The Turn

Zionism made a defining split in the early 1920s. The split was a revision in policy made in reaction to two declarations by Winston Churchill, the Secretary of State for the Colonies. The Revisionists called for a revision of Zionist policy and the Jewish relationship with the British Empire.

The new Zionists proposed a local and more militant Zionist movement. It was a game-changer in Palestine. Distancing from a pro-British-led movement to anti-British and anti-Palestinian put the Zionists at a crossroads. Confronted with which Zionist philosophy to support, British-led Zionism or Jewish militant Zionism, the new revisionist philosophy marked the formation of the Revisionist Zionists. Ze’ev Jabotinsky, an Odessa Russian-born liberal/fascist Jew, became the voice and militant leader of the movement. 

Churchill, in March 1921, proclaimed that the British would rule Western Palestine, from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River, with a commitment to continued Jewish immigration. The area of the Mandate lying east of the River Jordan provided that Emir Abdullah (Transjordan) would accept a Jewish National Home within Western Palestine with the proviso to do his utmost to prevent anti-Zionist agitation among his people east of the Jordan.

Ze’ev Jabotinsky disagreed and insisted that the Zionist project include Greater Israel. The Revisionists favored a reincarnation of what the Bible describes as the territory of the ancient Israelite tribes, the Israelite kingdom, or the land promised by God to Abraham and his descendants. To them, lands on both sides of the Jordan River and other parts of the Middle East belonged to the Jewish state.

The 1922 Churchill White Paper was the other document in contention. It appeared to contradict his 1921 position on Jewish immigration. The White Paper served to instigate the discontent of many Zionists. British Policy in Palestine, the White Paper, called for limiting Jewish immigration to Palestine. Churchill claimed that the rapidly increasing population burdened the Palestinian economic capacity.

The Churchill immigration limitation policy was a setback for the Zionist movement. Jabortinsky was at odds with this policy. He insisted and made sure that Jewish immigration would “proceed regardless of the native population.”

Revisionists

In the minds and spirit of many hard-core Zionists, the notion festered that the British were no longer a serious partner in the Zionist colonization movement in Palestine. This philosophical change began a more tenuous riff between the socialist Zionists and revisionist Zionists. It also became the beginning of an active network of terrorist acts and attacks directed at the British, the Palestinian Arabs, and anyone else standing in their way. They felt that the British Mandate did not serve their purpose.

To understand the political machinations of Netanyahu and his Likud Party, the life of Ze’ev Jabotinsky, from 1920 to 1940, must be examined. Jabotinsky is an Israeli Revisionist icon who laid the foundation for the post-1948 Herut Party and the 1988 transition into the Likud Party.

In 1923, Ze’ev Jabotinsky, a prominent Zionist activist, published The Iron Wall, an article in which he laid out his vision for the course that the Zionist movement should follow to realize its ultimate goal: the creation of an independent Jewish state in Palestine, governed by the British.

In his The Iron Wall publication, Jabotinsky admonished the Zionist establishment for ignoring the Palestinian Arab political desires.  He stated that in no way would technological progress and improved economic conditions would endear the Arabs to a Jewish-dominated state. He labeled their Utopian initiative as fundamentally naive.

Jabotinsky believed the Arabs of Palestine, like any native population throughout history, would never accept the national aspirations of other people in their homeland. He promoted a militant Jewish national Zionism movement. Jabotinsky envisioned a force to combat the Arab national movement for control of the land.

Jabotinsky said, “As long as it has the slightest hope of being able to rid itself of the danger of being colonized,” a victory would be impossible. The Zionist movement should not waste its resources on Utopian economic and social dreams. Jabortinsky advocated for Zionists to focus on developing a Jewish military force. Military power would be the only way to compel the Arabs to accept a Jewish state on their native land. He wrote, “Zionist colonization … can proceed and develop only under the protection of a power that is independent of the native population – behind an iron wall, which the native population cannot breach.” 

Betar – The New Jew

In the winter of 1923, Jabotinsky traveled to Riga, Latvia, and met with the Organization of Active Zionist Youth, an organization of high school students. The experience became his epiphany. He would transform the Zionist national youth movement into the Betar Youth Movement. Betar became the Revisionist militant wing to transform the Jewish youth.

Jabotinsky explained that his mission was to create a type of Jew to better and more quickly build a Jewish state and to nurture healthy citizens for the Jewish nation. He wrote, “As a nation, the Jews today are neither normal nor healthy.” He continued, “Life in the Diaspora affects the intelligent upbringing of normal and healthy citizens.”

Jabotinsky was elected leader of Betar in 1931. By 1934, Betar had expanded to 70,000 members. It became an influential youth group across Europe and Palestine. Betar provided a strong base of support to the Revisionists while creating a new Jewish effigy.

Jabotinsky insisted that the Betar youth embody three key qualities: genius, generosity, and cruelty. Genius meant standing tall and being bold. Generosity refers to helping your fellow man. Cruel indicated a readiness to serve Zionists without hesitation. Jabotinsky envisioned a new generation that was educated and prepared for struggle—one that would support a Jewish state in Palestine characterized by militarism, authoritarianism, and anti-socialism, aligned with the European Right. Betar ultimately became a breeding ground for right-wing Zionist ideas and is often described as a Jewish Fascist organization.

