For the 4,000 people who attended the Sydney Yom Haatzmaut celebration organised by the NSW State Zionist Council, it was a great day.  Being at Randwick racecourse, people may have bet on the weather - it was glorious.

What were the personal highlights?  The concert, MC’d by Geoff Sirmai, would have to be my favourite, where the school and adult choirs, solo performers and small groups, celebrated Israel with new and classical songs.  The school-age performers reinforced that the future is bright! J-Wire has some good footage here.

Since the theme was “100 years of Kibbutz“, there was plenty of hay around, and an exhibition of old photos from kibbutz life.  “Draining the swamps” was a memorable photo, since my grandmother growing up in Israel had experienced rheumatic fever from being around the malarial swamps.  Also, in the kibbutz-themed tent, Dr Tamara Levine gave a fascinating talk on “Literature of the Kibbutz”. 

One new stand was KEVA (Kibbutz Ex-Volunteer Association), which was founded in 2000 by a group of local ex kibbutz volunteers with the idea of building stronger and personal personal relations between Australia and Israel.  As their website says here  “KEVA is based on human friendship, which we believe is the underlying force of goodwill between societies. Today, KEVA is the home of the Israel-Australia community in Wollongong.  In addition to its social character, KEVA promotes Israeli culture in the wider region.”

Besides some great photos of the group in Woollongong (look at their great website, with its kibbutz links), their stand had fun hebrew letter blocks that mentioned the variety of kibbutzim that their members had been too.  It’s a welcome reminder of how memorable Kibbutz experience can be for non-Jewish as well as Jewish volunteers, with long-lasting positive effect.

The organisation Bridges for Peace also had a stand, with dedicated people and excellent information.  National Director Keith Buxton had come especially for the event from the Gold Coast. It was a reminder of the important role played by Christians such as Lord Balfour and the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, prior to formation of Israel, and their ongoing vital role in support of Israel. 

Shir Madness is the name of the upcoming Jewish Music Festival slated for the Bondi Pavilion on Sunday August 15.  They had a musical information stand at the Yom Haatzmaut celebration.  With over 35 musical acts planned for 4 stages with a wide variety of musical styles, it should be a great day/night.  An article about the Festival is here and their preliminary website is here.

I was provided with a reminder of Israel’s traffic by 3 goes on the Bumper “Dodge um” Cars, followed by a Felafel - appropriately in that order.

So Yom Haatzmaut was a most successful day for Sydney to celebrate Israels’ 62nd birthday.  Contratulations to Aviva Kogus from the NSW State Zionist Council and her committee of helpers. 

… and the fireworks at the end were great.  If you want to write in with any other personal highlights, feel free.

.. J-wire describes the moving Yom Hazikaron evening held in Sydney

..  J-wire also has an article about the successful and very well-attended concert for Yom Haatzmaut in Melbourne here, as well as Yom Hazikaron, together with excerpts from the speeches from Danny Lamm, President of the Zionist Council of Victoria.

David Brooks has written an interesting column in the New York Times here.  He discusses Jewish accomplishments in the world and notes that

“No single explanation can account for the record of Jewish achievement. The odd thing is that Israel has not traditionally been strongest where the Jews in the Diaspora were strongest. Instead of research and commerce, Israelis were forced to devote their energies to fighting and politics.  Milton Friedman used to joke that Israel disproved every Jewish stereotype. People used to think Jews were good cooks, good economic managers and bad soldiers; Israel proved them wrong.  But that has changed. Benjamin Netanyahu’s economic reforms, the arrival of a million Russian immigrants and the stagnation of the peace process have produced a historic shift. The most resourceful Israelis are going into technology and commerce, not politics. This has had a desultory effect on the nation’s public life, but an invigorating one on its economy.”   

“Tel Aviv has become one of the world’s foremost entrepreneurial hot spots. Israel has more high-tech start-ups per capita than any other nation on earth, by far. It leads the world in civilian research-and-development spending per capita. It ranks second behind the U.S. in the number of companies listed on the Nasdaq. Israel, with seven million people, attracts as much venture capital as France and Germany combined.”

All well and good but then Brooks over-reaches to claim that “Israel’s technological success is the fruition of the Zionist dream.”

What a limited view of the Zionist rationale for Israel, and its achievements!

