Editing Ze'ev Jabotinsky (section)

==Renewed activism and militancy==
===Jewish self-defense and 1920 Palestine riots===
After Ze'ev Jabotinsky was discharged from the British Army in September 1919, he openly trained Jews in warfare and the use of small arms. On 6 April 1920, during the [[1920 Palestine riots]] the British searched the offices and apartments of the Zionist leadership for arms, including the home of [[Chaim Weizmann]], and in a building used by Jabotinsky's defense forces they found three rifles, two pistols, and 250 rounds of ammunition.<ref>D. Flisiak, Działalność syjonistów-rewizjonistów w Polsce w latach 1944/1945- 1950, Lublin 2020, s. 23-24.</ref>

[[File:AJI view 20121204 141410.jpg|thumb|right|Testimonial to Jabotinsky from the 38th Battalion Royal Fusiliers]]
Nineteen men were arrested. The next day Jabotinsky protested to the police that he was their commander and therefore solely responsible, so they should be released. Instead, he, too, was arrested, and the nineteen were sentenced to three years in prison with Jabotinsky being given a 15-year prison term for possession of weapons, until a July 1920 general pardon was granted to both Jews and Arabs convicted in the rioting.<ref>Golan, Zev  ''Free Jerusalem'', pp. 28–31</ref>
 
A committee of inquiry placed responsibility for the riots on the [[Zionist Commission]], alleging that they provoked the Arabs. The court blamed "[[Bolshevism]]" claiming that it "flowed in Zionism's inner heart", and ironically identified the fiercely anti-socialist Jabotinsky with the socialist-aligned [[Poalei Zion]] ('Zionist Workers') party, which it called 'a definite Bolshevist institution.'<ref name="Segev">{{Cite book |last=Segev |first=Tom |url=https://archive.org/details/onepalestinecomp00sege/page/141/mode/1up |title=One Palestine, complete: Jews and Arabs under the Mandate |publisher=Metropolitan Books, an imprint of [[Henry Holt and Company]] |others=Translated from the Hebrew ימי הכלניות by [[Haim Watzman]] |year=2000 |isbn=0-8050-4848-0 |pages=141 |author-link=Tom Segev |access-date=19 December 2023 |url-access=registration |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref>

===Founder of the Revisionist movement===
[[Image:Hatzohar_Conference._1925-1929_(id.15232546).jpg|thumb|right|Ze'ev Jabotinsky (second row in the very center, wearing glasses) at a [[Hatzohar]] Conference (likely in Paris, in the second half of the 1920s)]]
In 1920, Jabotinsky was elected to the first [[Assembly of Representatives (Mandate Palestine)|Assembly of Representatives]] in Palestine. The following year he was elected to the executive council of the [[World Zionist Organization|Zionist Organization]]. He was also a founder of the newly registered [[Keren Hayesod|Keren haYesod]] and served as its director of propaganda.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kh-uia.org.il/us/history.html |title=Keren Hayesod |access-date=10 December 2009 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928041617/http://www.kh-uia.org.il/us/history.html |archive-date=28 September 2007}}</ref> Jabotinsky left the mainstream Zionist movement in 1923 due to differences of opinion between him and its chairman, [[Chaim Weizmann]], establishing a new [[Revisionist Zionism|revisionist]] party called [[Hatzohar|Alliance of Revisionists-Zionists]] and its [[Zionist youth movement|Zionist youth]] [[paramilitary organization]] [[Betar (youth movement)|Betar]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Puchalski |first=P. |title=Review: Jabotinsky's Children: Polish Jews and the Rise of Right-Wing Zionism |journal=The Polish Review |volume=63 |issue=3 |date=2018 |pages=88–91 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |doi=10.5406/polishreview.63.3.0088 |jstor=10.5406/polishreview.63.3.0088 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/polishreview.63.3.0088| issn=0032-2970 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

His new party demanded that the mainstream Zionist movement recognize as its stated objective the establishment of a Jewish state on both banks of the [[Jordan River]]. His main goal was to establish, with the help of the British Empire, a modern Jewish state in which equality of rights for its Arab minority were upheld.{{cn|date=January 2025}} He maintained, however, that this could only be achieved through force, and condemned the "vegetarians" and "peace mongers" in mainstream Zionism who believed that this could be achieved peacefully.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Massad |first=Joseph |title=Peace is war: Israeli settler-colonialism and the Palestinians |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2013/11/1/peace-is-war-israeli-settler-colonialism-and-the-palestinians |access-date=2025-03-24 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref>

