| בית"ר | |
 | |
| Named after | Joseph Trumpeldor and Betar fortress |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1923, Riga, Latvia |
| Type | Jewish Youth paramilitary organization |
| Purpose | Activism and advocacy |
Region served | Worldwide |
Membership | 21,000 |
General Director | Nerya Meir |
The Betar Movement (Hebrew: תנועת בית"ר), also spelled Beitar (בית"ר), is a Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky.[1] It was one of several right-wing youth movements that arose at that time and adopted special salutes and uniforms influenced by fascism.[2]
During World War II, Betar was a source of recruits for both Jewish regiments that fought alongside the British and Jewish groups fighting against the British in Mandatory Palestine. Betar was traditionally linked to the original Herut and then Likud political parties of Jewish pioneers, and was closely affiliated with the Revisionist Zionist militant group Irgun.[2] Some of the most prominent politicians of Israel were Betarim in their youth, most notably prime ministers Yitzhak Shamir and Menachem Begin.[3]
- ^ Puchalski, P. (2018). "Review: Jabotinsky's Children: Polish Jews and the Rise of Right-Wing Zionism". The Polish Review. 63 (3). University of Illinois Press: 88–91. doi:10.5406/polishreview.63.3.0088. JSTOR 10.5406/polishreview.63.3.0088.
- ^ a b Smith, Charles D. (2004). Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's. p. 115. ISBN 0-312-40408-5.
[Jabotinsky] formed youth groups (Betar) whose practices, patterned after the tactics and symbols of fascism, included wearing brown shirts and using special salutes.
- ^ Smith, Charles D. (2004). Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's. p. 138. ISBN 0-312-40408-5.
Begin... adhered to his Revisionist ideology throughout his life... He idolized Jabotinsky and served as an officer in the Betar militia in Poland during the 1930s.