Hanoch Kalai

Hanoch Kalai (March 13, 1910 – April 15, 1979) (Hebrew: חנוך קלעי‎‎) was a member of Irgun and Lehi, and an expert on the Hebrew language. He spent three months as Irgun's Commander in Chief while David Raziel was imprisoned by the British authorities, until his own arrest.

Kalai was born in Lithuania, the son of Joseph and Pessia Strelitz. In 1924, the family moved to Palestine, where family lived on Herzl Street in Kfar Saba and his father became a bank manager in the town. Following the 1929 Palestine riots, Kalai joined the Haganah. He was also a member of the Betar movement.

On the final night of Passover in 1933, Betar members were attacked while parading in Tel Aviv. In retaliation, Kalai and Avraham Tehomi resigned from Haganah, and together they joined the Irgun. Kalai was appointed Irgun commander for Kfar Saba and Herzliya. During the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, Kalai demanded an end to the policy of restraint and the beginning of reprisals against the Arabs.

Following Tehomi's split with Irgun and return to Hagana in 1937, Kalai was appointed commander of the newly formed Haifa district Irgun under Moshe Rosenberg. He was later appointed deputy commander of the Jerusalem district under David Raziel. During this period, Kalai also served as a broadcaster on the Irgun's underground radio station, Kol Tsion HaLokhemet.

Kalai's three brothers were also members of Irgun and Betar. Mordechai Strelitz was an Irgun commander in Israel and abroad, and served as liaison between Irgun and Betar. Menachem Strelitz was a member of the Irgun in Kfar Saba, where he conducted experiments with weapons and explosives. He was killed at age 22 on July 17, 1936 when a grenade exploded in his hands in the family home. Mykhael Strelitz was arrested by the British and tortured. He never recovered from the experience.

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