Israel Assassination Of Walter Guinness Moyne
On November 6, 1944, the streets of Cairo became the stage for a shocking act
of political violence that reverberated across the Middle East and beyond.
Walter Edward Guinness, 1st Baron Moyne, the British Minister Resident in the
Middle East, was assassinated by two members of the Jewish militant group Lehi
(also known as the Stern Gang). This audacious act not only claimed the life of
a prominent British statesman but also derailed a potential path toward a
Jewish state, intensifying the already volatile conflict in Palestine. The
assassination of Lord Moyne remains a pivotal moment in the history of British
colonial policy, Zionist militancy, and the struggle for control over
Palestine.
Born on March 29, 1880, in Dublin, Ireland, Walter Edward Guinness was the third son of Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, heir to the wealthy and influential Anglo-Irish Guinness brewing dynasty. Educated at Eton, where he distinguished himself as head of the prestigious “Pop” society and Captain of Boats, Guinness carved out a multifaceted career as a soldier, politician, businessman, and amateur anthropologist. His family’s wealth, estimated at around three million pounds, afforded him a life of privilege, yet he was described as intelligent, scrupulous, and deeply committed to public service.
Guinness’s military service began early, volunteering for the Second Boer War
and later earning the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) with a bar for his
gallantry during World War I in campaigns in Egypt, Gallipoli, and France. His
political career was equally illustrious, serving as a Conservative Member of
Parliament for Bury St. Edmunds from 1907 to 1931, holding posts such as
Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries.
Elevated to the peerage as Baron Moyne in 1932, he became a trusted ally of
Winston Churchill, with whom he shared concerns about Nazi Germany’s rise in
the 1930s.
By 1944, Moyne’s appointment as Minister Resident in the Middle East placed him at the heart of Britain’s wartime strategy in a region critical for its oil resources and geopolitical significance. Based in Cairo, he oversaw a vast territory stretching from Libya to Iran, with the contentious issue of Palestine’s future at the forefront of his responsibilities.
The early 1940s were a period of intense friction in British Mandate Palestine. Britain, tasked with administering the territory since 1917, faced competing demands from Jewish and Arab communities. The 1917 Balfour Declaration had promised a “national home” for the Jewish people, but the 1939 White Paper restricted Jewish immigration and land purchases, prioritizing Arab interests to maintain regional stability during World War II. This policy enraged Zionist groups, who saw it as a betrayal, especially as Jewish refugees fled Nazi persecution in Europe.
Among the Zionist factions, Lehi was the most radical. Founded by Avraham “Ya’ir” Stern in 1940, Lehi broke away from the larger Irgun, rejecting cooperation with the British and advocating1 advocating violent resistance to secure a Jewish state. Viewing British officials as occupiers, Lehi targeted figures like Moyne, whom they held responsible for enforcing policies that limited Jewish immigration and statehood.
Moyne’s stance on Palestine was complex. Unlike most British officials in the Middle East, who opposed partitioning Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, Moyne supported a plan proposed in November 1943 by a British Cabinet committee. This plan, echoing the 1937 Peel Commission, envisioned a Jewish state, a small British-controlled area, and an Arab state within a larger Arab federation. Approved in principle in January 1944, the plan awaited final Cabinet approval the week of Moyne’s assassination. His support for partition and a Jewish state made him an outlier among his peers but also a target for Lehi, who mischaracterized him as an anti-Zionist obstructing their goals.
On the early afternoon of November 6, 1944, Moyne returned to his Cairo residence after a day’s work. Waiting near his home were Eliyahu Bet-Zuri and Eliyahu Hakim, two Lehi operatives who had meticulously planned the assassination. As Moyne’s car pulled up, carrying the minister, his driver Lance Corporal Arthur Fuller, his secretary Dorothy Osmond, and his aide-de-camp Major Andrew Hughes-Onslow, the attackers sprang into action.
Bet-Zuri shot Fuller in the chest, killing him instantly. Hakim then opened the car door and fired three shots at Moyne. The first bullet struck Moyne’s neck, the second pierced his abdomen, damaging vital organs, and the third grazed his fingers and chest, causing minor injuries. Moyne was rushed to a hospital, where surgeons battled to save him, but he succumbed to his wounds at 8:40 p.m. The assassins fled but were quickly apprehended by an Egyptian policeman who heard the gunfire.
