This article is about the Zionist youth movement Betar.

For other uses, see Betar (disambiguation).

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 traditionally linked to the original Herut and then Likud Israeli political parties. A Zionist youth movement is an organization formed for Jewish children and adolescents for educational, social and ideological development, including a belief in Jewish nationalism as represented in the State of Israel. ... Betar may mean: In (Hebrew ביתר): Betar (fortress), the last Jewish fort held in the Bar Kokhbas revolt Betar (youth movement), a Revisionist Zionist youth movement Battir, a Palestinian village in the West Bank Betar Illit, a city in the West Bank Mevo Betar, Jerusalem area town Beitar Jerusalem FC... Revisionist Zionism is a right wing tendency of the Zionist movement. ... A youth movement is any attempt to organize individual young people into a unified identity. ... Year 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Coordinates: , Founded 1201 Government  - Mayor Jānis Birks Area  - City 307. ... Zeev Jabotinsky in military uniform Zeev Vladimir (Evgenevich) Jabotinsky (or Zhabotinski) (October 18, 1880 - August 4, 1940) was a Zionist leader, author, orator, and founder of the Jewish Legion in World War I. During World War II a similar and larger unit known as the Jewish Brigade would follow. ... Herut (Hebrew: חרות Freedom) was the political party of the Revisionist Zionist movement in Israel. ... Likud (Hebrew: ליכוד, literally means consolidation) is a centre-right political party in Israel. ...

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". Joseph Trumpeldor in uniform c. ... Tel Hai is a settlement in Galilee. ...

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. In order to produce the needed acronym, the normal spelling of Trumpeldor's name in Hebrew was changed - תרומפלדור instead of טרומפלדור. For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Simon bar Kokhba was a Jewish military leader who led a revolt against the Romans in AD 132. ...

During World War II, Betar members, former Polish officers, founded Żydowski Związek Walki (Jewish Fighting Union) which fought in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Żydowski Związek Walki (ŻZW, Polish for Jewish Fighting Union) was an underground organisation operating during World War II in the area of Warsaw Ghetto and fighting during Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. ... Combatants Nazi Germany {SS, SD, Gestapo, Ordnungspolizei, Wehrmacht} Collaborators {Blue Police, Jewish Ghetto Police} Jewish resistance (Å»OB, Å»ZW) Polish resistance (Armia Krajowa, Gwardia Ludowa) Commanders Ferdinand von Sammern-Frankenegg Jürgen Stroop Franz Bürkl Mordechai Anielewicz† Dawid Apfelbaum† PaweÅ‚ Frenkiel† Icchak Cukierman Marek Edelman Zivia Lubetkin Henryk IwaÅ„ski...

In the campaign for Israel's creation in British controlled Palestine, many Betar members fought in the Irgun terrorist unit against British rule. Some graduates from Betar Poland even joined Abraham Stern's more radical Lehi terrorist group. Members of Betar were also instrumental in setting up Israel's navy. Irgun emblem. ... Avraham Stern Abraham Stern, alias Yair (December 23, 1907 - February 12, 1942) was the founder and leader of the Zionist underground military organization later known as Lehi and also known as the Stern Gang. Stern was born in Poland, immigrated to Israel in 1925, and studied in the Hebrew Gymnasium... Lehi refers to: Lehi, a prophet in the Book of Mormon Lehi, a city in Utah Lehi, a Zionist paramilitary group in Palestine/Israel Lehi, a location in southwest Palestine/Israel Lehi, a traditionally Mormon agricultural neighborhood in northern Mesa, Arizona This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid...

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, current Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and former Defence Minister Moshe Arens. Current Kadima Member of Knesset Yoel Hasson is a former national head of Betar in Israel. This leads some Israelis to see a connection between Betar and the ruling Kadima party as overshadowing Betar's traditional relationship with Likud.   (‎, August 16, 1913 – March 9, 1992) was a Polish-Jewish head of the Zionist underground group the Irgun, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the first Likud Prime Minister of Israel. ...   (Hebrew יִצְחָק שָׁמִיר) (born October 15, 1915) was Prime Minister of Israel from 1983 to 1984 and again from 1986 to 1992. ... Ehud Olmert (IPA ; Hebrew:אהוד אולמרט; born September 30, 1945) is the 12th and current Prime Minister of Israel. ... U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney meets with Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tzipi Livni, at the White House. ... Moshe Arens Moshe Arens (born December 27, 1925 in Kaunas, Lithuania) is an Israeli politician. ... Kadima (Hebrew: קדימה, Forward) is a political party in Israel. ...

