Jabotinsky's New Jew: Concept and models

Abstract

The founder of Revisionist Zionism, Ze'ev (Vladimir) Jabotinsky, believed that Zionism would create a new type of Jew. The youth organization that he headed, Betar Youth, used a variety of means to train its members to realize the vision of the “new Jew,” from physical and paramilitary exercises to learning and using the Hebrew language, from a certain code of behavior to making every effort to immigrate to Eretz Yisrael. Jabotinsky presented three figures as models of the new Jewish character: Herzl, who had brought the nation back into history; Trumpeldor, who personified the pure idea of pioneering and serving the nation; and Shlomo Ben Yosef, who, when sentenced to death by the British Mandate authorities, demonstrated strength and honor while in prison and went to the gallows with the Betar Song on his lips. These three men symbolized in their lives the idea of the “new Jew” – the antithesis to the figure of the ghetto Jew.

Keywords:

• Jabotinsky
• Revisionism
• Betar
• New Jew
• Zionism

Acknowledgments

A previous version of this article was published in Hebrew in Yisrael, no. 16 (2009): 119–42.

Notes

 1 Jabotinsky, “Ra'ayon Betar (Yesodot hashkafat ha-olam ha-betarit)” (The Betar idea [Fundamentals of the Betar worldview]), in idem, Ba-derekh le-medinah, 300. The pamphlet was written in Yiddish in 1934 and translated into Hebrew by the Betar Commission in Palestine.

 2 Letter to Aharon Zvi Propes, 20 April, 1939, Jabotinsky Institute, Tel Aviv, 1/29/2/1a.

 3 For differentiation between these types of redemption, see Scholem, Devarim be-go, 155–90, and Od davar , 231–40.

 4 On Zionist utopias, see Elboim-Dror, Ha-mahar shel etmol; Gorny, “Utopian Elements in Zionist Thought.”

 5 See Peled, “Ha-adam he-hadash”, 13–14; Shapira, Yehudim hadashim, 178.

 6 See Peled, “Ha-adam he-hadash”, 13–14; Shapira, Yehudim hadashim, 158–74.

 7 Jabotinsky, “Ha-henvani” (The shopkeeper), in idem, Ba-derekh le-medinah, 101.

 8 Jabotinsky, Medinah ivrit, 32.

 9 On Jabotinsky's road to Zionism and his early Zionist attitudes, see Stanislawski, Zionism and the Fin de Siècle, 150–202.

10 Jabotinsky, “El son'ei tziyon” (To the foes of Zion), in idem, Ktavim tziyoniyim rishonim, 25.

11 Jabotinsky, “Hakdamah le-Masa Nemirov (‘Ba-ir ha-harigah’ le-H.N. Bialik)” (Preface to “Masa Nemirov” [H.N. Bialik's “In the City of the Slaughter”]), trans. into Hebrew by H. Reichman, in idem, Shirim, 134 (emphasis in the original).

12 Schechtman, Ze'ev Jabotinsky, 1:67. Schechtman has no grounds for writing that the torn parchment was part of Genesis. Relying on the recollections of a member of the Jewish Legion, Schechtman adds that Jabotinsky kept the scrap of parchment until 3 March 1915. On that day, while in Alexandria, he surrendered it to the first Legion volunteers for safekeeping; his intention was that they would eventually deposit it in “the national archive that you will establish on Mount Zion after the conquest of Jerusalem.”

13 For an analysis of the preface and Jabotinsky's relationship with Bialik, see Naor, “Gam le-epikursim,” 141–48.

14 Jabotinsky, “Ha-tziyonut ha-romemah, devarim ba-knesiyat-ha-yesod shel ha-histadrut ha-tziyonit ha-hadashah” (High Zionism, remarks at the founding conference of the New Zionist Organization), trans. into Hebrew by B. Lubecki, in idem, Ne'umim, 2:180. Jabotinsky delivered the remarks in German but translated the expression “High Zionism” (hoch Zionismus) into Hebrew (tziyonut romemah) himself. The verse fragment “For out of Zion shall go forth the Law” is culled from Isaiah 2:3 and Micha 4:2. Jabotinsky did not quote the second part of the verse: “and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

15 Jabotinsky, “Ha-yeladim shelo ve-yaldeinu” (His children and ours), in idem, Ba-derekh le-medinah, 81–83 (originally written in Yiddish). The concluding sentence, “neither my people nor my mercy” is a paraphrase of Hosea 1:6–9.

16 Jabotinsky, “Sha'atnez lo ya'aleh aleikha” (Sha'atnez you shall not wear), in idem, Ba-derekh le-medinah, 69–72. The article was written in Yiddish in 1929; its title was taken from Lev. 19:19, which enjoins against wearing linen and wool in one garment.

