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I recently had an argument with a stranger on the Internet, and was surprised the answer was not here already.

I do not believe he was, for a few reasons:

  1. Leia did not deliver her request as anything other than a long shot
  2. Most of the Alliance thought he was dead
  3. Even when helping the Alliance in A New Hope, he was really just protecting, helping, and training Luke
  4. When we see him in current canon, he is not interested in helping the Alliance, and is merely giving friendly advice to his visitor

However, the question is simple:

Based on Disney canon, was Old Ben Kenobi considered a member of the Rebel Alliance?

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  • According to the movies, no. He was a member of the Jedi Order, then only helped Luke train in the Force for a little while before being killed. I don't think he ever had any intention of joining the Rebellion, even if he did survive. There might be more info in the animated series, or any (still canon) books detailing his life after the fall of the Council. – DCOPTimDowd May 5 '17 at 19:49
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    It's difficult to prove a negative. What evidence that he was involved with the Rebellion did they offer? – jpmc26 May 6 '17 at 0:09
  • While he may not have been a member, he apparently agreed with their goals and supported their actions. – Barmar May 6 '17 at 10:38
  • Isn’t protecting Luke in effect serving the Rebellion, or at least serving the same goals, i.e. keeping Anakin Skywalker’s offspring alive long enough to eventually challenge the Empire and restore the Jedi? Hiding and protecting Luke is presumably not what the Empire would want, and thus Obi-wan is at least rebelling. – Paul D. Waite Aug 3 '17 at 20:14
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    We’ll have to check their membership book. – Paul D. Waite Aug 3 '17 at 21:56
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Based on Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One, I would say no. You've cited the reasons I would give, but let's build a defense

  1. Obi Wan went into hiding to both protect himself and Luke. Only Yoda and Bail Organa know his whereabouts, with the latter disclosing them only to Leia just before the Battle of Scarif. There's nothing canon to suggest he had any contact with the Rebels, as that would likely jeopardize his mission with Luke.

  2. While Bail Organa's goal is almost certainly to get the legendary Kenobi to return and lead the Rebels as he lead in the Clone Wars, that's not relevant.

  3. Kenobi never does anything in ANH beyond protect Luke. Luke was in danger on Tatooine so they had to leave. Luke was again in danger on the Death Star and Kenobi makes sure Luke can escape before Force-ghosting.

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    you could also add the Rebels Season 3 episode Twin Suns. Ezra attempts to recruit Kenobi – NKCampbell May 5 '17 at 19:58
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As this conversation continued several times with different people, we managed to get a Word of God answer from Leland Chee. As it turns out, I was wrong, and Old Ben was a member of the Rebel Alliance at the time of ANH.

No one gets the Rebel Alliance trading card stat until after Rebels Season 3. I'd put it on an ANH Obi-Wan card.

— Leland Chee (@HolocronKeeper) August 4, 2017

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