Ze’ev (Vladimir) Jabotinsky (1880–1940) was a Zionist leader, thinker, author, poet and translator. He was one of the founders of the Jewish Legion during the First World War, as well as the founder of the Revisionist stream of Zionism and the Betar movement.
Jabotinsky advocated hardening the Zionist stance toward British policy and Arab aggression and using military force to advance the establishment of a Jewish state on both sides of the Jordan River. He also opposed the socialist views which were dominant in the Zionist movement. His controversial positions attracted many admirers but also earned him many bitter opponents, such as David Ben-Gurion. Due to his political views, he is considered the ideological father of the right-wing political camp in Israel.
Jabotinsky was born in Odessa. As a child, he studied Hebrew with the writer Joshua Ravnitzky, and showed great interest in languages, literature and poetry. As a teenager, he began translating world poetry into Russian, and became a foreign correspondent stationed in Italy and Switzerland. While traveling throughout Europe, he also studied law and wrote plays and news articles. It was during this period that he was exposed to the plight of various Jewish communities and became acquainted with the Zionist idea. In the wake of the atrocity of the Kishinev pogrom in 1903, he decided to devote himself to Zionist activity, and was elected to represent the Odessa Zionists at the Sixth Zionist Congress.
During World War I, Jabotinsky joined Joseph Trumpeldor in establishing the Zion Mule Corps, in which soldiers from the Jewish community in the Land of Israel served in the British army. He later worked to establish more battalions which together came to be known as the Jewish Legion. Jabotinsky himself served in the 38th Royal Fusiliers and saw action in Palestine.
The Father of the Revisionist Movement
As one who believed that the Zionist Organization should harden its position toward British anti-Zionist policy, Jabotinsky founded the Betar youth movement in 1923, and Hatzohar (Union of Revisionist Zionists) in 1925. He later founded the Irgun, and promoted illegal Jewish immigration to Mandatory Palestine. Jabotinsky died in New York in 1940, and his remains were reburied on Mount Herzl in 1964.
Jabotinsky's character, outlook, Zionist activity and literary work are reflected in an abundance of interesting archival materials entrusted to the Library by various institutions and people around the world. Many of the documents are accessible thanks to cooperation with the archives of the Jabotinsky Institute in Israel. A study of the works he wrote and translated, as well as photographs of his life, articles he wrote or that were written about him and many other materials preserved at the Library may reveal fascinating and surprising aspects of Jabotinsky’s personality.
Jabotinsky’s intense Zionist activity lasted from his twenties until his death, and included travel, meetings, conferences, speeches and many other activities around the world. Photographs taken over the years document many of those activities, including his imprisonment in Acre Prison as well as his service in the Hebrew battalions he founded during World War I as part of the British Army.
Numerous posters and publications related to Jabotinsky—many written by Jabotinsky himself, and others expressing support for or opposition to his path—have been distributed over the years, during and after his lifetime. These publications provide an interesting perspective on the many stages in Jabotinsky’s life, their relation to the history of Zionism, and on his Zionist views and the imprint he left.
From the day Jabotinsky decided to devote his life to the Zionist idea, he did not stop initiating diverse, creative, daring and often controversial steps to advance his goals. Aided by charisma, writing talent and the power of persuasion, Jabotinsky often met with senior officials in various governments, attended Zionist conventions, led propaganda efforts, wrote articles and books and conducted extensive correspondence with a variety of interesting figures.
In August 1903, Jabotinsky attended the Sixth Zionist Congress, in which he represented the Odessa Zionists. This was the first and only time Jabotinsky heard Herzl speak and the experience left a deep impression on him. From then on, Jabotinsky attended many other congresses. The Revisionist leader took pains to prepare for the congresses, campaigned to increase the number of delegates identified with him, and was among the most prominent and impressive speakers in attendance. As an oppositionist, he provoked quite a few storms during the congresses, including the famous public ripping of his delegate badge after which he immediately proclaimed, “This is not a Zionist Congress!” and left the hall.
While visiting a Betar movement camp in New York in 1940, Jabotinsky suffered a heart attack and died. He was buried in New York, and twenty-four years later, his remains were laid to rest on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. “My bones (in case I am buried outside the Land of Israel) shall not be transferred to the Land of Israel except by order of the Jewish government of this country that will be established.” After the establishment of the State of Israel, Ben-Gurion, Jabotinsky’s bitter rival, objected to his reburial, claiming that “the country needs living Jews not bones.” After Levi Eshkol replaced Ben-Gurion as prime minister, Jabotinsky’s last wish was fulfilled. In July 1964, following a funeral procession attended by the masses, his and his wife Johanna’s remains were reinterred on Mount Herzl.
Jabotinsky was a gifted intellectual, an educated cultural figure, author, poet, translator, journalist and broad-minded thinker. He is considered a talented writer who produced fluent, rich, vibrant, colorful and humorous prose. He began writing and translating as a teenager, and continued to write and translate in many genres and languages. Jabotinsky saw literature and art as an important moral, educational mission, and even co-founded a publishing house. He also harnessed his literary skills when composing editorials and ideological essays. During his time as a reporter in Italy, he adopted the pen name "Altalena", which means "swing" in Italian. Jabotinsky later explained that he chose the name because he mistakenly thought it meant "crane".
