
ABOUT US
Habonim Dror is a Socialist-Zionist Jewish Youth Movement which, as an integral part of the Israeli Kibbutz Movement, undertakes the mission of taking responsibility for the Jewish people, the Israeli society and the world. The founding principle of Habonim Dror is to create a framework which enables young people to educate their peers and together, to promote their ideological and educational goals.
Habonim Dror is active worldwide, with more than ______ members in dozens of countries from United States, Israel, Germany or Australia to New Zealand and South Africa. Furthermore, through Habonim Dror's Israel Experiential programs: Maslool (iTrack) and Kibbutz Ulpan, hundreds of other Jewish and non-Jewish pre and post-college young adults come and experience life and work in Israel.
On all of our programs, we offer the members of Habonim Dror an educational experience based on the value of human equality, as well as other humanistic values, which stem from the movement's Guidebook (Takanon). These include, among others, values such as Tikkun Olam (Repair the World), Democracy, Social Justice, Collectivism, all of them stand as an entire way-of-life based on the principle of Pioneership (Chalutziut).
ISRAEL PROGRAMS
Habonim Dror offers everyone an amazing opportunity to live and experience Israel for real. Our Israel programs allow young Jewish and non-Jewish young-adults from all over the world to do what they love, in Israel.
Kibbutz Ulpan will get you the authentic life on Kibbutz, together with intense Hebrew learning. Visit WeKibbutz for more details.
Maslool offers you a tailor-made program, based on what interests you. Internship, volunteering or studying in different parts of Israel. Visit WeKibbutz for more details
OUR VALUES
Since its beginning, Habonim Dror's work is inspired by the same main values guiding it until today. These are Judaism, Zionism, Socialism and Hagshama.
JUDAISM
Habonim Dror stands up for Cultural Judaism, a holistic approach which conceives Judaism as a culture, comprised by religion and nationality altogether. This is translated into a Jewish educational process which is based on cultural activities and celebrations profit from Jewish wisdom, history, traditions and values.
ZIONISM
Habonim Dror's Zionist belief assumes that we, as a people, can and should determine our identity and future in our own Jewish nation, which is our homeland, Israel. We seek to develop a society based on equality and democracy within a socialist framework in Israel.
Habonim Dror leads and promotes Jewish-Zionist education in the spirit of Israeli culture, both in Israel and outside of it in the global Jewish world. The movement seeks to support its members with developing their Jewish identity, looking at Israel as a central component of it, together with the other values mentioned. Furthermore, Habonim Dror equally supports the right of determination for all peoples, and thus supports the right of the Palestinian people to a state of their own.
SOCIALISM
We advocate the principles of socialism because we believe that this is the way to reach our human aspirations for freedom, justice and equality. As an educational movement we believe in a humanistic education that shapes people to become more respectful, critical, caring for others, and better understand the value of human worth as we create a sense of responsibility for one another.
We also believe that the values listed above, alongside the values of the Labour Zionism that shaped the idea of Kibutzim, are at the core of the socialist cultural fulfillment: social justice, democracy, communal responsibility, humanism, equality, individual and group activism, freedom and protection of the environment.
Habonim Dror educates its members to be active in seeking a political and social transformation of society where they live. Habonim Dror advocates for social activism and encourages its members (Chanichim), Madrichim and staff, to be part of social change.
HAGSHAMA
Habonim Dror sees Hagshama Atzmit as the personal fulfillment process which leads individuals to achieve all the goals of the movement and through which a member materializes the vision underpinning the ideas of Habonim Dror Movement.
Habonim Dror encourages each member to face life inspired by the ideals upheld by the movement. Hagshama is not a final goal, but an ongoing process.
The Movement believes that Aliya Chalutzit, i.e. leading an active life to improve society, working to keep a significant Jewish identity, being socially engaged while living within a socialist framework based on the values described in this document, is the purest expression of Hagshama.

THE SEMEL
Habonim Dror's official Semel (symbol) was adopted in 1981, when Ichud Habonim merged with Dror and has been the Semel of Habonim Dror all over the world since then. Occasionally, the name of the country is added below the Semel.
The Semel is featured on the back of the members' Chultzot (movement shirts), and on all the publications and materials published by the movement. The design of the Semel incorporates the different aspects of our ideology
Click here to learn more about it.

THE TECHEZAKNA
The movement's anthem is the Techezakna (תחזקנה). This was the anthem of the Histadrut (pre-Israel Jewish Labour Union). Haim Nachman Bialik wrote this poem in Adar 1894. Its opening phrase “Let your hands be strong” is the same as was used in the story of Gideon, when he was divinely commanded to attack the Midianites. “And thou shalt hear what they say and afterward shall thy hands be strengthened”. Then, too, it was the struggle of the few against the many. This phrase is used again by Zechariah “Let your hands be strong” when addressing the remnant of Israel.
This poem, although known as Techezakna, is really entitled The Blessing of the People. Its message was directed both to those who intended to go to Eretz Yisrael, or were already there, and to those who, though still in exile, were, according to Ahad Ha’am, true Lovers of Zion. Its message was for those whose sweat mingled with the dust of Eretz Yisrael.