One letter pointed out “While praising Jews and Israel, you seem to have missed a point that Israel drives home every day. Jews, are no longer a wandering people. We have a homeland. A place to hang our hat…. Neither kings, nor popes, caliphs, sheiks, or mullahs, can send us packing at a whim. Mere animosity and ‘divine right’ can no longer consign us to second-class citizens, dhimmi’s, or persona non-grata.  Israel’s place in the world, as the only Jewish state, allows Jews a global focal point, for honor, prosperity, education, religious insight, and protection. It is our birthplace and our birthright.  And no mobility or threat, will change that.” 

…. Now that starts to add to Israel’s significance in a more meaningful way than can Israel’s technological achievements, however impressive and important they may be.

Greg Tepper, an internet editor at the Jerusalem Post, has described the various stages of aliya that he passed through.  It makes for thoughtful and inspiring writing.

He concludes: 

Breathe. Release. Accept.  And then, and only for a moment, ….. there is nothing more wonderful than living in Israel, freedom-loving, separation-of-powers-believing, line-wanting, falafel-eating American that I am.

Greg has brought his love of American sport to Israel, as in this piece From the Hills of Jerusalem, let freedom swing

Brenda Katten from WIZO has written a succinct but important personal perspective on Zionism - see here. 

Katten correctly identifies the need for ongoing pride in Israel as the Jewish people’s national home, in the face of ongoing efforts at delegitimization.  “We are a people, a nation, not just a religion. Zionism is Jewish nationhood.”

We need to learn where we’ve come from,  …. where we are and how much Israel has already achieved, ….. and where we are going. 

Knowledge is an important ingredient that is rarely present in the Israel and Zionism-bashers who typically parrot standard lines from their group-think playbooks.

Israel has a major role to play in our world’s health.  Quite apart from its high tech approaches to the greening of the world, highlighted at a recent conference,  Tu Bishvat and its emphasis on the importance of trees should become a global day of renewal… maybe that’s something the Israeli delegation to Copenhagen could propose - a global Tu Bishvat.

The JNF plays a major role in improving the environmental health of Israel.  Their  website mentions that Israel was the only country with more trees at the end of the 20th century than at its beginning.

We have much to be proud of when remembering Zion.

A trip to Israel at some stage should include visits to places dedicated to some of the early leaders. 

Ben Gurion house in Tel Aviv  remains as it was when David Ben Gurion lived there, with Paula and David Ben-Gurion’s possessions in the same place they used to be.  The second floor shows a fascinating glimpse into the private world of Ben Gurion, housing four library rooms and a bedroom. The library includes a collection of books and periodicals, totaling 20,000 volumes in languages as varied as ancient Greek, Latin, English, Hebrew, French, Turkish, German and Russian.  Here is a virtual tour.   His home in Sde Boker where he lived for 20 years alternating with Tel Aviv, is also preserved as a museum.  This is described in this article taken from the website of the Centre for Online Judaic Studies.  This website is a treasure trove of writings, images and video presentations of Jewish and Israeli interest.  Interestingly there are also plans for a Ben Gurion museum in his Polish home town of Plonsk

Across town in Tel Aviv is the fascinating Beit Jabotinsky dedicated to Ze’ev Jabotinsky where 2 audiovisual exhibitions are currently playing.  To relive the Af Al Pi illegal immigration which saved thousands of Jews frantically trying to escape Europe prior to WWII  “visitors to the exhibit enter the boat — which recreates the atmosphere of an illegal immigrant ship from the 1930’s — and experience its grueling journey from a European port to the Promised Land. The film is projected on a giant screen, bringing viewers directly into the drama they see and hear around them. Artificial mists and splashing water enhance the true-to-life sensation.” 

Prior to that, you can see a 15 minute audio-visual presentation “from two projectors on six ascending and descending screens. The film’s theme is an imaginary conversation between Ze’ev Jabotinsky and his son Eri.”   The website contains copies of some of the prolific Jabotinsky’s writings. Articles such as “The Iron Wall”, which is on the website, are worth reading, since Jabotinsky is so frequently misquoted.  There are plans to move the museum to Ramat Gan and create a modern centre .

More recently, the Menachem Begin Heritage Centre overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem provides insight into Menachem Begin’s life and times. Here is a blog devoted to the Begin Centre.

