Betar was traditionally linked to the original Herut and then Likud political parties of Jewish pioneers, and was closely affiliated with the Revisionist Zionist militant group Irgun.

[6] Jabotinsky proposed creating Betar to foster a new generation of Jews thoroughly indoctrinated in these nationalist ideals and trained for military action against all enemies of Judaism.

Joseph Trumpeldor, the leader of the Jewish settlers who were killed at Tel Hai in 1920, served as the primary role model of the Betar.

This was particularly significant given that the Jews did not yet have a country: Trumpeldor was referring to sacrificing one's life in order to further the establishment of an independent Jewish state.

As the song expresses, Betar youth were to be as "proud, generous, and fierce [alternately translated as 'cruel'[7]]" as Trumpeldor, and as ready to sacrifice themselves for Israel.

Despite resistance from both Zionist and non-Zionist Jews, Betar quickly gained a large following in Poland, Palestine, Latvia, Lithuania, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Germany, and elsewhere.

[12][13][14][15] During World War II, Betar members, including former Polish Army officers, founded Żydowski Związek Wojskowy (ŻZW; "Jewish Military Union"), which fought in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Mordechai Anielewicz, the head of the other major uprising group, Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa (ZOB; "Jewish Combat Organization"), also gained his military training in Betar.

The Song Of The Partisans, an anthem traditionally sung by Holocaust survivors on Yom HaShoah, was written in memory of and dedication to Glazman.

Raziel died shortly into World War II, while taking part in Iraq in the Habbaniyeh area of Anbar Province in a failed British sabotage mission against German interests.

With the outbreak of World War II, Raziel and Jabotinsky declared an unconditional ceasefire against the British, as Britain and the Zionists had a common enemy in Germany.

By contrast, the Haganah, the official defense organization of the Jewish Agency, and its military wing, the Palmach, had practically no Betar members.

Tagar, Betar's young adult movement, was active on many university campuses throughout North America during the 1980s, as part of the Revisionist Zionist Association, and Betar played a major part in raising the awareness of Soviet oppression of Jews, and fighting for the right of Soviet Jews to emigrate to Israel.

Most recently, in 2014, Betar organized marches and demonstrations in France, to protest the rise in anti-semitic incidents there, including attacks against synagogues and individual Jews.

[citation needed] Once a vibrant movement tied to the opposition Herut Party, Betar's following in Israel has declined since the 1970s due to a generally transformed political landscape.

During the 1980s, as a result of the Camp David Accords negotiated by Menachem Begin (the leader of Herut and its successor movement Likud), a similar effect occurred due to the rise of the "Secular Right".

As the Likud party under Benjamin Netanyahu moved away from the traditional values of Revisionist Zionism, Betar drew criticism from Israeli conservatives who identified as ideological purists.

In February 2006 at the University of Toronto, Tagar organized a "Know Radical Islam Week" featuring activist Nonie Darwish, former Sudanese slave Simon Deng, Dr. Salim Mansur (a Muslim activist speaking on gay rights in the Middle East), and presentations by Honest Reporting and Palestinian Media Watch.

Betar has also worked in Toronto and Montreal with off-campus organizations, such as the Canadian Coalition for Democracies, to promote the importance of secular and participatory politics in Canada.

It featured keynote speaker Dr. Salim Mansur and was the first film screening of Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West at McGill University.

[22] The first branch of Betar in the United States was founded in October 1929, led principally by Joseph Beder, William Katz, Haim Messer, and Israel Posnansky.

The first activity of Betar USA was a Hanukkah party alongside local branches which existed already in eastern New York and the Lower East Side.

During the period of the early to mid 90s, Ronn Torossian served as National President and increased Betar USA membership into the hundreds.

Previous leadership in the U.S. included; Roey Urman, Glenn Mones, Barry Liben, Fred Pierce (early to mid 70s), and Benny Rosen (60s).

Educational and cultural activities were organized and demonstrations were held on the themes of Soviet Jewry and Jews in Arab lands as well as on local British issues.

Anti-Zionist demonstrations and BDS picketing occurred weekly outside the flagship Marks & Spencer store on Oxford Street in London from 2004 until 2010.

It is involved in Zionist activism, self-defence and martial arts training, government lobbying, criticism of what its members regard as biased, anti-Israel articles in media, and organises and supports pro-Israel demonstrations.

Betar Australia began protesting Nazi supporters and sympathizers in 1952, when it released pigeons and stink bombs during a concert by allegedly pro-Nazi German pianist Walter Gieseking in Melbourne.

In 2018, the Betar branch in Rio de Janeiro was officially inaugurated, under the leadership of Theodor Fuchs, Nicholas Beznos, Gabriel Uram, Guilherme Jaffé, Felipe Lazkani, Gabriela Sznajderman, Eduardo Oliven, Bernardo Press, Bruno Sznajderman, Gabriel Kac Nigri, Paulo Orenbuch, Davi Beznos, Caio Cohen, and Victor Cohen.

By 2019 São Paulo's branch was established too, with the leadership of Marcos Zlotnik, Raphael Harari, David Breslauer and Ilan Charchat.