His philosophy contrasted with that of the socialist-oriented [[Labor Zionism|Labor Zionists]], in that it focused its economic and social policy on the ideals of the Jewish middle class in Europe. His ideal for a Jewish state was a form of [[nation state]] based loosely on the British imperial model.<ref>'England is becoming continental! Not long ago the prestige of the English ruler of the "colored" colonies stood very high. Hindus, Arabs, Malays were conscious of his superiority and obeyed, not unprotestingly, yet completely. The whole scheme of training of the future rulers was built on the principle "carry yourself so that the inferior will feel your unobtainable superiority in every motion".’ Jabotinsky, cited by [[Lenni Brenner]], ''The Iron Wall'' London, ch.7, 1984</ref> His support base was mostly located in Poland, and his activities focused on attaining British support to help with the development of the [[Yishuv]]. Another area of major support for Jabotinsky was [[Latvia]], where his speeches in Russian made an impression on the largely Russian-speaking Latvian Jewish community.<ref>D. Flisiak, Działalność syjonistów-rewizjonistów w Polsce w latach 1944/1945- 1950, Lublin 2020, s. 24-26.</ref>

Jabotinsky was both a [[nationalist]] and a [[liberal democrat]]. He rejected authoritarian notions of state authority and its imposition on individual liberty; he said that "Every man is a king." He championed the notion of a [[Freedom of the press|free press]] and believed the new Jewish state would protect the rights and interests of minorities. As an [[economic liberal]], he supported a free market with minimal government intervention, but also believed that the "'elementary necessities' of the average person...: food, shelter, clothing, the opportunity to educate his children, and medical aid in case of illness" should be supplied by the state.<ref name="idi">{{Cite book |last1=Kremnitzer |first1=Mordechai |url=https://en.idi.org.il/media/6745/jabotinsky-idi-2013.pdf |title=Ze'ev Jabotinsky on Democracy, Equality, and Individual Rights |last2=Fuchs |first2=Amir |publisher=[[Israel Democracy Institute]] |year=2013 |publication-place=Jerusalem |pages=12 |access-date=19 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128061014/https://en.idi.org.il/media/6745/jabotinsky-idi-2013.pdf |archive-date=28 January 2023 |url-status=live |via=en.idi.org.il}}</ref>

In 1930, while he was visiting [[South Africa]], he was informed by the [[Colonial Office|British Colonial Office]] that he would not be allowed to return to Palestine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.h-net.msu.edu/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=20846869665381 |title=H-Net Reviews |date=July 1997 |publisher=H-net.msu.edu |access-date=22 September 2010}}</ref>

=== The Revisionists, Fascism and Mussolini ===
Italy and Mussolini<ref name="kaplan156">Kaplan, 2005, p. 156.</ref> were a source of ideological, historical and cultural inspiration for the [[Revisionist Zionism|Zionist Revisionists]] of the 1920s and 1930s.<ref name="Kaplan, 2005, p. 149">Kaplan, 2005, p. 149.</ref> From the early 1930s onwards, Jabotinsky believed that the [[United Kingdom]] could no longer be trusted to advance the [[Zionist]] cause and that Italy, as a growing power capable of challenging Britain for dominance in the region, was a natural ally.<ref>Kaplan, 2005, p. 150.</ref> Jabotinsky set up the [[Betar Naval Academy]], a Zionist naval training school established in [[Civitavecchia]], [[Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)|Italy]] in 1934 with the agreement of [[Benito Mussolini]].<ref name="kaplan156">Kaplan, 2005, p. 156.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= The Mussolini-Jabotinsky Connection: The Hidden Roots of Israel Fascist Past|url= https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200127-the-mussolini-jabotinsky-connection-the-hidden-roots-of-israel-fascist-past/|website=Middle East Monitor|access-date=27 January 2020}}</ref>

=== 1930s evacuation plan ===
[[File:ZEEV JABOTINSKY (BOTTOM R) MEETING WITH BETAR LEADERS IN WARSAW. BOTTOM LEFT MENAHEM BEGIN. זאב ז'בוטינסקי נפגש עם מנהיגי בית"ר בורשה, פולין. משמאל למD705-081.jpg|thumb|Ze'ev Jabotinsky (bottom right) meeting with [[Betar]] leaders in [[Warsaw]]. Bottom left [[Menachem Begin]] (probably 1939).]]