17 Race in Jabotinsky's thinking is mainly a concept of cultural significance and has no hierarchical dimension. See Shavit, Jabotinsky and the Revisionist Movement, 113–14; Shimoni, Ha-idiologiyah ha-tziyonit, 221–24; Naor, “Gam le-epikursim,” 139–40. For a different interpretation of Jabotinsky's writings, see Avineri, Ha-re'ayon ha-tziyoni, 191–95.

18 Jabotinsky, “Shir Betar” (Song of Betar), in idem, Shirim, 205.

19 See p. 153 and n. 72 below.

20 Jabotinsky, “Hesped” (Eulogy): translated into Hebrew by H. Reichmann, in idem, Shirim, 238.

21 Jabotinsky, “Ha-neder” (The oath), in ibid., 110.

22 Ari Jabotinsky wrote about the circumstances under which the song was written: “One day, as he sat with a friend at a Paris café, his father appeared, interrupted their game, and said, ‘Now let's write a song, an anthem for the Betar movement, and the suffixes will be ar.’ He sat and wrote the first stanza. He still lacked a few words and used Russian words as stopgaps. Then he bid farewell and walked away.” “He'arot” (Notes), in ibid., 306–7.

23 Peled, “Ha-adam he-hadash”; Lamm, tnu'at ha-no'ar ha-tziyoni.

24 Jabotinsky to Betar Latvia, 5 November 1928, in idem, Igrot 1928–1929, 163–64 (written in Hebrew, emphasis in the original).

25 Ben-Yeruham, Sefer Betar, 1:122.

26 See Nietzsche, The Birth of Tragedy, chap. 3.

27 Resolutions of the first Betar World Convention, Danzig, 12–15 April 1931, in Ben-Yeruham, Sefer Betar, 1:339.

28 Jabotinsky, “Ha-tziyonut ha-romemah,” 180.

29 Jabotinsky, “Mevakrei ha-tziyonut” (The critics of Zionism), in idem, Ktavim tziyoniyim rishonim, 38–39.

30 Jabotinsky, “Shir ha-degel” (Song of the flag), in idem, Shirim, 191.

31 Jabotinsky, “Sienkiewicz,” in idem, Al sifrut ve-omanut, 164.

32 Jabotinsky, “Sienkiewicz,” in idem, Al sifrut ve-omanut, 164–65.

33 Jabotinsky, “Mah korim ve-mah hoshvim” (What they read and what they think), in Jabotinsky, “Sienkiewicz,” in idem, Al sifrut ve-omanut, 309–16.

34 Jabotinsky, Zikhronot ben-dori, 56–57.

35 Jabotinsky, “Shir Betar.”

36 Jabotinsky, “Lamut o likhbosh et ha-har” (To die or to conquer the mountain), speech at a public rally at the Warsaw New Theater, 6 August 1938 (9 Av, 5698), in idem, Ne'umim, 2:323.

37 Jabotinsky, “Tziyonut ve-Eretz Yisrael” (Zionism and Eretz Yisrael), in idem, Ktavim tziyoniyim rishonim, 123. The article was written in Russian in 1905.

38 Bilsky Ben-Hur, Kol yehid hu melekh. This Jabotinskian concept has become a cornerstone in the study of his thinking. See also my article, (“Ha-mitveh ha-hukati,” 51–92. Shlomo Avineri disagrees; he considers monism the pillar of Jabotinsky's doctrine (Ha-ra'ayon ha-tziyoni, 182–215).

39 Jabotinsky, “Hashkafah al be'ayot medinah ve-hevrah” (View of problems of state and society), in idem, Ekronot manhim, 23–26; idem, “Bnei melakhim” (Sons of kings), Ha-Mashkif, 25 April 1941; Bela, Olamo shel Jabotinsky, 127–28. Jabotinsky is referring to Ps. 8:5: “For thou has made him a little lower than the angels”; and Gen. 6:2–4 (“Sons of God”).

40 Jabotinsky, “Ra'ayon Betar” (The Betar idea), in idem, Ba-derekh le-medinah, 321–22.

41 Jabotinsky, “Hashkafah al be-ayot ha-sha'ah,” 26.

42 Jabotinsky, “Ha-neder,” 110. The poem was written in 1934 and the swearing-in ceremony was established at the Betar conference in Kraków about a year later.

43 Jabotinsky to David Ben-Gurion, Paris, 2 May 1935, in idem, Igrot 1935, 102–3.

44 Jabotinsky, “Bi-zkhut ha-ivrit” (In favor of Hebrew), in idem, Ekronot manhim, 146–48.

45 Remarks by Ze'ev Jabotinsky at the Tarbut conference, Ha'aretz, 8 January 1928, cited in Bela, Olamo shel Jabotinsky, 363.

