- In Tel Aviv, Ephraim Dekelset up an information-gathering appa-
ratus based on the city’s police force. - As in Tel Aviv, an information-gathering system was active in
Haifa and the Haifa Bay suburbs. - In Hadera, a farmer named Ezra Daninset up an apparatus for col-
lecting security-related information on the Arabs.
No regular or formal connection existed between these bodies, but im-
portant pieces of information were channeled to the Jewish Agency’s
Political Department in Jerusalem. To some extent, the commanders of
the Haganah, the Jewish militia, in the various districts and settlement
blocs found this arrangement to be advantageous.
The next stage in the development of an intelligence system came in
1939, with the publication of the British White Paper on Palestine. Its
appearance exacerbated the confrontation of the Yishuv with the British
rulers over the future status of Palestine. The British customarily con-
ducted weapons searches in Jewish villages, which often proved to be
successful. This aroused the suspicion that Jewish informers were at
work, creating the need for a counterespionage body to prevent the leak-
ing of information. Furthermore, in light of British ineffectiveness in
dealing with Arab rioters, the Yishuv became increasingly aware that an
organization was needed to expose Arab intentions in advance so that
the Jewish settlements would be able to protect themselves or to deliver
a preemptive blow against the rioters.
Thus, in 1939, with the outbreak of World War II, the first attempt
was made by the Haganah to unify the four organizations listed above.
The prime mover in this effort was Shaul Avigur, who, together with
Sharett and the national Haganah command, was instrumental in cre-
ating the official Information Service, known by its Hebrew acronym
Shai. The essential function of counterespionage was integrated into
its ranks.
No precise moment indicated the founding of this group; of the
many milestones that can be found along the way, any one of them
could have marked its start. Despite the small number of people who
joined the organization, it was divided into departments, each with its
own head, a secretary, a typist, and an archive operated by one or two
assistants. The departments operated over a wide range of areas, as
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