POLITICS AND SOCIETY IN
ISRAEL
SPRING 2020
Session 4
Maya Hadar
IRE215
§ The Yishuv (pre-state Jewish Community in Palestine)
§ First Years of Statehood
§ The Histadrut, the Hagana
§ The Yishuv as a democratic society
§ Nation building 1948-1967
§ The Kibbutz
§ The ‘new Jew’
§ The Revival of the Hebrew language
On The Agenda for Today2
§ Five organized immigration waves
The First Aliya (Immigration wave)
§ Followed pogroms (violent riots of Jewish prosecution) in Russia in 1881-1882
§ Most of the Olim (immigrants) came from Eastern Europe
§ Inexperienced idealists => Most were members of “Hibbat Zion” and “Bilu”,
early Zionist movements
§ Encountered many difficulties => inclement climate, disease, crippling Turkish
taxation and Arab opposition
§ Required economic assistance => Supported by Baron Edmond de Rothschild
§ Nearly 35k arrived, half left
Jewish Immigration to Mandatory Palestine
The Second Aliya (1905-1915)
§ Followed pogroms in Russia + increasing anti-Semitism
§ Most immigrants were young people inspired by socialist ideals
§ Many models & components of rural settlements came into being => the first
kibbutz, Ha-Shomer, the first Jewish self-defense organization
§ Tel Aviv: the first modern all-Jewish city
§ The Hebrew language was revived as a spoken tongue, Hebrew literature +
newspapers published
§ Political parties + workers' agricultural organizations began to form => Led the
“Yishuv” into statehood
Jewish Immigration to Mandatory Palestine
The Third Aliya (1919-1923)
§ Triggered by:
§ The October/Bolshevik Revolution in Russia + pogroms there, in Poland,
Hungary
§ The British mandate in Palestine + the Balfour Declaration
§ Most immigrants were young halutzim (pioneers) from Eastern Europe
§ Built roads and towns + undertook major projects (draining of marshes)
§ Founded the General Federation of Labor (Histadrut), Elected Assembly +
National Council: representative institutions for the Yishuv, the Haganah:
clandestine Jewish defense organization
§ Agricultural settlement expanded; first industrial enterprises established
Jewish Immigration to Mandatory Palestine
The Forth Aliya (1924-1927)
§ A direct result of the economic crisis and anti-Jewish policies in Poland, along
with the introduction of stiff immigration quotas by the United States
§ Most immigrants belonged to the middle class and brought modest sums of
capital with which they established small businesses and workshops =>
strengthened the towns, industrial development and reinstate Jewish labor in the
villages
§ 82k arrived, 23k left
Jewish Immigration to Mandatory Palestine
The Fifth Aliya (1929-1939)
§ Main trigger => Nazi accession to power in Germany (1933)
§ Increased immigration from Germany (professionals) and resumed immigration
from Eastern Europe due to persecution and the Jews' worsening situation
§ 1933-1936 => 174k, Jews settled in Palestine
§ Towns flourished, new industrial enterprises were founded, construction of the
Haifa port and the oil refineries was completed
§ By 1940, nearly 250k Jews arrived (20k left), the Yishuv's population reached
450k
Jewish Immigration to Mandatory Palestine
The ’Yishuv’
§ Jewish community in mandatory Palestine 1922-1948
§ Grew from about 80k to 650k
§ Labor/Revisionist/General Zionism
§ Who were they?
§ Where did they come from and why?
§ What challenges did they have to face?
§ What made the Yishuv viable?
