Like many leftist youngsters at the time, he joined the Lehi (Stern Group) underground, which then had a pro-Soviet orientation. With the founding of the state, all Lehi members were drafted into the new Israeli army.
Before that he took part in the atrocious Irgun and Lehi action in Deir Yassin. He had a problem dealing with this – and he always asserted that the massacre was not intended, or that it did not take place at all. He maintained that the commander was killed and that the control over the fighters was lost.
Avnery also relates to an incident of "Jewish terror" in 1952.
In July 1952, the religious minister of transportation, David-Zvi Pinkas, published regulations that practically prohibited the use of cars on the Shabbat. Many of us joined forces to battle this religious coercion and demonstrated in the center of Tel Aviv. But Amos went further: he laid a bomb at the door to Pinkas’ apartment. He was caught red-handed, indicted, stubbornly refused to talk and finally acquitted for “lack of evidence”.
When the chief of the Tel Aviv police personally went to interrogate him in prison and offered to talk with him “man to man”, Kenan countered calmly “the weather today is fine”.
As a result of this affair, Kenan was compelled to leave Haaretz, and I welcomed him with open arms to Haolam Hazeh.
Although the intended target was unharmed by the bomb blast, Minister Pinkas died some three months later of a heart attack. But Avnery received Kenan with open arms.
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