World Betar leaders are calling for a mass Jewish immigration to Israel, citing rising antisemitism and growing security concerns in Jewish communities around the world, according to a press release on Thursday.
The call was made during a gathering of representatives from 35 Betar chapters worldwide at the Jabotinsky Institute in Tel Aviv, where members of the movement commemorated the legacy of Ze’ev Jabotinsky, the Revisionist Zionist leader who founded Betar in 1923.
Yigal Bran, CEO of World Betar, told those who attended that the time has come for decisive action.
“It’s fight or flight for world Jewry,” Brand said. “The diaspora is no longer safe for Jews. Either fight back with Betar or claim your free one-way flight home to Israel.”
Brand’s remarks were echoed by Ronn Torossian, a member of World Betar’s executive.
“Jews worldwide are in imminent danger, and we have a responsibility to stand tall as proud Zionists,” Torossian said. “As Jews are being attacked at supermarkets in Los Angeles and in the center of Paris, it’s time to come home to Israel.”
The event was held right before Passover, a time that is traditionally associated with themes of freedom and national identity. Attendees viewed archived materials and original manuscripts that belonged to Jabotinsky, whose early warnings in the 1930s about the impending threat to European Jewry were, at the time, largely unheeded.
Without Jabotinsky 'there would be no Israel'
“Without Vladimir (Ze’ev) Jabotinsky, there would be no State of Israel,” said Niva Von Weisl, Chair of the Jabotinsky Institute. “The Jabotinsky Institute functions as both an archive and a museum — and the criticism we face today echoes what we have always heard. We are proud, strong Jabotinsky Jews, and our work reflects decades of activism.”
Brand said Betar is the fastest-growing Zionist youth movement in the world and emphasized its expanding international presence.
“From the United States to the United Kingdom, Germany to Australia, our leaders are active in their communities, promoting Zionism in the spirit of Jabotinsky,” he said. “We are proud of what we do — and in the words of Jabotinsky himself, we have nothing to apologize for.”
Under Israel’s Law of Return, Jews from around the world are eligible to immigrate to Israel and receive a range of benefits, including Israeli citizenship, access to healthcare, and subsidized higher education. First-time immigrants are also entitled to a one-way ticket to Israel, typically provided by the Jewish Agency through El Al.
