Training School for Betar Instructors
Encyclopedia
The Training School for Betar Instructors (or Betar
'madricihim,' also often translated as 'youth guides' or 'youth leaders') was founded in Tel Aviv
in 1928 as a military academy for revisionist youth in Palestine
.
Jeremiah Halpern
, an experienced activist who had been involved in the Haganah
in 1920 and had served Betar
in many capacities, was the first director of the School. Halpern had worked with Moshe Rosenberg since the 20s in the development of Betar's military programmes and together they conceived of a school for Betar madrichim. Shortly after becoming director Halpern recruited the revolutionary Zionist Abba Ahimeir
as an instructor of the nationalist youth and together they led the School in an increasingly radical direction in which military training was viewed as a means of establishing the military wing of a national liberation movement.
Under the leadership of Halpern (and later of Ahimeir) the 24 cadets took the lead in organising demonstrative activities outside Betar, which notably included taking the initiative in the march to the Western Wall
in August 1929. The demonstration was later identified as the proximal cause of the 1929 Palestine riots
by the Shaw Commission.
Halpern's cadets formed the nucleus for the right-wing Maximalist
tendency in Revisionism and the activities of Halpern and Ahimeir contributed to the evolution of the Irgun and to the support of Revisionist Maximalism within Betar.
Betar
The Betar Movement is a Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Vladimir Jabotinsky. It has been traditionally linked to the original Herut and then Likud political parties of Israel, and was closely affiliated with the pre-Israel Revisionist Zionist splinter group...
'madricihim,' also often translated as 'youth guides' or 'youth leaders') was founded in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
in 1928 as a military academy for revisionist youth in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
.
Jeremiah Halpern
Jeremiah Halpern
Captain Jeremiah Halpern was a Revisionist Zionist leader in Palestine who first came to prominence when he served as aide de camp to Ze'ev Jabotinsky in the 1920s when the latter was head of the Haganah in Jerusalem.Halpern, a certified ship's captain, was known as Rav...
, an experienced activist who had been involved in the Haganah
Haganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
in 1920 and had served Betar
Betar
The Betar Movement is a Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Vladimir Jabotinsky. It has been traditionally linked to the original Herut and then Likud political parties of Israel, and was closely affiliated with the pre-Israel Revisionist Zionist splinter group...
in many capacities, was the first director of the School. Halpern had worked with Moshe Rosenberg since the 20s in the development of Betar's military programmes and together they conceived of a school for Betar madrichim. Shortly after becoming director Halpern recruited the revolutionary Zionist Abba Ahimeir
Abba Ahimeir
Abba Ahimeir was a Jewish journalist, historian and political activist. One of the ideologues of Revisionist Zionism, he was the founder of the Revisionist Maximalist faction of the Zionist Revisionist Movement and of the clandestine Brit HaBirionim....
as an instructor of the nationalist youth and together they led the School in an increasingly radical direction in which military training was viewed as a means of establishing the military wing of a national liberation movement.
Under the leadership of Halpern (and later of Ahimeir) the 24 cadets took the lead in organising demonstrative activities outside Betar, which notably included taking the initiative in the march to the Western Wall
Western Wall
The Western Wall, Wailing Wall or Kotel is located in the Old City of Jerusalem at the foot of the western side of the Temple Mount...
in August 1929. The demonstration was later identified as the proximal cause of the 1929 Palestine riots
1929 Palestine riots
The 1929 Palestine riots, also known as the Western Wall Uprising, the 1929 Massacres, , or the Buraq Uprising , refers to a series of demonstrations and riots in late August 1929 when a long-running dispute between Muslims and Jews over access to the Western Wall in Jerusalem escalated into violence...
by the Shaw Commission.
Halpern's cadets formed the nucleus for the right-wing Maximalist
Revisionist Maximalism
Revisionist Maximalism was a Jewish fascist ideology which was part of the Brit HaBirionim faction of the Zionist Revisionist Movement created by Abba Ahimeir. Revisionist Maximalists strongly supported the Italian fascist regime of Benito Mussolini and wanted the creation of an Israel based on...
tendency in Revisionism and the activities of Halpern and Ahimeir contributed to the evolution of the Irgun and to the support of Revisionist Maximalism within Betar.