First Years of Statehood
What made the Yishuv viable? => Institutions
§ The Yishuv was headed by a two-winged system of national institutions,
based on independence + sovereignty of Jews in Palestine
§ Dual role: Conducting day-to-day life in an autonomous setting + constructing
the infrastructure for an independent Jewish state
§ Umbrella => Zionist organizations, recognized as the sole representative of
the Jewish people in all matters relating to Palestine
§ The most powerful & influential body in the Yishuv was the Palestine Zionist
Executive
The Yishuv (Pre-state Jewish Community)
§ The Yishuv functioned as a parliamentary democracy, formally having all three
branches of government:
1. The parliament: "National Assembly”
2. The executive organ: “the National council/committee”
3. The judicial system: “the Hebrew Court of Peace”
§ Within a few years, the status of the Hebrew legal system declined =>
§ Limited scope of jurisdiction (rabbinical courts: personal matters only)
§ Voluntary character, Jews relied on the efficient Mandatory judicial system
§ Lack of coercive means for enforcement of decisions
The Yishuv (Pre-state Jewish Community)
§ April 1920 => First elections to the National Assembly:, after resolving the issue
of the women's right to vote
§ The Orthodox community + the "Mizrahi" opposed participation of women in the
democratic process
§ After deliberation, agreed that only men would vote in the orthodox quarters,
but each vote would count as two (compensate for the women)
§ While the religious Zionist parties eventually agreed with the inclusion of
women, the Ultra-orthodox quit the assembly + didn’t take part in its elections
§ Elections to the National Assembly should have been held every four years, but
were only held in 1925, 1931, 1944
The Yishuv (Pre-state Jewish Community)
§ The Mandatory government granted the Zionist Organization (=> the Jewish
Agency) partial authority over matters customarily handled by the
government in independent states (immigration, settlement, economic
development and even some military issues)
§ The Yishuv institutions (Zionist organs) dealt with internal matters (education,
health, welfare)
§ Political weakness due to factionalism => 20 lists competed for 28,765
potential voters (77% participation) => prevented the crystallization of a
power center with strong public backing
The Yishuv (Pre-state Jewish Community)
§ The Rabbinical Council was the religious
organ of the Yishuv, officially recognized by
the Mandatory power
§ Local Rabbinical Councils + Rabbinical courts
(jurisdiction over matters of personal status)
existed in all cities/towns with a substantial
Jewish population
The Yishuv (Pre-state Jewish Community)
The ‘Histadrut’ (1920)
§ The General Federation of Jewish [Hebrew] Laborers in Palestine
§ A trade & labor union, aimed at organizing the economic activities of Jewish
workers
§ Operated as a trade union + employer + ran a job placement agency
§ Had its own economic institutions (bank, insurance company, pension fund) +
provided health care
§ Had its own education system, a daily newspaper, a publishing house and a
theatre group
The ‘Histadrut’ (1920)
§ Founding members influenced by Russian-Jewish socialist
tradition- firmly believed that the representatives of the
workers should not earn more than the workers
themselves
§ 1920: 4,400 members, 1922: 8,394, 1927: 25k members:
75% of the entire Jewish labor force
§ ”A state within the state in the making”
§ Maintained a powerful position in Israeli society since its
inception
The ‘Histadrut’ (1920)
The Histadrut was responsible for the absorption of Jewish immigrants =>
‘Labor Zionism’
The ‘Histadrut’ (1920)
§ For many years, the Histadrut was in charge of the
Hagana (militia)
§ Played a central role in organizing illegal Jewish
immigration to Palestine in defiance of Mandatory
laws
§ The Histadrut leadership became the dominant
political force in the Yishuv, and in the Zionist
organization (1930s onwards) => the Histadrut’s
activity complemented the the Yishuv’s
The ‘Hagana’
§ A militia/ underground paramilitary arm of the ‘Histadrut’
§ Emerged from the reality of rural self-help, formed against Arab violence
§ Founded by Ben Gurion and Ben Tzvi in 1907; by 1914 had four squads’, by
1936 had 3k men and women at arms
The Yishuv as a Democratic Society
§ The Yishuv featured almost all attributes of a democratic state, except
sovereignty
§ Organized + functioned along the lines of a parliamentary democracy
(even the Hagana was subject to the control + authority of the
democratically elected civil leadership)
§ Impressed the various committees that investigated the situation in Palestine
(Peel Commission:1937, UN Special Committee on Palestine:1947)
§ The strong institutional structure established by the Yishuv was later
manifested in the smooth transfer from foreign rule an independent state
The Yishuv as a Democratic Society
What were the sources of inspiration for the Yishuv's democratic practices?
§ The self-governing tradition of Jewish communities in the Diaspora
§ The Zionist Organization: functioned in a democratic manner since its
inception (1897)
§ The Mandatory power => Britain (parliamentary democratic)
§ The Zionist movement needed to gain the support of public opinion in
democratic states- was attuned to the values of such states and views of the
Jewish communities that supported the Yishuv (politically + financially)
The Yishuv as a Democratic Society
What were the sources of inspiration for the Yishuv's democratic practices?
