Jewish Supernumerary Police

The Jewish Supernumerary Police (sometimes referred to as Jewish Auxiliary Police) (Hebrew: Shotrim Musafim) were a branch of the Guards (Notrim) set up by the British in Mandate Palestine in June 1936. Around 22,000 Notrim were appointed, armed and equipped by the British to act as a protective militia for Jewish settlements. This force "soon became a legal cover for the Haganah and an increasingly effective shield against Arab forays".

The British authorities gradually expanded the Supernumerary Police from 6,000 to 14,000. Those trained became the nucleus of the Haganah, which itself became the main constituent of the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

The other branch of the Notrim was an élite mobile force known as the Jewish Settlement Police.

Famous quotes containing the words jewish and/or police:

    The exile is a singular, whereas refugees tend to be thought of in the mass. Armenian refugees, Jewish refugees, refugees from Franco Spain. But a political leader or artistic figure is an exile. Thomas Mann yesterday, Theodorakis today. Exile is the noble and dignified term, while a refugee is more hapless.... What is implied in these nuances of social standing is the respect we pay to choice. The exile appears to have made a decision, while the refugee is the very image of helplessness.
    Mary McCarthy (1912–1989)

    Oh, yes, everything’s fine. I always stop by the police station in the middle of the night to pick up my daughter.
    —Theodore Simonson. Irvin S. Yeaworth, Jr.. Mr. Martin, The Blob, when he comes to pick up Jane (1958)