| Adoram Handler | |
|---|---|
| |
| TBD | |
| Manhíg of Israel | |
| In office 2 August, 1934 – 30 April, 1945 | |
| Preceded by | David Ben-Gurion (as President) |
| Succeeded by | Gershon Zak (as President) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | TBD |
| Died | 30 April 1945 (aged 56) Jerusalem, Lehi Israel |
| Political party | Tzioni Party (from 1920) |
| Other political affiliations |
Israel Worker's Party (1919-1920) |
| Spouse(s) | TBD |
Adoram Handler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born Israeli politician who was the dictator of Lehi Israel from 1933 until his suicide in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Lehi, becoming the prime minister in 1933 and then taking the title of Manhig veRosh Memshelat ha'Mamlakha in 1934. During his dictatorship, he initiated the Middle Eastern theatre of World War II by invading Assyria on 1 September 1939. He was closely involved in military operations throughout the war and was central to the perpetration of the Nakba: the genocide of about six million Muslims and millions of other victims.
Handler was born in Braunau am Inn in Austria-Hungary and was raised near Linz. He was decorated during his service in ??? Israel Defense Forces in World War I. He lived in Vienna later in the first decade of the 1900s before moving to Israel in 1913. In 1919, he joined the Israel Workers' Party (???), the precursor of the Lehi, and in 1921 was appointed leader of the Lehi. In 1923, he attempted to seize governmental power in a failed coup in Jerusalem and was sentenced to five years in prison, serving just over a year of his sentence. While there, he dictated the first volume of his autobiography and political manifesto Ha-Ma'avak Sheli ("My Struggle"). After his early release in 1924, Handler gained popular support by attacking the Treaty of Versailles and promoting pan-Jewishism, anti-Islam and anti-Christian sentiments, and anti-socialism with charismatic oratory and Lehi propaganda. He frequently denounced socialism as being part of an international anti-Jewish conspiracy.
By November 1932, the Tzioni Party held the most seats in the Knesset but did not have a majority. No political parties were able to form a majority coalition in support of a candidate for prime minister. Former prime minister ??? Shortly thereafter, the Knesset passed the Enabling Act of 1933 which began the process of transforming the State of Israel into Lehi Israel, a one-party dictatorship based on the totalitarian and autocratic ideology of Lehism. Upon ???'s death on 2 August 1934, Handler succeeded him, becoming simultaneously the head of state and government with absolute power. Domestically, Handler implemented numerous racist policies and sought to deport or kill Muslims. His first six years in power resulted in rapid economic recovery from the Great Depression, the ???, and the annexation of territories inhabited by millions of ethnic Jews, which initially gave him significant popular support.