During the 1930s, Jabotinsky was deeply concerned with the situation of the [[Ashkenazi Jews|Jewish community in Eastern Europe]]. In 1936, Jabotinsky prepared the so-called "evacuation plan", which called for the evacuation of 1.5 million Jews from [[Second Polish Republic|Poland]], the [[Baltic States]], [[Nazi Germany]], [[Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)|Hungary]] and [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]] to [[Mandatory Palestine|Palestine]] over the span of the next ten years. The plan was first proposed on 8 September 1936 in the conservative Polish newspaper Czas, the day after Jabotinsky organized a conference where more details of the plan were laid out; the emigration would take 10 years and would include 750,000 Jews from Poland, with 75,000 between age of 20–39 leaving the country each year. Jabotinsky stated that his goal was to reduce Jewish population in the countries involved, to levels that would make them disinterested in its further reduction.<ref>{{cite book |title=No Way Out: The Politics of Polish Jewry 1935-1939 |author=Emanuel Melzer |page=136 |publisher=Hebrew Union College Press |year=1976}}</ref>

The same year he toured [[Eastern Europe]], meeting with the Polish Foreign Minister, Colonel [[Józef Beck]]; the [[Regent of Hungary]], Admiral [[Miklós Horthy]]; and Prime Minister [[Gheorghe Tătărescu]] of [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]] to discuss the evacuation plan. The plan gained the approval of all three governments but caused considerable controversy within the [[Polish Jews|Jewish community of Poland]], on the grounds that it played into the hands of antisemites. In particular, the fact that the 'evacuation plan' had the approval of the Polish government was taken by many Polish Jews as indicating Jabotinsky had gained the endorsement of what they considered to be the wrong people.

The evacuation of [[History of the Jews in Poland|Jewish communities in Poland]], [[History of the Jews in Hungary|Hungary]] and [[History of the Jews in Romania|Romania]] was to take place over a ten-year period. However, the British government vetoed it, and the [[Zionist Organization]]'s chairman, [[Chaim Weizmann]], dismissed it.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=http://www.thetower.org/article/jabotinskys-lost-moment-june-1940/|title=Jabotinsky's Lost Moment: June, 1940|website=The Tower}}</ref> Chaim Weizmann suggested that Jabotinsky was willing to accept [[Madagascar]] as one destination for limited emigration for Jews, due to political issues involved with settlement in Palestine, and dispatches from Warsaw by British ambassador Hugh Kennard, corroborate Weizmann's account.<ref>{{cite book |title=In the Shadow of Zion: Promised Lands Before Israel |author=Adam Rovner |page=133}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=A Marriage of Convenience: The New Zionist Organization and the Polish Government 1936-1939 |author=Laurence Weinbaum |series=East European Monographs |year=1993 |page=180}}</ref> Two years later, in 1938, Jabotinsky allegedly stated in a speech that [[Polish Jews]] were "living on the edge of the volcano" and warned that the situation in Poland could drastically worsen sometime in the near future. "Catastrophe is approaching. ... I see a terrible picture ... the volcano that will soon spew out its flames of extermination," he said.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/MIDDLE-ISRAEL-No-place-for-a-Jew-552833 |title=MIDDLE ISRAEL: No place for a Jew |date=28 April 2018 |author=Amotz Asa-El |work=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref> Jabotinsky went on to warn Jews in Europe that they should leave for Palestine as soon as possible.<ref name="auto"/> There is much discussion about whether or not Jabotinsky actually predicted the Holocaust. In his writings and public appearances, he warned against the dangers of an outbreak of violence against the Jewish population of Central and Eastern Europe. However, as late as August 1939, he was certain that war would be averted.<ref>{{cite book|first=Laurence |last=Weinbaum|title=Jabotinsky and Jedwabne|publisher=Midstream |date=April 2004 |url= http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Jabotinsky+and+Jedwabne.-a0116037880}}</ref> The [[General Jewish Labour Bund in Poland|General Jewish Labour Bund]] ridiculed Jabotinsky and his warnings calling him a "Purim General."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://zionism-israel.com/hdoc/bund_jabo.htm|title=Jewish Bund Manifesto against Vladimir Jabotinsky|website=zionism-israel.com}}</ref>

