Our Story
Betar is a Jewish youth movement based on a very rich ideology and history.
Click on the links below to find out more about the various aspects of Betar
Present Day
Today Betar exists as a youth movement in Israel and around the world with branches in South Africa, Australia, France, South America, USA, Canada, England, Turkey, Ukraine, Russia and Moldova. Each branch of Betar is called a Maoz (Hebrew acronym for Maon Ze’ev) in honour and memory of Rosh Betar, Ze’ev Jabotinsky.
Betar and Politics
Betar is affiliated with the centre-right Likud Party in Israel, which until recently formed the ruling government. This party was originally based on the principles and teachings of Jabotinsky.
Betar and the Arab-Israeli conflict
The ideology of Betar was written many years before the establishment of the State of Israel and the developments in the Arab-Israeli conflict that we have seen in recent times. It is hard to know exactly what Jabotinsky would say about the conflict were he alive today, however there are certain principles which continue to guide us.
One of these was laid down in an article entitled “The Iron Wall” In it, Jabotinsky describes the approach we should take with the Arabs – the building of an “Iron Wall” between us and them. This means we should deal with the Arabs from a position of strength. In today’s terms it is equivalent to refusal to give in to the demands of terror.
Of course, this does not mean we will never make compromises. The first Israeli prime minister to make peace with an Arab State was Menachem Begin, a betari. Opponents of Betar have vilified our movement throughout the years and continue to do so to this day, claiming that we oppose peace and support violence and war. This could not be further from the truth. Of course Betar supports peace, however we do not support peace at all costs. We recognize that there are certain concessions we cannot make and are willing to fight for what is inherently ours.
Betar and the Gaza Wtihdrawal
Betar Olami was officially opposed to the recent Gaza withdrawal. This move was seen by our movement leadership as a reward for terror. As stated above, we are not inherently opposed to concessions if these will lead to a peaceful solution, however what we are opposed to is making painful sacrifices where we receive nothing in return. This is how the official leadership of Betar viewed these events.