29/07/2026
As I write these lines, Israel finds itself in another period of geopolitical uncertainty. Tensions with Iran, Lebanon, and Gaza continue to dominate the headlines, while contradictory messages and strategic ambiguity have become accepted tools of international diplomacy and negotiation.
In times like these, I find myself drawn not to today's politicians, but to one remarkable figure from Israel's past: Ze'ev Jabotinsky—writer, poet, translator, intellectual, founder of the Jewish Legions within the British Army during World War I, founder of Betar, founder and first commander of the Irgun, and the ideological father of Israel's political right.
Why Jabotinsky?
Over the past few months I have not been working primarily as a tour guide for international visitors. Instead, I have been guiding Israeli groups at Mount Herzl, Israel's national cemetery.
Preparing these tours led me to immerse myself in Jabotinsky's writings and political philosophy. In many ways, I believe he represents one of the greatest "what ifs" in Israeli political history.
History has a wonderful sense of irony. Although David Ben-Gurion—Jabotinsky's great political rival—became the founding leader of the State of Israel, many of Jabotinsky's supposedly "right-wing" ideas were eventually adopted by leaders from the opposite side of the political spectrum and ultimately became part of the Israeli mainstream, particularly in economics, social policy, and even aspects of relations with Israel's Arab citizens.
This realization has also been personal.
I grew up in what Israelis would describe as a moderate center-left family. Ben-Gurion was admired; Menachem Begin was viewed with deep suspicion. Yet history has a way of softening certainties. Looking back today, I have developed enormous respect for Begin—not only for his restraint during the Altalena Affair, which prevented a civil war, but also for making peace with Egypt.
Politics, much like art, often looks very different through the lens of history.
Who knows how Donald Trump—or the confrontation with Iran—will ultimately be judged decades from now?
I have always loved the connection between music and history. As both a child and an adult, Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. has been one of my favorite songs. I also remember learning that President Ronald Reagan believed it was a patriotic anthem and publicly praised it—missing its deeper social criticism entirely. At the time, many people cited that misunderstanding as evidence that Reagan lacked sophistication. Yet history today generally remembers him as one of America's most consequential presidents.
Perspective changes everything.
So, after this rather long introduction, let's go looking for a wolf (Ze'ev in Hebrew :) ).
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From Odessa to Zionism
Ze'ev (Vladimir) Jabotinsky was born in Odessa in 1880, then one of the great centers of Jewish life in Eastern Europe. He died in 1940 in Hunter, New York, far from the Jewish homeland he devoted his life to building, and with very modest financial means.
From an early age he was drawn to literature and poetry. He briefly studied law in Rome before returning to Odessa.
The Kishinev pogrom of 1903 transformed him politically. He translated Hayim Nahman Bialik's famous poem In the City of Slaughter into Russian and became deeply involved in the Zionist movement. He promoted Hebrew education, advocated for Zionism, represented Odessa at the Sixth Zionist Congress, and voted against Herzl's Uganda Proposal.
His literary achievements were equally impressive. Among other works, he translated Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven into Hebrew.
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The Birth of Jewish Self-Defense
As a newspaper correspondent, Jabotinsky traveled throughout North Africa, where he met Joseph Trumpeldor.
Together they persuaded the British to establish Jewish military units within the British Army during World War I. Their efforts eventually produced the Jewish Legions, which arrived in the Land of Israel in 1917 and marked the first organized Jewish military force in nearly two thousand years.
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A Revolutionary Leader
During the British Mandate, Jabotinsky increasingly viewed Britain as an occupying power rather than a liberator, and his uncompromising views led to several imprisonments.
In 1923 he founded Betar, the Zionist youth movement named after Joseph Trumpeldor. (Today, many Americans recognize the name primarily through Jerusalem's Beitar Jerusalem football club.)
Two years later he founded the Revisionist Zionist Alliance, arguing that the mainstream Zionist Organization needed a fundamental "revision" of its policies.
His followers eventually established the Irgun (Etzel), which advocated a much more militant struggle against British rule.
Because of his leadership role in the Revisionist movement, the British eventually prevented him from returning to Mandatory Palestine.
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The Speech That Haunts History
On Tisha B'Av in 1938, Jabotinsky delivered one of the most remarkable speeches in modern Jewish history before an audience of Polish Jews.
He pleaded with them to leave Europe immediately.
Today, many historians regard him as one of the earliest public figures to recognize the approaching catastrophe. He could not foresee the full scale of the Holocaust—but he clearly understood the direction events were taking.
He declared:
"For the past three years I have been calling upon you—the Jews of Poland, the crown of world Jewry.
I have warned you relentlessly that catastrophe is approaching. My hair has turned white, and I have grown old during these years because my heart bleeds to see that you, my dear brothers and sisters, do not see the volcano that is about to erupt with the fires of destruction. I see a terrible vision before me. There is little time left in which you can still save yourselves.
