Betar

Abstract

Within the framework of Zionism. a special movement for Erez Israel developed as a global, political and ideological aspiration of the Jewish ethnicity in Diaspora. Its different course of development in the struggle for the same idea and after numerous, significant acts and counteracts with the matrix, it nevertheless remained a secondary one. Under the general title of Revisionism, this movement evolved as a reaction to the "impotent" policy of the leadership of the world Zionist movement in solving the problems in Palestine and was to be concretely realized through the political activities of its large Zionist уоuth group - Betar - the members of which were the base of Revisionism. Betar was founded in 1923 in Riga (Latvia) as a variant of the Zionist youth movement adopted and spread widely among Jewish students and уоuth workers, mainly in Eastern Europe. Although Betar’s political goal was identical with that of other Zionist organizations, that is, emigration to Palestine and creation of a Jewish state, certain differences occurred in the programmatic sense which, with time, became more and more pronounced. At the very outset, Betar was founded on the psychologically attractive combination of Jabotinsky - Trumpeldor with Jabotinsky appearing as a charismatic leader and powerful figure who with his militant views developed a new style in Jewish behaviour. Josef Trumpeldor, on the other hand, was a symbol of its soldierly abilities as well as a symbol of the Jewish tragedy. In the positive attempt to forge a truly vital link between intellectual and physical capabilities, needed for the difficult task of "returning home" after centuries of wandering, Betar stressed the importance of learning the national language and culture but coupled with self-defence methods.