Today, the Betar Movement is active is primarily involved in Jewish and Zionist activism. Tagar, Betar's young adult movement, was active on many university campuses throughout North America during the 1980s as part of the Revisionist Zionist Association. Although Betar has suffered a drastic decline in membership and activities since the 1970s, the movement continues to boast a few strong branches. The most notable of these is the Betar chapter of Cleveland, Ohio and Australia. For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ... Zionism is a political movement that supports a homeland for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel, where Jewish nationhood is thought to have evolved somewhere between 1200 BCE and late Second Temple times,[1][2] and where Jewish kingdoms existed up to the 2nd century CE. Zionism is... North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... Cleveland redirects here. ... Official language(s) None Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Largest metro area Cleveland Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq mi (116,096 km²)  - Width 220 miles (355 km)  - Length 220 miles (355 km)  - % water 8. ...

Regional Activities

France

In France, the Betar offices were bombed by the terrorist organization FLNC. In retaliation, members of the Betar clashed with pro-Arab supporters. The National Front for the Liberation of Corsica (Corsican: Fronte di Liberazione Naziunale di a Corsica, or FLNC) is a militant group that advocates an autonomous state on the island of Corsica, independent from France. ...

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), 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. Herut (Hebrew: חרות Freedom) was the political party of the Revisionist Zionist movement in Israel. ... Gush Emunim גוש אמונים (Hebrew: Block [of the] faithful) was an Israeli political movement. ... Bnei Akivas emblem (semel) Bnei Akiva (Hebrew: בני עקיבא), founded in the British Mandate of Palestine in 1929, is the largest youth movement of religious Zionists in the world. ... Mafdal party logo The National Religious Party (Hebrew: Mafdal, מפדל) is an Israeli political party representing the religious Zionist movement. ...   (‎, August 16, 1913 – March 9, 1992) was a Polish-Jewish head of the Zionist underground group the Irgun, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the first Likud Prime Minister of Israel. ... Herut (Hebrew: חרות Freedom) was the political party of the Revisionist Zionist movement in Israel. ... Likud (Hebrew: ליכוד, literally means consolidation) is a centre-right political party in Israel. ...

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 broke away from Likud to form Herut – The National Movement, 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.   (Hebrew: בִּנְיָמִין נְתַנְיָהוּ (without niqqud: בנימין נתניהו), Hebrew transliteration written in English: Binyamin Netanyahu, nicknamed Bibi) (born October 21, 1949, Tel Aviv) was the 9th Prime Minister of Israel and is a leading figure in the Likud party. ... Palestine (comprising todays Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza strip) and Transjordan (todays Kingdom of Jordan) were all part of the British Mandate of Palestine. ... Zeev Binyamin Benny Begin (Hebrew: , born 1 March 1943) is a former Israeli politician and the son of former Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin. ... Herut – The National Movement (Hebrew: חרות – התנועה הלאומית, Herut – HaTenoaa HaLeumit), commonly known as just Herut, is a minor right-wing political party in Israel. ... Magshimey Herut (Hebrew: מגשימי חרות; achievers of liberty) is a Zionist movement founded in 1999 by a group of Jewish activists who felt the need for a young adult movement dedicated to aliyah, social justice and the territorial integrity of the land of Israel. ...

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 left wing and 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) 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. Many Betar members, however, have become important political figures in both the Likud and Kadima parties. Kibbutz Dan, near Qiryat Shemona, in the Upper Galilee, 1990s A kibbutz (Hebrew: ; plural: kibbutzim: קיבוצים; gathering or together) is an Israeli collective intentional community. ... The Semel Tnua, the official logo of Hashomer Hatzair. ... HaNoar HaOveds emblem (semel) Motto reads: To Labour, Defence and Peace, Rise and Make it So Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed (Hebrew: for The Working and Learning Youth) is an Israeli youth organization. ... The Habonim Dror Emblem (known as its Semel / סמל). Habonim Dror (Hebrew: הבונים דרור; Translation: The Freedom Builders (more popularly The Builders of Freedom) is a Socialist-Zionist youth movement formed by the merger in 1982 of the Habonim and Dror youth movements. ... Hitachdut Hatsofim Ve Hatsofot Be Israel (Israel Boy and Girl Scouts Federation) is the national Scouting and Guiding federation of Israel. ...

Betar sponsors sports clubs, the most notable is the popular Beitar Jerusalem (or sometimes spelt Betar Jerusalem) football (soccer) club. Beitar Jerusalem Football Club (מועדון כדורגל ניתר ירושלים; Moadon Kaduregel Beitar Yerushalayyimalso known as Beitar Hot Yerushalayyim after their sponsors from the Hot cable company): Located in the Malkha complex in... Football is a ball game played between two teams of eleven players, each attempting to win by scoring more goals than their opponent. ...