While Zionism means different things to different people, as examplified in a series of articles collated here for the centenary in 1997, can we at least ascertain the organised Zionist world’s definition of what Zionism actually is?  Consider the following…

In August 1897 in Basle, the First Zionist Congress laid the formal foundations and step by step plan for the establishment of the Jewish State. The idea of course was the establishment of a home for the Jewish People wherein Jews would determine the fate of Jews - an idea that for 2,000 years had seemed to be an unachievable dream. This was known as “The Basle Program”.

One can trace the development and maturation of contemporary Zionism by following the 3 later modifications of the Basle manifesto as versions of “The Jerusalem Programme”.

Zionism is a dynamic movement which has changed and continues to change according to the circumstances of the day. But it took 54 years for the first modification to appear.

In August 1951, three years after the establishment of the State, the World Zionist Congress met in Israel for the first time (it was the 23^rd Congress) and made several major changes to the Basle Program. This Jerusalem Program focused on the Land itself, on agricultural development, on the Hebrew language, Jewish values and democracy.

In June 1968 at the 27^th World Zionist Congress in Jerusalem, the next revision of the Zionist manifesto was passed against the background of the previous year’s 6 Day War.

And this time the changes were historic. Ideas were formalised including the centrality of the State of Israel in Jewish life; the concept of a “prophetic vision”; and Israel’s role in “protection of Jewish rights everywhere”.

This Jerusalem Program began the move away from a Herzl philosophy in regards to Zionism to one of Achad Ha’am.

Herzl viewed Zionism as the complete solution to Jewish continuity and identity and saw no Jews who wished to remain Jews living in the Galut, other than small pockets of Orthodoxy. He did not see Israel just as the centre, but as the whole, and saw no need for the Jewish State to be concerned with protecting Jews outside of Israel. In fact, he foresaw no task for the State of Israel for Jews outside her borders at all.

Asher Ginsberg (Achad Ha’am) however saw an Israel as the cultural and spiritual centre of the Jewish world.

June 2004 saw the Executive of the World Zionist Organisation, as summarised here, formalise the end of Herzl’s vision of the Jewish world outside of Israel and the triumph of the views of Achad Ha’am. 

It also elevated the nature of the Jewish State in religious terms. It referred to the “historic homeland Eretz Yisrael”; emphasised the importance of Jerusalem both as Israel’s capital and for the Jewish nation; reiterated Israel’s determination to be a democratic society, and a just and moral one with a spiritual dimension; that the State of Israel should be the vehicle for Jewish continuity wherever Jews may be located; and declared one of Israel’s role to be that of fighting anti-Semitism around the world.

Achad Ha’am’s triumph was complete. An Israel confident of itself with a sufficient critical mass, taking on for itself the continuity of the Jewish people and protection of world Jewry, against a background of a declining Diaspora in relative power and absolute numbers

The upcoming 61^st Yom Ha’atzmaut will deepen Achad Ha’am’s vision.  As then Prime Minister Olmert declared in June 2008, until now the Jewish People had built the Jewish State whereas from now it was the turn of the Jewish State to build the Jewish People. That is also why the choice of the Prime Minister of Israel, and how he or she acts is so critical to life to the Jewish Diaspora.

For further related discussion, Gil Troy, a Professor of History at McGill University in Montreal, has written excellent articles, including a video and written piece on Why I am a Zionist, and has additional Zionist related links. He also recently penned an article, strongly supportive of Israel with the theme of Don’t cry for us, New York Jewry (and elsewhere).

This year, Bnei Akiva בני עקיבא‎ celebrates its 80th anniversary. Formed in early 1929 in Israel by Yechiel Eliash, Bnei is the largest religious Zionist youth movement in the world, active in 37 countries, with 75,000 members in Israel and 54,000 in the rest of the world, including strong Australian representation in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

Ynet recently presented a snapshot of Bnei Akiva showing from other countries the different faces of Bnei Akiva

At this anniversary, it is worthwhile to learn more about Bnei Akiva and its origins, in part because it provides insight into the pioneers of Israel, and the role of religious Zionism. Bnei Akiva’s aim was to have “one total Judaism…one which retains the Torah as its soul, the nation as its body, with its place in Eretz Yisrael.” (Rav Javetz). This principle of “the Jewish people in the land of Israel living according to the Torah of Israel” lies at the core of Bnei’s beliefs.

