HeHalutz (Hebrew: the Pioneer) – a Zionist movement promoting Jewish settlement in Erec Israel (the Land of Israel).
The first pioneering groups were formed in 1914 in Russia, as a sign of protest against the lofty slogans of various Zionist organizations which did not put much effort into bringing their programme to life. HeHalutz focused on vocational education (the Hakhshara) required for future work in Palestine. HeHalutz groups were formed spontaneously, with no central management; most of them subsequently disintegrated after the outbreak of the First World War.
In 1916, under German occupation, the group were slowly coming back to life, and in 1917 a provisional committee was established, which formed the basis for the functioning of the movement in Poland. In November 1918 HeHalutz had around 4 thousand members in total. Initially it was part of the Zionist Organization, but it gradually began gaining independence. After 1923, the movement’s ideology was taking shape, and the movement itself was beginning to diversify, yet it was still united in the ultimate goal: preparation for the pioneering work, especially in agriculture (the dream of rebirth of the Jewish nation through physical work).
Initially, HeHalutz distanced itself from the question of the future Jewish country’s political structure, but after a while it began leaning towards socialism; one of the signs of this process was that the kibbutzim (the communities of collective life and work) were now seen as being of key importance for the Hachshara. A youth movement known as the HeHalutz Hatzair was formed, and subsequently also the orthodox HeHalutz haMizrachi (Hebrew: The Eastern Pioneer) and HeHalutz haMerkazi (Hebrew: The Central Pioneer), later renamed (Hebrew: The Central Pioneer), later renamed HeHalutz haKlal Tzioni (Hebrew: The Pioneer of General Zionism), which acknowledged the principles of democratic socialism. Hashomer Hatzair joined HeHalutz without losing its autonomy; there were significant differences within the movement between the former Russian and Austrian Partitions.
After 1929, the pioneer movement was experiencing a period of extremely rapid growth (as a result of the economic crisis and soaring unemployment in Poland); in 1935 there were almost 60 thousand members, including 20 thousand members participating in various forms of the Hahschara (with members of the HeHalutz HaKlali accounting for approximately 60%). The HeHalutz HaMedinati (The National Pioneer), associated with the New Zionist Organization, was formed as well, but it has failed to gain a substantial following. Numerous members of the movement did not manage to leave Poland before 1939, due to the strict British policy towards immigration to Palestine. The pioneer movement was reconstituted in Poland after 1944, albeit only for a brief period of time.
Jerzy Tomaszewski
Bibliography
- I. Oppenheim, The Struggle of Jewish Youth for Productivization. The Zionist Youth Movement in Poland, Boulder 1989.
Quoted after: Tomaszewski J., Żbikowski A., Żydzi w Polsce. Dzieje i kultura. Leksykon. [Jews in Poland – Their History and Culture. A Lexicon.], , Warsaw 2001.