Canada

Betar in Toronto opposes the propagation of allegations of Israeli apartheid by advocacy organizations in Canada. In February 2006, Tagar at the University of Toronto produced "Know Radical Islam Week" featuring civil rights activist Nonie Darwish, former Sudanese slave Simon Deng, a Muslim activist speaking on gay rights in the Middle East, Dr. Salim Mansur and presentations by Honest Reporting and Palestinian Media Watch.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]. The event portrayed Islamism as "an abuse of the religion Islam," [8] and was also co-sponsored by groups like the Toronto Secular Alliance. Betar in Toronto and Montreal have also worked with such off-campus organizations as the Canadian Coalition for Democracies to promote the importance of secular, participatory politics in Canada. In March 2007, Betar-Tagar at the University of Toronto changed its name to Zionists at UofT. This article or section seems to contain too many quotations for an encyclopedia entry. ... The University of Toronto (U of T) is a public research university in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... The phrase Islamic fundamentalism is primarily used in the West to describe Islamist groups. ... -1... Salim Mansur, PhD, is a Muslim and is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Western Ontario Canada. ... Honest Reporting (also HonestReporting or honestreporting. ... Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) is an organization established in 1996 that monitors Palestinian Arabic media and schoolbooks. ... For the religion of Islam, see Islam. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... The Canadian Coalition for Democracies (CCD) is a Canadian political action organization that advocates greater support for Israel, India and several other states. ...

Betar-Tagar was active in Montreal and Toronto during the 1980s Lebanon-Israel conflict. A revival of Betar occurred in Montreal on November 9th, 2006. Entitled "Taking Liberties: Terrorism in the West," the event featured keynote speaker Dr. Salim Mansur and was the first film screening of Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West at McGill University. It was co-organized with Conservative McGill students. [9][10] Again at McGill University in March 2007, Betar Montreal held "Radical Islam Awareness Week," a three day conference featuring former Sudanese slave Simon Deng, Canadian lawyer and security specialist David B. Harris and John Thompson of the Mackenzie Institute. Concurrent with the 2007 Montreal program, Betar in Toronto held "Freedom and Democracy Week" at the University of Toronto. Speakers included co-founder of the Western Standard newspaper Ezra Levant and Jonah Goldberg of the National Review. [11] Salim Mansur, PhD, is a Muslim and is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Western Ontario Canada. ... McGill University is a publicly funded, co-educational research university located in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ... David B. Harris is a Canadian lawyer. ... The Mackenzie Institute for the Study of Terrorism, Revolution and Propaganda is a think tank in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... The Western Standard bills itself as Western Canadas only national news magazine and is printed 24 times a year. ... Ezra Levant (born 1972) is a Canadian publisher, columnist, lawyer and political activist, is on the right-wing of Canadas conservative movement. ... Jonah Jacob Goldberg (born March 21, 1969), is an American political commentator and writer. ... National Review (NR) is a biweekly magazine of political opinion, founded by author William F. Buckley, Jr. ...

United States

Please help improve this article by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. This article has been tagged since January 2007.

Betar has had a Shaliach in New York City. It offers a fall and spring camp. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ...

Betar offers summer and winter tours of Israel. It is one of the few movements that offer students a change to visit Judea and Samaria. Both programs allow students to spend time at Kedumin, Itamar, Alon Moreh, Sderot, East Jerusalem and Hebron. They have officially adopted Kedumin as a sister city and spend an extensive time volunteering in that city. The winter tour is for college age students and runs in late December.

In addition to its programs for younger students it also has an affiliated program for college age students called Tagar.

Betar strongly promotes the idea of Aliya, Jewish immigration to Israel. [12] [13] [14]

UK

Betar UK is an active movement with the main branch being located in London with over 100 members and 500+ supporters. It is involved in pro-Israel activism including self defence classes for youths, government lobbying, correcting UK media bias against Israel and has held regular weekly demonstrations on Thursday evenings for the past 5 years outside Marks and Spencers in Oxford Street to counter the weekly anti Israel demonstrations/pickets boycotting Israeli goods and distributing anti Israel literature.

Australia

Betar Australia Inc. is an active movement which has branches in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Each of these branches conducts activities and functions and holds camps for Jewish youth in each state. This article is about the Australian city; the name may also refer to City of Melbourne or Melbourne city centre. ... This article is about the metropolitan area in Australia. ... For other uses, see Brisbane (disambiguation). ...

Betar Australia was established in 1948 in Melbourne. Later expanded to Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane, the Queensland branch celebrated its 50th Reunion in 2006.