The attack was not a spontaneous act. Lehi had considered targeting the British Minister Resident since 1941, initially deeming Moyne’s predecessor, Richard Casey, unsuitable because he was Australian. When Moyne assumed the role in 1944, he became the highest-ranking British official within Lehi’s reach, symbolizing Britain’s Palestine policy.
The assassination sent shockwaves through Palestine, Britain, and the international community. In London, Winston Churchill, a close friend of Moyne, was devastated. He denounced the killing as an “odious act of ingratitude” and, in a November 17, 1944, House of Commons address, hinted at reconsidering his long-standing support for Zionism, stating that “the smoke of assassins’ pistols” could not dictate policy. Churchill’s personal grief translated into a hardline stance, as he urged the execution of Bet-Zuri and Hakim, warning against clemency pressures from Zionist and American Jewish groups. The two were tried in an Egyptian court, convicted, and hanged on March 23, 1945.
The political ramifications were profound. The partition plan Moyne supported was shelved immediately after his death, never to be revived. His successor, Sir Edward Grigg, opposed partition, aligning with the prevailing British official sentiment in the Middle East. Historians like Bernard Wasserstein and Yehuda Porath argue that Moyne’s assassination may have delayed the establishment of a Jewish state, as the partition plan had offered a viable framework for statehood post-war. The Times of London, quoting Ha’aretz, lamented that the assassins had “done more by this single reprehensible crime to demolish the edifice erected by three generations of Jewish pioneers than is imaginable.”
In Palestine, the assassination deepened divisions. Moderate Jewish leaders condemned Lehi’s actions, fearing they would undermine the Zionist cause, while Lehi’s propaganda justified the killing, falsely accusing Moyne of anti-Semitism and responsibility for Jewish suffering. One persistent but debunked claim, dismissed by historian Bruce Hoffman, alleged Moyne rejected a proposal to save Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust. In April 1944, Joel Brand of the Jewish-Hungarian Aid and Rescue Committee presented Adolf Eichmann’s “blood for trucks” proposal—offering to release up to one million Jews for 10,000 trucks. Brand claimed an unnamed British official (often misattributed to Moyne) responded, “What can I do with a million Jews?” Historians clarify that Moyne was not directly involved, and the proposal’s rejection stemmed from broader Allied strategic concerns.
Moyne’s assassination marked a critical juncture in the Palestine conflict, accelerating Britain’s eventual withdrawal from the Mandate in 1948 and the subsequent establishment of Israel. It highlighted the growing militancy of Zionist groups like Lehi, whose leaders, including future Israeli Prime Ministers Yitzhak Shamir and Menachem Begin, justified such acts as necessary to expel British rule.
Moyne himself remains a complex figure. To some, he was a pragmatic statesman who sought compromise between Arabs and Jews; to others, a symbol of British imperialism. His anthropological views, favoring racially mixed groups over “pure” ones, were progressive for his time but misunderstood by Lehi, who misrepresented his House of Lords remarks as anti-Semitic.
The assassination also strained Britain’s relationship with the Zionist movement. Churchill’s frostier tone toward Jewish affairs post-1944 reflected a broader British disillusionment, as violence in Palestine escalated. For Egyptians, the event was a moment of anti-colonial sentiment, with some viewing the assassins as heroes resisting British dominance, though the Egyptian government cooperated fully with the investigation.
The assassination of Walter Guinness, 1st Baron Moyne, was more than the murder of a British official; it was a catalyst that altered the trajectory of the Palestine conflict. By eliminating a key advocate for partition, Lehi’s actions inadvertently delayed the Jewish statehood they sought, while intensifying British-Zionist tensions. Moyne’s life, marked by service, wealth, and a nuanced approach to a volatile region, ended tragically, leaving a legacy intertwined with one of the 20th century’s most enduring conflicts. His death serves as a stark reminder of how individual acts of violence can reshape the course of history, often in ways the perpetrators never intended.