The other philosophy of Bnei Akiva is ‘Torah v’Avodah’, a phrase coined by Rav Shmuel Chaim Landau (Shachal). Torah is viewed as not just a set of laws to which each Jew must adhere but also “the spirit of our nation, the source of our culture and the essence of our souls”. This nationalistic element of Torah is the reason for our rebirth of the Jewish people in Israel and all Zionism must stem from it. Meanwhile, Avodah is an aim to make the Jewish people productive as a nation by rebuilding the land of Israel. Rather than just being a group of individuals, Avodah calls for the nation to begin to rebuild itself through creativity and physical labour. Bnei Akiva’s twin ideals of Torah and Avodah loosely translate to religious commitment/study and work on the land of Israel.

Bnei Akiva believes in the importance of Aliya and maintains that the future of the Jewish people is tied to the state of Israel. Bnei Akiva feels that Jewish youth in the Diaspora should be educated to realize that the Israel needs them, and that they, in turn, need it. In the early years of pioneering, Avodah was clearly understood as meaning agricultural work, however in more recent years, there has driven a shift in ideology towards a broader definition of working for the development of the country. Further, up to the 1980s many Bnei Akiva members joined religious Kibbutzim in Garinim (groups). Since the 1990s a wider view of how to contribute to Israeli life has become accepted. Bnei Akiva members now typically settle in development towns, settlements etc. They are active in all areas of Israeli life including security, hi-tech, education, academia etc.

With Bnei Akiva turning 80, it is of interest to examine the time around its formation in the late 1920’s. At this period of the British Mandate, the Jewish pioneers were struggling to succeed economically and to build their homeland. However, there was another concern as well: the need to redefine the spiritual-cultural identity of the Jewish nation.

At a time when the secular labourers gaining power, the “Hapoel Hamizrachi” workers movement, part of the Mizrachi movement (established in 1901), was founded. Its goal was to organize and unify the few religious labourers into a stronger entity. The movement’s first leaders consolidated a new philosophical perspective, intended as a counterweight to the secular-socialist ideology of other workers’ groups. Hapoel Hamizrachi saw itself as the active realization of the Religious-Zionist ideals of the Mizrachi movement: “The Land of Israel, for the People of Israel, according to the Torah of Israel”. It dedicated itself to engaging in all aspects of life in Israel, religious and secular, including labour and settlement of the land.

The Hapo’el Hamizrachi movement encountered many difficulties. The Histadrut and many Workers’ Committees incited against Hamizrachi members and prevented their employment. Keren Kayemet, which was responsible for allocation of land, gave land to other settlement associations, but not to Hapoel Hamizrachi. In addition, while Hapo’el Hamizrachi met with hostility from non-Zionist religious Jews, secular society disapproved of Hamizrachi’s devotion to religion. Although the ones who suffered most from this attitude were the workers who belonged to Hapo’el Hamizrachi, it also had a decisive influence on the youth.

In the wake of the ostracism and economic difficulties encountered by Hapoel Hamizrachi members, many of their youth chose to join secular social groups. They were drawn to socialist/workers’ youth movements or others such as Maccabee and Betar. This situation presented a threat to the new religious movement.

In the beginning of 1929, Yechiel Eliash, then an officer of the Brit Olamit shel Torah Va’avoda (“National Alliance of Torah and Labor”), suggested to Hapoel Hamizrachi the establishment of a religious youth movement, with the purpose of strengthening young people’s spirit and organizing them within a proud social framework.

This proposal was met with a lack of enthusiasm. However, Yechiel Eliash did not retreat, and later stated that “we believed that a youth movement would have to engender faith in its own strength and power to erect a religious Judaism with great accomplishments. Not individual creative Jews, but organized religious Judaism. The opponents, including leaders of Hapoel Hamizrachi feared rebellion and contended that a religious movement, intrinsically, cannot be oppositional and must be traditional. Some worried that the conduct of study in school would be impaired; others disparaged young people’s ability to stand at the head of a youth movement. Impressive educators, they argued, must hold this position. However, despite all this opposition, I decided to found the youth movement…”

Concurrent with the establishment of the movement in Israel, organizations of religious youth operated in the Diaspora. Some of them adopted the name Bnei Akiva and others had appellations such as Hashomer Hadati. Twenty-five years later (1958), the Israeli and Diaspora groups merged and the Mazkirut Olamit (World Secretariat) of Bnei Akiva was formed.

