Israel / Palestine: Avraham Stern, alias Yair,(1907-1942), Zionist, terrorist, leader of the 'Stern Gang', c....

Avraham Stern or Avraham Shtern, alias Yair (born in Suwalki, Poland, December 23, 1907 – February 12, 1942) was one of the leaders of the Jewish paramilitary organization Irgun In September 1940, he founded a breakaway militant Zionist group named Lehi, better known as the 'Stern Gang' by the British authorities and by the mainstream in the Yishuv Jewish establishment In January 1941, Stern attempted to make an agreement with the German Nazi authorities, offering to 'actively take part in the war on Germany's side' in return for German support for Jewish immigration to Palestine and the establishment of a Jewish state. Another attempt to contact the Germans was made in late 1941, but there is no record of a German response in either case Stern was shot dead while reportedly attempting to escape British custody in Tel Aviv, 12 February 1942