I know why you do not see it. You are overwhelmed by the worries and anxieties of everyday life. But listen to me now, at this final hour:
For God's sake, let every one of you save yourselves while there is still time—for time is running out.
And there is one more thing I wish to tell you on this Tisha B'Av:
Those who succeed in escaping this catastrophe will live to witness a moment of extraordinary Jewish joy—the rebirth and restoration of a Jewish state.
I do not know whether I myself will live to see that day. My son will.
I believe in it with the same certainty that I know the sun will rise again tomorrow morning.
I believe with complete faith."
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Jabotinsky's Political Philosophy
One lesson I have learned over the years is that political labels rarely survive history.
Abraham Lincoln was a Republican who fought slavery.
David Ben-Gurion was a socialist.
Jabotinsky was a committed liberal.
Today's political maps should never be projected backward onto history.
Economics
Jabotinsky strongly believed in capitalism, free markets, and competition.
At the same time, he rejected extreme laissez-faire economics. He believed every citizen deserved a basic standard of living.
His social philosophy became known in Israel as The Five M's, because each essential need begins with the Hebrew letter Mem:
Food
Clothing
Housing
Healthcare
Education
He believed government intervention should be limited, but eliminating poverty remained a moral obligation.
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Arab Citizens of Israel
One of the most surprising aspects of Jabotinsky's thought is his commitment to equal civil rights.
He envisioned a Jewish-majority state in which Arab citizens would enjoy complete legal equality. He even imagined a Jewish Prime Minister serving alongside an Arab Deputy Prime Minister.
As he wrote in 1931:
"We wish prosperity for the Arabs of the Land of Israel... economically and culturally. The majority of the population will be Jewish, but the equal rights of every Arab citizen will not merely be guaranteed—they will be fully realized."
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The "Iron Wall"
Jabotinsky's best-known political essay remains The Iron Wall (1923).
Its central argument was not that peace was impossible, but that peace could only emerge after the Arab world accepted that Zionism could not be defeated militarily.
He argued that expecting Palestinian Arabs to voluntarily abandon their national aspirations in exchange for economic benefits fundamentally misunderstood human nature.
Whether one agrees with his conclusions or not, the essay remains one of the foundational texts of modern Zionist political thought and continues to influence Israeli strategic thinking a century later.
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Zionism Above All
Jabotinsky opposed the 1947 UN Partition Plan and became associated with the famous Revisionist slogan:
"The Jordan has two banks; this one is ours, and so is the other."
At the same time, his writings reveal a profound emotional attachment to the Jewish people and the Land of Israel.
He once wrote:
"Whether good or bad, easy or difficult, cheap or costly—this is my country."
And elsewhere:
"I love my people and I love the Land of Israel. This is my creed; it is my life's work."
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His Final Return
In his will, Jabotinsky requested that he be buried only after the establishment of a Jewish state—and only if a Jewish government chose to bring him home.
David Ben-Gurion refused.
His reasoning was practical as much as political: Israel's priority, he argued, should be bringing living Jews home rather than the remains of the dead.
Only in 1964, under Prime Minister Levi Eshkol, were Jabotinsky's and his wife Joanna's remains finally brought to Israel.
The ceremony reflected Israel's political divisions. It was attended by the President, military leaders, and many dignitaries, yet it was deliberately not designated an official state ceremony.
Today, Ze'ev Jabotinsky rests on Mount Herzl, just below Theodor Herzl himself. Their families remain the only private families buried within Israel's national cemetery.
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Final Thoughts
To me, Ze'ev Jabotinsky remains one of the great missed opportunities in Israeli political history.
He was a man whose words and actions largely aligned. He anticipated dangers that others refused to see and developed ideas that continue to shape Israel long after his death.
Too many people today know him only through political slogans or social media caricatures.
His writings reveal a far more nuanced, intellectually rich, and morally complex thinker.
Whether one identifies with the political right, the left, or somewhere in between, Jabotinsky deserves to be read rather than merely quoted.
Personally, I sometimes wish that today's Likud Party—and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—would embrace more of Jabotinsky's original liberal vision, rather than simply invoking his name.
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A Personal Note
On a personal note, my family and I are doing well.
Summer has arrived, and like many Israeli families, we are taking a short vacation abroad. We will be visiting Frankfurt, Germany, where Orly's father has lived his entire life.
Life in Israel continues with its familiar mixture of normalcy and uncertainty. Many Israelis expected the United States to launch military action against Iran over one recent weekend, while few believe that negotiations between Washington and Tehran will ultimately produce a lasting agreement.
For now, however, only a small number of foreign airlines have suspended flights, and daily life continues much as usual.
I wish all of you a peaceful summer—and, as we say in Hebrew, may we hear only good news.
As always, when the time is right, I would be delighted to take you on one of my in-depth tours of Mount Herzl.
And if you—or anyone in your family or among your friends—is considering a visit to Israel, I would be grateful if you would recommend my tours.