A study published in 2023 by Goldstein and Huri concluded that Jabotinsky never made the 1938 speech attributed to him.<ref name=GoldsteinHuri>{{cite journal | author = Amir Goldstein and Efi Huri | title = The "fires of destruction," Warsaw, August 1938? On the posthumous invention of Jabotinsky's well-known annihilation prophecy | journal = Holocaust Studies | year = 2023 | volume = 30 | issue = 2 | pages = 326–345 | doi = 10.1080/17504902.2023.2249291| s2cid = 261439826 }}</ref> Although Jabotinsky gave a speech on that day, the text was different.<ref name=GoldsteinHuri/> The earliest mention of the alleged prophetic content that Goldstein and Huri could locate was published in 1958 by the same associate of Jabotinsky who had published the original text in 1938, possibly to bolster the campaign to relocate Jabotinsky's remains to Israel.<ref name=GoldsteinHuri/>

On the anniversary of [[Tisha B'Av]] (August 1938), Jabotinsky said:

<blockquote>It is already three years that I am calling upon you, Polish Jewry, who are the crown of world Jewry. I continue to warn you incessantly that a catastrophe is coming closer. I became grey and old in these years. My heart bleeds, that you, dear brothers and sisters, do not see the volcano which will soon begin to spit its all-consuming lava. I see that you are not seeing this because you are immersed and sunk in your daily worries. Today, however, I demand from you trust. You were convinced already that my prognoses have already proven to be right. If you think differently, then drive me out of your midst! However, if you do believe me, then listen to me in this 12th hour:In the name of God! Let anyone of you save himself as long as there is still time. And time there is very little…and what else I would like to say to you in this day of Tisha B’Av: whoever of you will escape from the catastrophe, he or she will live to see the exalted moment of a great Jewish wedding: the rebirth and the rise of a Jewish state. I don’t know if I will be privileged to see it; my son will! I believe in this as I am sure that tomorrow morning the sun will rise.<ref>[https://thejerusalemconnection.us/blog/2011/08/08/jabotinsky-warning-to-warsaw-jews-tisha-bav-1938/ jabotinsky-warning-to-warsaw-jews-tisha-bav-1938]</ref></blockquote>

===1939 plan for a revolt against the British===
In 1939, Britain enacted the [[White Paper of 1939|MacDonald White Paper]], in which Jewish immigration to Palestine under the British Mandate was to be restricted to 75,000 for the next five years, after which further Jewish immigration would depend on Arab consent. In addition, land sales to Jews were to be restricted, and Palestine would be cultivated for independence as a binational state.

Jabotinsky reacted by proposing a plan for an armed Jewish revolt in Palestine. He sent the plan to the [[Irgun]] High Command in six coded letters. Jabotinsky proposed that he and other "illegals" would arrive by boat in the heart of Palestine – preferably [[Tel Aviv]] – in October 1939. The Irgun would ensure that they successfully landed and escaped, by whatever means necessary. They would then occupy key centers of British power in Palestine, chief among them Government House in Jerusalem, raise the Jewish national flag, and fend off the British for at least 24 hours whatever the cost. Zionist leaders in Western Europe and the United States would then declare an independent Jewish state and would function as a provisional government-in-exile. Although Irgun commanders were impressed by the plan, they were concerned over the heavy losses they would doubtless incur in carrying it out. [[Avraham Stern]] proposed simultaneously landing 40,000 armed young immigrants in Palestine to help launch the uprising. The Polish government supported his plan, and it began training Irgun members and supplying them arms for 10,000 men for a proposed invasion of Palestine in April 1940.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Brenner |first=Lenni |date=1983 |title=Zionist-Revisionism: The Years of Fascism and Terror |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2536926 |journal=Journal of Palestine Studies |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=66–92 |doi=10.2307/2536926 |issn=0377-919X|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The Irgun submitted the plan for the approval of its commander [[David Raziel]], who was imprisoned by the British. However, the beginning of [[World War II]] in September 1939 quickly put an end to these plans.<ref>Penkower, Monty Noam: ''Decision on Palestine Deferred: America, Britain and Wartime Diplomacy, 1939-1945''</ref><ref>Golan, Zev: ''Free Jerusalem'' pp. 153, 168</ref>

On 12 May 1940, Jabotinsky offered [[Winston Churchill]] the support of a 130,000 strong Jewish volunteer corps to fight the Nazis; he also proposed Weizmann and [[David Ben-Gurion]] the creation of a united front for policy and relief.<ref>[https://jewishcurrents.org/the-american-jewish-army-that-never-was/ ''The American Jewish Army that Never Was''], Dusty Sklar for Jewish Currents, 4 June 2018, re-accessed 9 July 2021.</ref>