Beitar Jerusalem was founded in 1936 by Shmuel Kirschstein and David Horn (born 1916) as a youth team. The first games were held against Armenian and Arab teams in Jerusalem, while Hapoel Jerusalem stayed away because of political hate against Beitar Jerusalem. The club was dismantled in 1938 after one of its managers was arrested by the British Mandate authorities and another was shot and injured in another incident. Beitar's troubles were linked to its close connections with the Irgun underground with which David Horn and the club's players were associated. In 1942, the club was reestablished, this time as a club for adults rather than just a youth team, and Shmuel Kirshtein joined the management. Politics again became a problem, with British soldiers and policemen often attending Beitar games to spy and identify the faces of the players.