Aliza Begin (Arnold) was born on March 25, 1920 in the city of Drohobych. She came from a well-off family, who made their living in the oil business. Aliza’s father, Zvi Herman, was an enthusiastic and active Revisionist Zionist, who lead the Betar movement in their hometown. Aliza herself began to study Hebrew at the age of 7 and joined Betar at the age of 14..
In 1937 Betar started majorly organizing within Poland and future Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin was a part of that effort. While staying in Drohobycz, Begin stayed with the Arnolds. He later remarked in his memoirs that “at the table sat two girls, 17-year old twins”. Begin also remarked that “one of them I liked immediately. I decided right away that she would be my wife”. Later, when discussing their relationship, Begin expressed his concern about the hardships that await Aliza in their life together. He specifically stated that “life will be difficult, money will always be short; there will plenty of trouble, prison time included, but that is the price of fighting for the Land of Israel”. Aliza replied that she “isn’t afraid of the troubles”.