The largest Betar Australia snif (local organization) can be found in Queensland, on Australia's East Coast. Betar Sydney's maon (home) has been located in Beit Herzl on Old South Head Rd in the Eastern Suburbs since the early 1980s. The Sydney movement has experienced periods of increase and decline, but probably reached its zenith in the early 1990s. During that time, winter camps regularly attracted over 220 chanichim (campers). Summer camps were also large, often held in conjuncion with the rest of Betar Australia. Several federal camps were held during that time, including Jamboree in Toowoomba, Queensland.
Betar also holds annual seminars for senior chanichim as well as educational and training conventions for the senior leaders. Eastern Suburbs is a soccer club in Auckland, New Zealand. ... Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, is 90 minutes drive west of Queenslands capital city, Brisbane, and two hours from the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast beaches. ...

Betar has always been at the forefront of activism in the Australian Jewish communities. From its first protests against the pro-Nazi German pianist Walter Gieseking in Melbourne in 1952 by releasing pidgeons and stink bombs during one of his concerts through the battling neo-Nazi groups in the 1960s to spearheading the Sydney Jewish community to protests on behalf of Soviet Jewry in the 1970s and 80s. Betar Sydney was closely involved in the annual protest outside the Soviet Consulate in Trelawney St, Woollahra each Pesach, as well as mass protests outside the Bolshoi Ballet, the Moscow Circus on Ice (at the Sydney Entertainment Centre) and during the visit to Canberra and Sydney of Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze. In later years, Betar took the initiative to organize community protests outside the Iraqi Embassy in Canberra during the First Gulf War and in front of the German Consulate in Sydney to protest rising anti-Semitism in the then-newly-reunified Germany. In 2004 Betar Sydney was active in protesting Dr. Hanan Ashrawi's receiving of the then Sydney Premier's peace prize. Woollahra is a suburb and Local Government Area located in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, Australia. ... The Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow houses the world renowned Bolshoi Ballet, which has been home to some of the worlds greatest ballet dancers, including Anna Pavlova, Vaslav Nijinsky, Rudolf Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Natalia Makarova. ... For other uses, see Canberra (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... See also: 2003 invasion of Iraq and Gulf War (disambiguation) C Company, 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment, 1st UK Armoured Division The Persian Gulf War was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of 34 nations led by the United States. ...

Betar Australia Inc. is strong in sending Jewish Australian youth to Israel on long-term programs, in January 2007 sendign 16 school-leavers on the year long program, Shnat Hachshara, as recognised by the Australian Zionist Youth Council.

Protests

Russia

Dr. Michael Shtern was imprisoned by the Russian Communists because his sons were openly Zionists. In an effort to free Shtern due to his sickening condition, a group of seven people from Betar, led by Fred Pierce and including Elie Yossef, offered to exchange themselves and serve out his sentence instead of Shtern. The Russian government later deported all of the peaceful protestors. Elie Yossef with Magshimey Herut activists at a political demonstration in Jerusalem Elie Yossef (Eli Joseph) is an Israeli educator and veteran Jewish activist. ...

See also

• Kadima
• Likud
• Revisionist Zionism
• Ze'ev Jabotinsky
• Zionist youth movement
• Betar Jerusalem FC

Kadima (Hebrew: קדימה, Forward) is a political party in Israel. ... Likud (Hebrew: ליכוד, literally means consolidation) is a centre-right political party in Israel. ... Palestine (comprising todays Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza strip) and Transjordan (todays Kingdom of Jordan) were all part of the British Mandate of Palestine. ... Zeev Jabotinsky in military uniform Zeev Vladimir (Evgenevich) Jabotinsky (or Zhabotinski) (October 18, 1880 - August 4, 1940) was a Zionist leader, author, orator, and founder of the Jewish Legion in World War I. During World War II a similar and larger unit known as the Jewish Brigade would follow. ... A Zionist youth movement is an organization formed for Jewish children and adolescents for educational, social and ideological development, including a belief in Jewish nationalism as represented in the State of Israel. ... The Beitar Jerusalem Football Club (מועדון כדורגל ביתר ירושלים; Moadon Kaduregel Beitar Yerushalayyim, also known as Beitar Yerushalayyim) is one of the most popular sports franchises in the Middle East, as well as one of the most controversial off the field. ...

External links

• Betar Argentina Website
• Betar Australia website
• Betar Brazil website
• Betar UK website
• Betar Uruguay Website
• Betar Canada website
• Betar CIS website
• Betar Southern Africa Web site
• Betar USA website
• Betar USA website
• Betar France Web Site
• World Betar Web site