the Irgun at the time. He went on to found the Likud Party and he became prime minister of Israel from 1977 to 1983. Many Arab states produced postage stamps commemorating the massacre. All of them use the image of a map of Palestine with a bloody dagger thrust into it.
