Second Irgun

The Second Irgun (offical name Irgun Tzav'ai Le'umi Bet ארגון צבאי לאומי ב' "National Military Organization B") was a terrorist group seeking the restoration of the State of Israel. It operated throughout the twenty-first and twenty-second centuries.

Second Irgun in "Les Mortes d'Arthur"

During the Sixty-sixth Winter Games, the Second Irgun appeared to murder three athletes on Mimas, a moon of Saturn, while they competed in the five-kilometer ski jump.

Shortly after the three athletes were killed, a faint radio transmission was received from someone claiming to represent the Second Irgun. He indicated that the murder of Shukri al-Kuwatly, an Arab World competitor, was just the beginning and that the Second Irgun vowed to continue their war against the Arabs until the Star of David once more flew over Israel. He also expressed regret over the necessity to kill two other athletes but indicated that those who shared pleasures with oppressors would also share their fate.

However, the next day, Menachem, a spokesman for the organization, denied their involvement. He indicated that while the Second Irgun applauded the blow, it had not struck it. When pressed by reporters for proof, he indicated that if the Second Irgun had committed the act, they would have targeted Itzhak Zalman, the sole Jew on the Arab World team, and considered an apikoros or heretic to Israelis.

While not the most convincing of denials, the Second Irgun had claimed responsibility in the past for other atrocities such as a bombing in Baghdad. It was unusual for them to deny they carried out an attack and so it carried some weight.

Second Irgun in "Next Year in Jerusalem"

Second Irgun initiated a campaign of terror in Palestine in the 22nd Century by placing a large number of its specially trained agents within the country. The Second Irgun hoped that by launching various attacks, the Jewish population would rise up and overthrow Muslim rule.

The agents committed a variety of violent acts, which included: an attack on a bus, which saw the massacre of Muslim passengers; the wholesale massacre of several Muslim rioters; and the murder of Jewish community leader Chaim Perelman, whom the Irgun regarded as a collaborator. The campaign proved a failure; Palestinian Jews refused to rise up en masse, but instead recoiled from the Irgun's brutal tactics and mourned the death of Perelman.

Literary Comment

While it's not clear that the events of "Les Mortes d'Arthur" and "Next Year in Jerusalem" are set in the same continuity, they are treated as such for the purpose of this article.