Betar

This article is about the Zionist youth movement Betar. :

For other uses, see Betar (disambiguation)}}}.

Betar's emblem (semel)

The Betar Movement (בית"ר, also spelled Beitar) is a revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Ze'ev Jabotinsky. Betar members played important roles in the fight against the British during the Mandate, and in the creation of Israel. It has been linked to Herut and Likud and is part of the secular right of Israeli politics.

Contents

1 History
2 Violence in France
3 Betar in Israel
4 Betar in Australia
5 See also
6 External links

History

The name Betar בית"ר stands for "Brit Yosef Trumpeldor" ( ברית יוסף תרומפלדור ). Joseph Trumpeldor was a Jewish fighter who fell in the battle of Tel Hai coining the phrase: "Never mind, it is good to die for our country".

Jabotinsky also wanted to connect the name of the first Jewish fighter after 2000 years to the name of the last fort of Jewish uprising against the Roman Empire in the Bar Kokhba's revolt, showing that Betar was intent to create a new generation of Jewish warriors.

During World War II, Betar members, former Polish officers, founded Żydowski Związek Walki (Jewish Fighting Union) which fought in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

In the struggle for Israel's freedom from British occupation, many Betar members fought in the Irgun underground militia against Brititsh rule. Some graduates from Betar Poland even joined Abraham Stern's more radical Lehi group.

Many of Israel's most prominent public figures have been graduates of Betar, including former Prime Ministers Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir, current Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and former Defence Minister Moshe Arens.

Today, the Betar Movement is primarily involved in Jewish and Zionist activism. Tagar, Betar's young adult movement, has been a leader of Zionist activity on many university campuses throughout North America. Although Betar has suffered a decline in membership and activities since the 1970s, they continue to boast several strong branches. The most notible of these is the Betar chapter of Cleaveland, Ohio.

Violence in France

In France, members of the Betar have clashed with pro-Arab supporters. The Betar offices were bombed by the leftist FLNC, a Corsican militant organization.

On José Bové's return from a protest in Ramallah, members of Betar assaulted the anti-globalisation activist.

Betar in Israel

Once a vibrant movement tied to the opposition Herut Party, Betar's following in Israel has declined since the 1970s as a result of a changing political situation. One important change was the rise of the religious right-wing in the 1970s. Though Betar had many of the same political goals as the rapidly growing Gush Emunim (Believers' Bloc) and Bnei Akiva youth movements (tied to the National Religious Party; Mafdal), they remained a secular movement and never took the initiative that their counterparts did in settling the West Bank and Gaza. During the 1980s as a result of the Camp David Accords negotiated by Menachem Begin (the leader of Herut and its successor movement, Likud), a similar effect began with the secular right, as more extreme movements appeared there and drew away youth.

As the Likud party, under Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership, moved away from the traditional values of Revisionist Zionism, Betar drew criticism from many on the political right. Old-time Herut supporters, viewing themselves as ideological purists, have claimed that Betar had turned into a breeding grounds for opportunistic youth seeking political careers. In the late 1990s, when Benny Begin led the right-wing faction out of the Likud, Betar lost many of its more ideological members to the Magshimey Herut Movement. This trend has continued in many countries until today. As Betar has been forced to close several branches throughout the world, Magshimey Herut has attracted young Zionists in search of a movement true to Jabotinsky's teachings.

Betar's chief disadvantage, which was only made worse by Bnei Akiva's rise in the 1970s and Magshimey Herut's rise in the 1990s, was the predominance of other youth groups. Belonging to the Kibbutz movement, Hashomer Hatzair ("Young Guard" - Socialist Zionist), HaNoar haOved vehaLomed ("the Working and Student Youth" - Labor Zionist), and Habonim Dror (Free Builders), had taken most Israeli youth in throughout the 1950s-70s. Alongside them were the Tzofim (Scouts, affiliated with the international Scouting movement) and Bnei Akiva. Today Betar remains a marginal youth movement in both Israel and the Diaspora, and has remained far from the power that its parent movement, the Likud, had on the country.

Betar sponsors sports clubs, the most notable is the popular Beitar Jerusalem football (soccer) club.

Betar in Australia

While Betar in Australia operates in Sydney and Melbourne alongside 5 other Zionist youth movements, it is the only movement with a presence in Brisbane, Queensland.

External links