The rise of the Zionist right [electronic resource] : Polish Jews and the Betar youth movement, 1922-1935
Keywords: History.

This dissertation charts the social, cultural and intellectual development of the Zionist Right through an examination of the Brit Yosef Trumpeldor youth movement, known eventually by its Hebrew acronym, Betar. Having garnered over forty thousand members by the mid-1930s, Betar emerged as one of the largest and most influential Jewish youth movements in Poland, and provided the strongest base of support for the world Revisionist movement, led by Vladimir Jabotinsky. Like its parent organization, Betar's militaristic ethos, vehement opposition to socialism and support of some of the more prominent policies of the European Right made it one of the most controversial Jewish political organizations of its time. Opponents of the movement's vision for creating a Jewish state in Mandate Palestine--and at times, its supporters--even went so far as to describe Betar's members as "Jewish Fascists." Drawing upon letters, newspapers, autobiographies, party journals, meeting protocols and police reports culled from archives in Poland, Israel and the United States, this dissertation explores the lives of Betar's members and leaders, the formation of their worldviews and the geopolitical context in which they operated. In doing so, it investigates how the most important developments in interwar eastern European politics--the collapse of fledgling democratic governments, the rise of authoritarian regimes and the growth of radical ethno-nationalist movements--influenced the political attitudes and behaviors of Jews in Poland and, ultimately, Mandate Palestine. In contrast to most historical studies of authoritarian politics in interwar Europe, in which Jews figure solely as the victims of right-wing politics, this work argues that many Polish Jews found much worth emulating in the policies and practices of Europe's Right, even as they condemned the antisemitic activity of right-wing movements across the continent. By exploring how Polish Jews within Betar used right-wing politics to navigate through the rapidly changing political landscape of both Europe and the Middle East between the two world wars, the dissertation illuminates crucial discussions that swept through Polish Jewish society. These included conversations about the role of "youth" and the "masses" in shaping the political destiny of Jews, the ability of democracy to defend Jewish interests, and the legitimacy of violence as a means to create a Jewish homeland in Mandate Palestine. In examining the encounter of Polish Jews with the European Right, the study pays particular attention to the influence of the authoritarian patriotic culture of the interwar Polish state on the ideology and practices of Betar. The dissertation outlines how the core features of the Zionist Right's ideology emerged primarily as a result of Vladimir Jabotinsky's interactions with young Polish Jews who were inspired by both Poland's authoritarian regime and the culture of nationalist Polish youth movements. The study also investigates why it was that Betar's leaders considered singing the Polish nationalist anthem, marching in Polish patriotic parades and training with Polish military officials to be explicitly Zionist acts. By illustrating Betar's performances of a "Zionist Polishness, " as well as the reactions they provoked, this dissertation reveals how the complex and continually evolving web of social, political and economic allegiances in Poland led Jews across the country to constantly recast what it meant to be a Zionist, as well as what it meant to be a "Polish Jew." Capturing the voices of Betar's leaders, members, sympathizers and opponents as they searched for answers to these questions, this dissertation is, ultimately, about the quest of Poland's Jews to determine not only what made modern Jewish politics in both the new Polish state and Mandate Palestine "Jewish, " but also what constituted "politics" in the first place.