46 Jabotinsky, “Ha-neder,” 109.

47 Jabotinsky, “Aharei mot Bialik” (After Bialik's death), in idem, Al sifrut ve-omanut, 378.

48 Jabotinsky, “Arba'ah banim” (Four sons), in idem, Filetonim, 128. The feuilleton was first published in 1922 and was reprinted several times.

49 Jabotinsky, “Ha-hinukh ha-ivri” (Hebrew education), in idem, Ktavim tziyoniyim rishonim, 73. The article was written in 1903.

50 Jabotinsky, “Ani metzapeh” (I expect), Hazit ha-Am, 24 January 1934; Jabotinsky to Johanna Jabotinsky, Jerusalem, September 1918, in idem, Igrot 1914–1918, 232.

51 The Begin–Jabotinsky debate is discussed at length in the historiography. See, for example, Shavit, “Avi ha-mered”; Heller, “Ze'ev Jabotinsky”; Shindler, The Triumph of Military Zionism.

52 Jabotinsky, “Al ha-ah (ha-alef-bet he-hadash)” (At the fireside [The new alphabet]), in idem, Ba-derekh le-medinah, 85–95.

53 Jabotinsky, “Al ha-ah (ha-alef-bet he-hadash)” (At the fireside [The new alphabet]),” in idem, Ba-derekh le-medinah, 89–90.

54 Jabotinsky, “Al ha-ah (ha-alef-bet he-hadash)” (At the fireside [The new alphabet]),” in idem, Ba-derekh le-medinah, 92–93; Jabotinsky “Al kir ha-barzel (anahnu veha-aravim)” (The iron wall [the Arabs and us]), in idem, Ba-derekh le-medinah, 251–60.

55 Jabotinsky, “Sha'atnez lo ya'aleh aleikha,” 72.

56 Jabotinsky, “Ha-neder,” 109.

57 Jabotinsky, “Ha-degel” (The flag), in idem, Shirim, 190–93, written in Hebrew in 1926.

58 Jabotinsky, “Mah aleinu la'asot?” (What must we do?), in idem, Ktavim tziyoniyim rishonim, 200. The article was written in 1905.

59 Transcript of Jabotinsky speech, in Ben-Yeruham, Sefer Betar, 1:525–27.

60 Jabotinsky, “Sipur yemai” (Story of my days), in idem, Avtobiografiyah, 27–28.

61 Jabotinsky, “Sipur yemai” (Story of my days), in idem, Avtobiografiyah, 28.

62 Jabotinsky, “Mered ha-zkenim” (Uprising of the elderly), in idem, Umah ve-hevrah, 231.

63 See Jabotinsky, Samson; Jabotinsky's speech to members of Maccabi in Jerusalem, Do'ar ha-Yom, 28 January 1920, cited in Bela, Olamo shel Jabotinsky, 339; and Jabotinsky, “Ra'ayon Betar,” 303–36.

64 “Ra'ayon Betar,” 319.

65 Jabotinsky, “Sipur yemai,” 29.

66 Cited in Ohana, Misdar ha-nihilistim, 256. There is extensive literature on futurism; for a summary of the Futurist Manifesto and its influence on art and politics, see Humphreys, Futurism.

67 Jabotinsky, “Ha-neder.”

68 Jabotinsky, “Ha-mav'ir” (The maker of flame), in idem, Reshimot, 16–17.

69 Jabotinsky, “Megilat ha-gdud” (Scroll of the legion), in idem, Avtobiografiyah, 205–6.

70 Jabotinsky, “Ra'ayon Betar,” 319 (translation taken from http://www.betar.co.uk/ideology.php).

71 Jabotinsky, “Yehudi le-mofet” (An exemplary Jew), in idem, Zikhronot ben-dori, 221–23.

72 Jabotinsky, “Be-shevti al ha-karka” (As I sat on the ground), Ha-Mashkif, 2 September 1940, published in Hebrew on the thirtieth day of Jabotinsky's death; cited in Bela, Olamo shel Jabotinsky, 199.

73 Eisenstadt, “Ha-omnam hehzirah ha-tziyonut et ha-yehudim le-historiyah?” 11.

74 Jabotinsky, “Hesped,” 238.

75 Jabotinsky, “Megilat ha-gdud,” 206.

76 Jabotinsky, “Yeriyato ha-aharonah” (His last gunshot), Ha-Mashkif, 3 March 1939.

77 Transcript of Jabotinsky's speech, 13 September 1938, in Ben-Yeruham, Sefer Betar, vol. 2, pt. 2, 1006–9.

78 Jabotinsky, “Tel Hai,” in idem, Ba-derekh le-medinah, 16. The article, written in Hebrew in 1920, first appeared in Ha'aretz.

79 Jabotinsky, “Ra'ayon Betar,” 308.