As Pro-Hamas media, the UN and craven world leaders attack us, we owe our enemies nothing. The great Zionist Revisionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky said it all when he timelessly wrote in an essay entitled “Go To Hell” in 1920:
“We constantly and very loudly apologize… Instead of turning our backs to the accusers, as there is nothing to apologize for, and nobody to apologize to, we swear again and again that it is not our fault… Isn’t it long overdue to respond to all these and all future accusations, reproaches, suspicions, slanders and denunciations by simply folding our arms and loudly, clearly, coldly and calmly answer with the only argument that is understandable and accessible to this public: ‘Go to Hell!’?
"Our habit of constantly and zealously answering to any rabble has already done us a lot of harm and will do much more. … The situation that has been created as a result, tragically confirms a well known saying: 'Qui s’excuse s’accuse (he who excuses himself, accuses himself).' We ourselves have acquainted our neighbors with the thought that for every embezzling Jew it is possible to drag the entire ancient people to answer, a people that was already legislating at the time when the neighbors had not even invented a bast shoe.
"Every accusation causes among us such a commotion that people unwittingly think, ‘why are they so afraid of everything? Apparently their conscience is not clear.’ Exactly because we are ready at every minute to stand at attention, there develops among the people an inescapable view about us, as of some specific thievish tribe. We think that our constant readiness to undergo a search without hesitation and to turn out our pockets, will eventually convince mankind of our nobility; look what gentlemen we are–we do not have anything to hide! This is a terrible mistake.
"The real gentlemen are the people that will not allow anyone for any reason to search their apartment, their pockets or their soul. Only a person under surveillance is ready for a search at every moment…. This is the only one inevitable conclusion from our maniac reaction to every reproach–to accept responsibility as a people for every action of a Jew, and to make excuses in front of everybody including hell knows who.
"I consider this system to be false to its very root. We are hated not because we are blamed for everything, but we are blamed for everything because we are not loved…
"We may apologize only in rare, unique and extremely important moments when we are completely confident that the Areopagus in front of us really has just intentions and proper competence. We do not have to apologize for anything.
"We are a people as all other peoples; we do not have any intentions to be better than the rest. As one of the first conditions for equality we demand the right to have our own villains, exactly as other people have them. Yes, we do have provocateurs and draft dodgers, and it is even strange that we have so few of them under current conditions.
"Other people have also these kind of 'good,' and, in addition, they have embezzlers, and pogrom-makers, and torturers–so what– the neighbors live and are not ashamed…. Do our neighbors blush for the Christians in Kishinyov who hammered nails into Jewish babies’ eyes?” Not in the least,– they walk with head raised high and look everybody in the face; ...the persona of a people is royal, and not responsible and is not obliged to apologize…
"We do not have to account to anybody, we are not to sit for anybody’s examination and nobody is old enough to call on us to answer. We came before them and will leave after them. We are what we are, we are good for ourselves, we will not change and we do not want to.”
Today, worldwide Betar is the only group confronting jihadis in the street. We are proud to build lists of jihadis to deport from individual nations and kapos who have no place visiting Israel. Against a backdrop where Israel is regarded as a genocider, the IDF baby-killers and PM Netanyahu a war criminal, naturally Jews who fight back are scary.
Betar Worldwide is the organization that sees Jabotinsky as its eternal leader. It has become among the most prominent and active Zionist organizations in the world in the past year, at war in the Diaspora since October 7th.
Betar has never been larger than it is today. Iranian TV has called Betar US “America’s most hated Zionist Group”, and Al Jazeera, CNN, and many others have maligned our Zionist activities worldwide, from England to NYU, where the school has condemned us, and the NYU student newspaper called for Betar to be banned.
The woke, left Anti-Defamation League has called Betar a radical, hate group as they radically urge a 2-state solution and march worldwide for the terrorists we fight. As there were in the times when Ben-Gurion called Jabotinsky “Hitler”, there are extremist Jews who side with those marching for Hamas.
Betar was founded in 1923 by the foremost Zionist leader in history, Ze’ev Jabotinsky, which has always advocated for aliya and Jews fighting back. Worldwide Betar is based in Israel and from world headquarters in Tel Aviv oversees 35 worldwide chapters, including Betar US. It is led by Israelis and Americans, Latin Americans and Europeans and while no longer only a youth movement, it is the same Betar from which PM’s Shamir and Begin emanated and has the same ideology. It is proud and ideologically in line with the Etzel and all of the great heroes of the past who led to the establishment of the Jewish State.
We have many battles but we are the Jews who don’t have the trembling knees that Menachem Begin spoke of - he was in Betar. We are all Betar.
Yigal Brand is CEO of World Betar. Ronn Torossian serves as Vice Chair of Betar Worldwide, and Chair of Betar US.