Who Is Betar? The Zionist Youth Group Behind the Deportation Lists

An extreme-right Israeli group is creating lists of 'enemies,' but why do governments listen to them?

Betar Worldwide, recently in headlines for creating lists of Jews deemed “unwelcome” for criticizing Israel, is not a fringe organization. It is one of the oldest and most ideologically rigid Zionist youth movements, with a history that stretches back to the earliest days of fascist-aligned Zionism.

Founded in 1923 by Ze'ev Jabotinsky in Riga, Latvia, Be…