The Brit HaHayal was a
Revisionist Zionist association of
Jewish reservists in the
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
Army formed in December, 1932 in
Radom. The first branch was established
Warsaw in February 1933 with the aim of "taking part in the struggle of the Jewish people for the reconstruction of the Jewish State on both sides of the
Jordan.
[Patai, 1971, p. 160.]
The first conference of the organisation in Warsaw in October, 1933 was attended by Revisionist leader
Ze'ev Jabotinsky and 1500 delegates from 170 branches.
In response to growing
antisemitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
Brit HaHayal assumed a role in organising units for the defence of Jews and Jewish culture and property in Poland in addition to maintaining its original
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
-centred programme.
At the first world conference in
Krakow in January, 1935 delegates endorsed a proposal to establish regional military and political training schools for members. The organisation itself was also modelled on a military unit and was based on strict discipline and a clear
chain of command.
By 1939 Brit HaHayal had 25,000 members worldwide.
The world commander of the organisation was
Jeremiah Halpern
Captain Jeremiah Halpern (; also known as Yirmiyahu Halpern and Yirmiyahu Halperin) (b. Smolensk, Russia, 1901; d. Tel Aviv, Israel, 1962) was a Revisionist Zionist leader in Palestine who first came to prominence when he served as '' aide de cam ...
, a certified ship's captain and seasoned Revisionist leader.
[Patai, 1971, p. 453.]
Notes
References
*
Patai, Raphael
Raphael Patai (Hebrew רפאל פטאי; November 22, 1910 − July 20, 1996), born Ervin György Patai, was a Hungarian-Jewish ethnographer, historian, Orientalist and anthropologist.
Family background
Patai was born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary ...
(1971). ''
Encyclopedia of Zionism and Israel
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
'', Volume 1. Herzl Press.
Organizations established in 1932
1930s in Mandatory Palestine
1930s in Poland
Jewish Polish history
Ze'ev Jabotinsky
Revisionist Zionism
Zionism in Poland
{{Poland-history-stub