§ It’s voluntary character => Unlike a sovereign government with coercion
authority, was based on free will & persuasion
Countervailing sources of influence
§ Most of Yishuv members + leaders lived under totalitarian regimes
§ Certain circles in the Yishuv admired the Soviet Revolution & accepted the
notion of "the dictatorship of the proletariat"
§ The Jewish religion itself contains non-democratic elements (unequivocal
reliance on the Halacha: Jewish religious law)
§ Democratic sources of influence toned down the opposing factors => the
Yishuv acted as a formal democracy (majority rule)
§ The Yishuv was spared dilemmas faced by liberal democracies (minority rights)
since such issues were outside its authority
§ The lack of sovereignty had a positive effect on sustaining the democratic
character of the Yishuv => Mandatory gov. in charge
§ Yishuv didn’t need to build and maintain infrastructure
§ Increased internal cohesiveness, strengthened by the conflict with the Arabs
§ The Mandatory regime provided a protective umbrella that enabled Yishuv + its
institutions to gradually expand and strengthen
The Yishuv as a Democratic Society
The Kibbutz
§ Cooperative form of settlement, unique to Zionism
and the State of Israel
§ Based on the Zionist aspiration to re-establish
Jewish presence in Israel under socialist values
=> Equality between people + economic &
ideological cooperation
§ Established as a social + economic unit, property
and means of production are communally
owned
§ Decisions are made by the general assembly
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§ A relatively gated community
§ Small (usually 300-1000 people)
§ Historically based on agriculture
Features of a Kibbutz
§ The kibbutzim started as utopian communities that advocated the full
cooperation of property and equality, both in production & consumption
§ The slogan of the classic kibbutz was the communist slogan: "From each
one according to his ability and to each according to his needs”
1949
25
§ Sharing property and responsibility => the kibbutz society was based on
the "common fund" that meets the needs of its members
§ While demanding from its members responsibility and commitment
to the community, the kibbutz provides them with their needs from
infancy to old age
§ Based on the premise of equality of human value => the right of a
person to satisfy his needs stems from the fact that he is a human
being and should not depend on his physical
ability/technical/managerial skills or the wealth of his family
Features of a Kibbutz
§ Members had no individual property
§ The kibbutz enabled territorial extension
§ Created Jewish peasants
§ The kibbutzim served as a central tool for the
realization of Zionism and were considered
the social elite of the Yishuv in the first years
of statehood
§ Provided the image of a heroic Zionist pioneer
§ Provided manpower for the nucleus of an army
Ein Hashofet, 1947
Features of a Kibbutz
Women Kibbutzniks
The "New Jew"
The New Jew =>
§ Strong and brave
§ Farmer/worker
§ Socialist
§ Village dweller
§ Into Sports/hiking
§ Rooted in the land
§ Normalized
Adaptation of “Non-Jewish” image
The Exile Jew =>
§ Nervous and afraid
§ Merchant/banker
§ Capitalist
§ Urban
§ Talmud learning (religious studies)
§ Easily wandering
§ Different, not-normal, foreign
Adaptation of anti-Semite image
An attempt to create a dichotomy between the ‘new Jew’ and the Exile Jew
The "New Jew"
The New Jew => The Exile Jew =>
An attempt to create a dichotomy between the ‘new Jew’ and the Exile Jew
30
The Decline of the Kibbutz
§ Political issues =>
§ The internal political strife among + within Kibbutzim
§ The fragmentation of Labor Party
§ Economical issues =>
§ Capitalization after the 1970s, liberalism, neo-liberalism and massive urbanization
§ Agriculture => Industry (+economic crisis) => hi-tech
§ Social issues =>
§ The decline of the Kibbutz as an Elite
§ The Settler, Halutz/ Pioneer myth has changed- from Labor to Occupation
31
§ While less than 2% of Israelis live in Kibbutzim (267 settlements), their
share in production far exceeded this proportion:
The Decline of the Kibbutz
§ Grow 16% farm produce
§ Manufacture about 4% industrial output (excluding diamonds)
32
Nowadays …
§ Kibbutzim are diversifying their production branches, expanding into
various kinds of industry and services
§ Tourist facilities, catering and factory outlet stores have recently
become an important part of the kibbutz economy
§ The Kibbutz is currently seeking ways to meet the challenges of
modern life in the technological age while maintaining its original
egalitarian framework => the ability to adapt is the key to its survival
The Decline of the Kibbutz
The Hebrew Language
§ Yiddish => Common language of
European Jews (-Ashkenazi)
§ Hebrew => A written (not spoken)
language which appear in the bible +
prayer (not spoken)
§ Biblical Hebrew had to be made
vernacular
§ The revival of the Hebrew language, an
outstanding socio-linguistic event, is
attributed to Eliezer Ben-Yehuda
§ (Modern) Hebrew created a common culture and ’a cut’ from the past
The Revival of the Hebrew Language
§ Eliezer Ben-Yehuda (1858, Lithuania)
§ Started learning Hebrew from a tender age as part of a
religious upbringing, excelled and sent to a Talmudic
academy (yeshiva)
§ Became interested in the secular world, eventually
dropped out of yeshiva
§ Deeply influenced by the revival of European
nationhood in the 19th centaury (Greeks: 1829, Italians:
1849, Bulgarians: 1877), captivated by the ideas of
restoring national rights + reviving a nation in its
‘home’ territory
§ Believed that European national fulfilment should
also be applied to his people, the Jews
§ Published articles in Hebrew periodicals on the triple
Jewish renaissance (people, land, language); Zionism
§ 1881 => arrived in Palestine, settled in Jerusalem:
used it as a ‘base’ for spreading his revivalist ideas
throughout Palestine + the Jewish Diaspora
§ His action plan => “Hebrew at Home,” “Hebrew at
School” “Words, Words, Words”
The Revival of the Hebrew Language
§ “Hebrew at Home” => Spoke Hebrew with every Jew he met
(even in Europe)
§ Some Jews could speak Hebrew (not perfect), but lacked words
on certain topics, wasn’t their main language
§ Wanted the Jews in Palestine to speak Hebrew exclusively
“If a language which has stopped being spoken … can return and be the
spoken tongue of an individual for all necessities of his life, there is no room
for doubt that it can become the spoken language of a community.”
