Haganah

American

[hah-gah-nah] / hɑ gɑˈnɑ /

noun

the underground Jewish militia in Palestine (1920–48) that became the national army of Israel after the partition of Palestine in 1948.

Etymology

Origin of Haganah

< Modern Hebrew hagana literally, defense, Hebrew həgannāh

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Senesh connected with the Haganah, the Jewish paramilitary organization that had been formed to protect Jews in the British Mandate.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 17, 2025

She signed up with the Haganah, the underground army that was fighting for the creation of a Jewish homeland, and was injured when the kibbutz where she was teaching kindergarten was shelled.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 13, 2024

“What happened in Galilee—those are Nazi acts!” read a 1948 report about a briefing given by Israel Galili, the former Haganah chief.

From Slate • May 15, 2024

There he joined the Haganah, the paramilitary organisation fighting the British to set up the state of Israel.

From BBC • Mar. 22, 2024

We were told that the supplies would soon be on a ship heading for Palestine and would be used by the Haganah.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023