He motivated the dispirited Jewish youth to understand their responsibility for Israeli fate. Jabotinsky believed his training would return the Jewish youth to self-respect, national pride, and the courage to live or die. To die or to conquer the mountain became ingrained into the Betar anthem along with the Seven Principles of the (Betar) Oath: Seven Principles of the (Betar) Oath. 

In Palestine, Betar members facilitated illegal Jewish immigration and instigators of disturbances and violence, frequently bombing Arab civilian areas in response to attacks and waging guerrilla warfare against the British. Betar eventually joined with Irgun, sharing leadership and cadres. Menahem Begin, future Israeli prime minister, led the two movements during the 1940s, including a revolt against the British in 1944 and fighting against the Palestinians in 1947–1948.

Irgun

Irgun, Hebrew for organization, was an underground paramilitary Zionist group that operated in Palestine during the British Mandate period. It was established in 1931 by dissident Haganah members. The British considered it a terrorist organization. The dominant Labor Zionists considered it a radical rival, and in 1936, it became an instrument of the Revisionist Party, an extreme nationalist party. Irgun was responsible for about 60 terror attacks targeting both British Mandate officials and Palestinian communities.

In 1941, the Irgun split into two groups: one became known as the Lehi or Stern Gang and regarded the British as the main enemy, and the other was closely allied to the Revisionist Party and regarded the Palestinians as the main enemy. The latter also organized illegal Jewish immigration into Palestine.

The Revisionist groups began an offensive terrorist strategy against arbitrary Arab populations, executed British army hostages, and assassinations of British diplomats. In 1946, the Irgun bombed the King David Hotel, killing some 91 soldiers and civilians. The King David Hotel served as a British administrative command post. Two years later, its members participated in the April 1948 massacre at the Palestinian village of Deir Yasin, just outside Jerusalem. 

In June of 1948, the Irgun was absorbed into the IDF. The Irgun agreed to cease all independent arms acquisition activities. However, in May of 1948, the Irgun purchased the vessel Altalena. By June 20th, the Altalena reached Kfar Vitkin, greeted by Menachem Begin and a group of Irgun members. The ship, loaded with 800-900 men, 5,000 rifles, 250 Bren guns, 5 million bullets, 50 Bazoukas, and 10 Bren carriers, was a cache the IDF was unwilling to yield to the Irgun.  

Begin made several efforts not to turn over the military supplies to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The Chief of the General Staff (IDF) gave Begin an ultimatum. Begin did not respond. A standoff between the IDF and Irgun members ensued. Unable to reach an agreement, an armed conflict broke out. Begin ordered the Altalena to sail to Tel Aviv, where there were more Irgun supporters. 

The provisional government headed by Ben-Gurion ordered the IDF to concentrate forces on the Tel Aviv beach and take the ship by force. Yitzhak Rabin ordered the IDF to fire shots. One round hit the vessel. A battle between the IDF and Irgun forces erupted, and clashes between IDF and Irgun units also took place throughout Tel Aviv. A civil war appeared imminent. The IDF initiated mass arrests. More than 200 Irgun members, including Begin, were arrested, and Irgun units within the IDF disbanded.

Likud Party

The Altalena Affair exposed the intensity of the rivalry between the empowered Labor Zionists and the Revisionist Zionists of Jabotinsky and Begin. This rift between the main political factions in Israel still exists. In 1948, the Labor Zionists won out. But in Israel today, the Jabotinsky revisionists under Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud Party) are in control. 

Israeli media will occasionally reference The Altalena Affair to illustrate the use of force by the Israeli government against fringe political elements, Palestinian or Jewish. Ben-Gurion is given credit for his actions as necessary for establishing a government authority with the power to use force against all dissent. By September 1948, the Irgun was dismantled and subsumed by the Israeli army. The Irgun was the precursor of the Herut Party. In 1988, it merged into the Likud Party. 

Netanyahu – Revisionists Today

Today, the ideals of Ze’ev Jabotinsky are alive within the 100-year-old Betar. In America, Betar has rekindled Jabotinsky into the prophet of Revisionist Zionism. Betar’s website claims, “The work and words of Ze’ev Jabotinsky offer a guidepost for life, something which leaves one – as he said – with a proper philosophy of life and a guidepost on how to live life as a Jew.”

Betar activism encourages “sit-ins, rallies, more aggressive protesting. It urges protesters to be loud and non-polite when confronting kapos and haters. This worldwide Zionist organization points to the devoted, strong, proud Jewish Zionist leaders of the past, including former Israeli Prime Ministers Menachem Begin, Yitzchak Shamir, and Benzion Netanyahu (father of Benjamin) as the men responsible for the existence of Israel, the Jewish state. By post-Neurenburg standards, these men are war criminals, not heroes. 

Jabotinsky can be lauded for his honesty but not his tactics. “It is utterly impossible to obtain the voluntary consent of the Palestine Arabs for converting Palestine from an Arab country into a country with a Jewish majority.” He concluded, in 1922, that the Palestinians would not give up their land to the Zionist usurpers. In The Iron Wall, he clearly states that his solution to this problem is Jewish military strength. Zionist force, not peace-mongering fools persuasion Arabs, was the only valid action. He wrote, “native populations in the world resist colonists as long as it has the slightest hope of being able to rid itself of the danger of being colonized.”  

Is the Israeli genocide in Gaza, Lebanon invasions, and its current push into Syria, is the fantasy of a Greater Israel resounding in the minds of Israeli leaders? The expansionary ideology of Israel is leaving dead bodies and rubble in its wake. Zionist hubris continues as the world stands by. How will this end? World War III?