Today, the ideals of Bnei Akiva continue to emphamise the objectives of Religious Zionism - to combine the concepts of the Nation of Israel (AM Yisrael), the Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael), and the Law of Israel (Torat Yisrael) into one ideal.The wide range of programs are therefore designed to foster personal, familial, and communal commitment to the ideal of “Am Yisrael, Be’Eretz Yisrael, Al Pi Torat Yisrael.”

Bnei Akiva is a dynamic Religious Zionist Youth Movement run by youth for the youth, in order to keep the philosophy of Religious Zionism modern and active. It is dedicated to bringing the messages of Torah Va’Avodah and Aliyah to the Jewish youth. Torah Va’Avodah is an outlook on the world which synthesizes a religious life of Torah with the labour and production in order to bring about a national renaissance of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel. For further local information, you can read more about Bnei Akiva Sydney.

We hope that Bnei Akiva continues to go from strength to strength in the next 80 years.

Rabbi Uri Dasberg also wrote further about the life of Yechiel Eliash, the founder of Bnei Akiva ..
Eighty years ago, a young man, twenty years old, woke up one morning and decided that the religious youth deserved to have a youth organization of their own. This was Yechiel Eliash, born in a small town in Poland. He had studied in the yeshiva in Lomza and then in Novardok. After he arrived in Eretz Yisrael with an immigration “certificate” obtained for him by Rabbi A.Y. Kook, he studied in Rabbi Kook’s yeshiva, Merkaz Harav.

How did he get to this yeshiva? While he was still in Lomza, Eliash saw a small advertisement asking students to join the worldwide central yeshiva in Jerusalem. He obtained a reference from his rabbi in the yeshiva, an immigration “certificate” from Jerusalem, and a loan from his father. The rest of the money that he needed he obtained by selling his coat. He then had enough money to travel to the port of Haifa. In order to continue on to Jerusalem, he obtained some money from the branch office of Hapoel Hamizrachi in Haifa. And so, in the end, he arrived in Jerusalem.

He called the youth movement that he established “Bnei Akiva.” Later on Rabbi Maimon, the leader of the Mizrachi movement (not to be confused with another movement, Hapoel Hamizrachi, which was the patron of Bnei Akiva), would claim that the new movement was appropriate for Akiva under the age of 40, before he had learned anything. But Eliash purposely choose a name for his movement that implied youth and vigor. He wrote about Rabbi Akiva: “He was a laborer, a shepherd, a national warrior, and a Torah scholar… We are the students of Rabbi Akiva, we are Bnei Akiva!” Perhaps he copied the structure, with such elements as a “sheivet” – an age group – and “chevraya aleph and bet” from the yeshiva at Novardok, where he learned ethics before he came to Eretz Yisrael.

A youth movement can be expected to have characteristics of revolution and severance of contacts with earlier tradition. For this reason, the Mizrachi opposed the new youth movement. However, only such a movement could organize a group of young people who were willing to burst onto a soccer field in Jerusalem, in order to protest the desecration of Shabbat. Later on Eliash commanded the “security detail” of Hapoel Hamizrachi, establishing the principles for setting up military units which would observe religious requirements (Shabbat, kashrut, etc). These basic concepts are still applied by the Benish yeshiva students, the Chareidi Nachal units, the Chaplaincy of the IDF, and others. All of this took place during the time of the British Mandate, when military and semi-military organizations were forced to operate in secret. Eliash established the “Elitzur” sports union, which was used as a cover for the Ha’apalah, bringing in new immigrants by boat in spite of British opposition.

The establishment of the State of Israel did not curtail Eliash’s activities in support of religious participation in the government, and he centered his activities on the Interior Ministry and the Kupat Cholim Medical Fund of the Histadrut labor union. The result was the basis of what is known as the “historical covenant” between religious Zionism and the nonreligious sector. Here is an example of this covenant: Laborers who volunteered to take part in the Hagannah could perform their military exercises on Shabbat without missing any work, but religious laborers who exercised on Friday were required to make up for the lost work with extra hours every other day of the week. But the leaders of the Histadrut insisted that the religious workers should not be forced to make up for the lost time – we put in a large effort to limit the work week to eight hours. If religious laborers are forced to work extra, all of our efforts will have been in vain!

Yechiel Eliash, the founder of Bnei Akiva, passed away on the seventh of Tishrei 5758 (1997).

Info from Bnai Akiva sites, Wickepedia and Ynet.