The Revival of the Hebrew Language
§ 1882 => Ben Yehuda fathered a son: Itamar/Ben Zion
=> First all-Hebrew speaking child in modern history
§ Important symbolic event for the future of the
revival
§ Ben-Yehuda took drastic precautions so that Itamar will
only hear + speak Hebrew => Exclusion and isolation
§ Itamar started speaking late
§ A child in the house accentuated the need to find appropriate Hebrew words for
the mundane things of everyday life => doll, ice-cream, jelly, towel, bicycle …
The Revival of the Hebrew Language
§ Ben-Yehuda and his Hebrew-speaking family became a living
legend, an embodiment of the revival for others to emulate
§ “Hebrew at School” => Most important
§ Ben-Yehuda preached that rabbis + teachers should use Hebrew as
the language of instruction in Jewish schools in Palestine for all
subjects (religious + secular)
§ Argued that the revival could succeed only if the younger generation would
begin to speak Hebrew freely (taught In a Jewish school in Jerusalem)
§ Necessity of using Hebrew at school => children from several different Jewish
communities studied together, no common language
The Revival of the Hebrew Language
§ Method of teaching Hebrew through Hebrew, a direct system, no
translation into other tongues
§ Ben-Yehuda only taught for a short time, but was successful =>
After just a few months, children were able to chatter fluently in
Hebrew on daily topics
§ Ben-Yehuda's personal example and his teaching success made a great
impression on other teachers
§ Problems => Lack of trained teachers, textbooks, learning aids (games/songs),
solved with time => Young all-Hebrew speaking generation emerged =>
Successful revival
The Revival of the Hebrew Language
§ 1884 => started publishing his own newspaper
‘Hatzvi’ to serve as an instrument for teaching
modern Hebrew to adults (all topics)
§ Believed that if he will sell the newspaper at a low
price, people will buy I and become convinced of
their ability to fully express themselves in Hebrew
§ Used the newspaper to introduce new words to the public (newspaper, editor,
telegram, soldier, fashion)
§ Jews being avid readers, Ben-Yehuda’s newspaper did much to spread his
linguistic coinages (both in Palestine and in the Diaspora)
The Revival of the Hebrew Language
§ As long as Ben-Yehuda spoke Hebrew at home/with his friends,
he was able to use the language more or less as he wished, but
he wanted the entire society to use Hebrew => words must be
precise and accurate, according to strict philological rules
§ Ben-Yehuda became a scientific lexicographer => compiled a
dictionary
§ 17 volume: “A Complete Dictionary of Ancient and Modern Hebrew”, completed
by his second wife and son after his death
§ Fun fact: Many words invented by Ben Yehuda are based on the sound the object
makes (“BAKBUK”- bottle, “Zvuv”-fly)
The Revival of the Hebrew Language
§ 1890 => Hebrew Language Council, founded to solve
linguistic issues (pronunciation, spelling punctuation)
§ Forerunner of today's ‘Hebrew Language Academy’
§ Ben-Yehuda did not revive the language along => was
supported by the society around him + other scholars
§ Local population was hostile at times
§ Young, educated, idealistic Jewish immigrants from
Europe => Receptive to his ideas
The Revival of the Hebrew Language
§ In the forty years between 1881-1921, a core of
young Hebrew-language speakers was formed =>
Hebrew as a unique symbol of their linguistic
nationalism
§ 1922 => The British mandate authorities recognized
Hebrew as the official language of the Jews in
Palestine
§ Ben Yehuda died a month later
The Revival of the Hebrew Language
“For everything there is needed only one wise,
clever and active man, with the initiative to
devote all his energies to it, and the matter will
progress, all obstacles in the way
notwithstanding... In every new event, every
step, even the smallest in the path of progress,
it is necessary that there be one pioneer who
will lead the way without leaving any
possibility of turning back”
The Revival of the Hebrew Language
Reviving Hebrew Culture in Israel
§ Hebrew as a spoken + secular language => opposing Yiddish and other
languages
Est. 1918
§ Hebrew Education (e.g., the ‘Hebrew
university’, Jerusalem)
§ Hebrew secular culture
§ Jewish festivals (nature, agricultural)
§ New image (the ‘new Jew’)
Next Session...46
§ Between the Wars, 1967-2000
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Questions? Feel free to email the lecturer =>
hadar@fss.muni.cz