Recently, the Edmund J. Safra Synagogue on Manhattan’s East Side was the site of the 68th annual Yahrzeit memorial for Ze’ev Vladimir Jabotinsky, the legendary Zionist leader.
Over 400 people gathered to pay tribute to one of the most outstanding pioneers and visionaries of the early Zionist movement. Many of those in attendance were former members of Betar, the jewel in the crown of Jabotinsky’s remarkable array of achievements. Also known as “Brit Trumpeldor,” Betar is the Zionist youth movement that Jabotinsky founded in honor of his friend and fellow Jewish soldier, Yosef Trumpeldor in Riga, Latvia, Russia in 1923. To this very day, Betarim around the world still refer to Jabotinsky as “Rosh Betar” (Head of Betar).
Born in 1880 in Odessa, Russia, Jabotinsky left home at 18 for Italy and Switzerland where he would study law and journalism. He was soon to become recognized as one of the brilliant exponents of Russian journalism as well as a prolific poet and fiction writer. It was the infamous bloody pogrom against the Jews in Kishinev of 1903 that gave impetus to Jabotinsky to focus his energies on his people and the nascent Zionist dream of establishing a Jewish State in the land of Israel.
He spearheaded a campaign to re-establish the first Jewish army in Israel in over 2,000 years. In the year 1917, the Jewish Legion was created to defend Jews against the murderous attacks by Arabs in Israel. He was elected as a delegate to the 6th World Zionist Congress in 1923, and aware of the fact that the destiny of the Jewish people could be found in their youth, he initiated the formation of the youth movement, Betar. These young Betarim were taught to defend Jews against their enemies and to work towards creating a new Jewish State.
During his lifetime, Jabotinsky was imprisoned by the British for leading Haganah forces against Arab rioters. In 1920, he was derided as a "fascist" by his detractors because of his nationalist zeal. He was later scorned and ridiculed as an alarmist when he traveled through Europe in the early 1930s urging Jews to evacuate Europe as the looming storm clouds of anti-Semitism were on the horizon. As with most exceptionally talented and versatile people, Jabotinsky was only posthumously credited for his foresight, wisdom and courage.
Rabbi Elie Abadie, Chief Rabbi of the Safra Synagogue said, “When I was a boy, my role model was Menachem Begin, who was a faithful Jewish leader, prime minister of Israel and a loyal follower of Ze’ev Jabotinsky.”
Others spoke, then former Israeli Defense Minister and Foreign Minister Moshe Arens waxed sentimental as he recalled the final hours of Jabotinsky’s life.
Arens said that Jabotinsky aspired to create a “democratic state with a Jewish majority and believed in the principles of a free economy.” Arens then took questions from the audience and said that Jabotinsky would be totally opposed to the removal of Jewish settlements. Arens’ words were met with thunderous applause when he said that the war against terrorism must be pursued without pause and that “uprooting Jewish settlements cannot be tolerated and we must make it clear that the Golan Heights is not for sale and not for rent.”
