Robert (Boris) Bitker (1907 - 1977) was a military commander of the Zionist paramilitary group Irgun.
Bitker was born in Warsaw, Poland. Bitker subsequently became involved in the Revisionist Zionist Betar movement. In 1933, he was appointed head (netziv) of the Betar command in southern China. In 1937, he went to Palestine, where he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Irgun. He held this position for a short time, and was quickly replaced after difficulties arose from two of his operations.[1][2]
Bitker, adopting the strategy of Tsarist-era Russian revolutionaries, attempted to use bank robbery as a means of obtaining funds for operations. To this end he, with ex-members of Brit HaBiryonim, staged a bank robbery, though it was ultimately unsuccessful.[3]
Bitker was also allegedly involved in the killing of Zvi Frenkel, a fellow Irgun militant who had killed an Arab in an act of retaliation using a gun he held illegally. After British authorities identified Frenkel as culprit in the killing, he was hidden by the Irgun. However, the British subsequently arrested his mother and spread rumors she was being tortured, which convinced him to turn himself in. Frenkel was later found, drowned and bound with wire, in the Yarkon River. According to Binyamin Eliav, Bitker was involved in the decision to have Frenkel killed[dubious – discuss] because of worries that he might reveal details about Irgun members to British authorities.[4]
Bitker was then smuggled out of Palestine and returned to Shanghai, where he led the local Betar group before emigrating to the United States, where he lived for the rest of his life.[5]
^Colin Shindler,Triumph of Military Zionism:Nationalism and the Origins of the Israeli Right, I. B. Tauris 2009 p.195.
^ Liberman, Yaacov ‘My China: Jewish Life in the Orient 1900-1950’ Gefen Publishing House, 1998 p.35.
^Louis Rapoport, Shake Heaven & Earth: Peter Bergson and the Struggle to Rescue the Jews of Europe, Gefen Publishing House, 1999 p.230.
^Nachman Ben-Yehuda, Political Assassinations by Jews: A Rhetorical Device for Justice, SUNY Press 1992 pp.145-146
^ Yaʼacov Liberman, My China: Jewish Life in the Orient, 1900-1950, Gefen Publishing House Ltd, 1998 p,35,
Robert (Boris) Bitker (1907 - 1977) was a military commander of the Zionist paramilitary group Irgun. Bitker was born in Warsaw, Poland. Bitker subsequently...
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CDs. It would be nice to meet him one day." In 1966, Straub married Susan Bitker. They had two children, Benjamin, and Emma Straub, who is also a novelist...
industry demands it changes branding". City A.M. Retrieved 17 February 2019. Bitker, By Janelle (7 February 2020). "Vegan company Miyoko's Creamery sues California...
Cuisine, On Their Terms". Condé Nast Traveler. Retrieved 9 November 2021. Bitker, Janelle (4 March 2019). "Nyum Bai's Cambodian Dishes Are Racking Up the...
Irgun Tehomi, Avraham (1903–1990) – first commander in chief [1931–37] Bitker, Robert (1907–1977) – second commander in chief [1937–38] Moshe Rosenberg (1890–1989)...
team's analyst from 1986 to 2021. For several years starting in 2001, Steve Bitker served as a back-up play-by-play announcer, averaging about 20 games per...
Eagle. United Press. March 25, 1951. p. 27. Retrieved September 7, 2020. Bitker, Steve (2001). The Original San Francisco Giants: The Giants of '58. Sports...
(Subscription or UK public library membership required.) "Storm Jameson". Bitker, Marjorie M. (3 April 1963). "No Ivory Tower for Storm Jameson". The Milwaukee...
Sinaloan-style chicken". The Mercury News. 2024-02-02. Retrieved 2024-02-16. Bitker, By Janelle (2023-12-13). "Coi, famed chef Daniel Patterson's last Bay Area...
S2CID 34563641. Bosset PO, Albiges L, Seisen T, de la Motte Rouge T, Phé V, Bitker MO, Rouprêt M (December 2012). "Current role of diethylstilbestrol in the...
"Sactown Union Brewery changing its name". Sacramento Business Journal. Bitker, Janelle; Miller, Nick (February 25, 2016). "SN&R's inaugural Brewery of...
In 2012, Bartz worked with a team of co-directors, including Cris Bitker, Jill Bitker, Aaron Riedel, Mark Peske, to plan and launch the first marathon...
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