ABSTRACT
Menahem Begin’s decision was also a natural conclusion to an ideological journey – an evolving tradition of militant Zionism, stretching back to Herzl’s time. He had inherited the mantle of military Zionism from past advocates of revolt such as Abba Ahimeir, but crucially turned their theory into practice. The English Zionist Federation indignantly opposed the very idea of a Jewish Legion as did Lord Rothschild, later the recipient of the Balfour Declaration. The frustration felt in Zionist circles that their hopes had not been realised pushed Jabotinsky into outright opposition, from a maverick within to a rebel without. Abba Ahimeir and his colleague, Yosef Katznelson, were able to promote the ideas of revolutionary Zionism through some courses. The Irgun in turn became more homogeneously nationalist as other Zionist parties dropped out, while Betar provided it with a continuous supply of recruits.