A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY
Habonim-Dror is a Socialist-Zionist Jewish youth movement, formed by the 1982 merger of Habonim and Dror youth movements. Habonim was founded in 1929 in London, England by Wellesley Aron, together with Chaim Lipshitz and Norman Lourie. Dror was formed by the unification of several Zionist youth movements in Poland in 1915.
Habonim
Habonim was founded in Stepney, which was the poor area of the East End of London. Wellesley Aron’s first contribution was in writing various early memoranda to the Zionist Federation and to the existing Jewish Youth organizations. These suggested how a “Jewish Youth Cultural Movement” could be organized for children aged between 12 to 18.
Before Habonim was named in spring 1929, Chaim (actual name Hyman S.) Lipshitz had held regular organized meetings of a group of boys in his father’s Cheder (school room), which considered to be a little more progressive than others, and thus appealed to the young teens even more.
Lipshitz incorporated new, varied content; he taught Modern Hebrew along with songs and dances of Jewish settlers in Palestine and Jewish history. Lipshitz was assisted by Norman Lourie, a visitor from South Africa who had previously visited Palestine.
The aim of these group meetings was to attract and better educate the Jewish children of immigrants from Poland and Russia (mostly pre-1905, when immigration to the U.K. was severely limited), about their Jewish history and the progress of the Jews presently living in Palestine. The first meeting of leaders of the Jewish youth community that Wellesley Aron reported, was in a letter to Dr. S. Brodetsky (of the Zionist Foundation) on 11 January 1929. Wellesley mentioned that only 5 people attended, but that Norman Lourie (the third founder) called a larger meeting for the following week (10 January) where listed representatives from at least 7 Jewish youth organizations were present. This meeting was in London at 77 Great Russel Street EC1. England at this time was the center of political Zionism, after the Balfour Declaration in 1917 had stated that “His Majesty’s Government favourably viewed the establishment of a Jewish National Home in Palestine” (then under British mandate).
The new youth movement Habonim (or the Builders) was deliberately made non-Zionist (and became Zionist only after 1935). In 1929, the first Gedud Trumpeldor (Trumpeldor Group) was built into Lipshitz's existing group of youngsters in Stepney. Lipshitz was its Rosh (head or leader), with assistance from Norman Lourie and advise and Hebrew terminology being developed through a committee run by Wellesley Aron.
In May 1929 the first 27-page hand-booklet detailing how Habonim was to function was published by Wellesley with help in the mimeographing from Norman Lourie and his lady friend Nadia, who he later married. They both returned to Norman’s home country South Africa in 1930, to establish Habonim branches in various towns and countries in the continent, as well as in India.
The Movement grew very rapidly. In London alone there were 21 groups by 1932. The Movement had at least 2500 members by the time of their 10 year “Jamboree Camp” in 1939. The various Gedudim (groups) were initially single sex (like the Scouting Movement,) but were soon changed for boys and girls together. Associated, but not part of the Movement, were training farms for the older members, to learn about agriculture and life on kibbutz, to which their Aliyah (immigration to Eretz Yisrael) would eventually lead. According to Aron, he modeled Habonim after Baden-Powell’s Boy Scouts. The idea soon spread to other English-speaking countries and ex-colonies where Jews resided.
In 1930 Norman Lourie founded Habonim Southern Africa, with the first camp taking place at Parys in 1931. In the 1950's Habonim had spread worldwide including to Australia. ‘Ichud Habonim’ – ‘Habonim Union’ – was born in Haifa on September 1, 1951 on the Ichud movement Veida (General Committee) that included representatives from Britain, America, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, India, Holland and the combined movement from Israel.
At the committee, representatives from Habonim Australia were also present. Together, they declared the birth of the world movement that was developed from the combination of all Habonim movements worldwide. After 25 years of activity of all the separate Habonim movements, a common base of activity and assistance was established. The movement grew from strength to strength each year and on ______ started operating in South America and made Habonim present on all continents.
Graduates of Habonim contributed significant manpower to the establishment of many Kibbutzim in Israel, among them Kfar Blum, Beit Haemek, Mevo Hama, Tuval, Amiad, Kfar Hanassi, Gesher Haziv and Tzora.
Dror
In 1911, in Poland, the Jewish youth movements rose. The Jewish youth organized themselves into movements according to different streams, for example Hashomer, Hachalutz and Blau Weiss. Years later, after the Uganda Debate and after the dismissal of Herzl, a new generation rose in Zionism and developed into different divisions under many different names, the most popular of which being Tzeirei Tzion (Young Zionists). Out of Tzeirei Tzion in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, emerged a group that called itself the ‘Et livnot’ – ‘time to build’ and whose aim was to continue Herzl’s way.
At the Petersburg Veida, which was a Veida for the entire Russian Zionist movement, it was decided that the Zionist community was of religious character. Et Livnot demanded that the secular community be validated, and together with other youth movements left the room. Upon returning to Kiev they officially declared their distinction from the religious National Organisation of Russian Zionism and developed a Democratic Union called ‘Dror’ – ‘Freedom’ in 1915.
Dror was not a mass movement, however at all stages of its development it excelled in central Zionist thought. It was both vibrant and invigorating, educating the Jewish intellectual youth in Russia and eventually in Poland through intellectual activities. Dror was both modern and revolutionary in its character and aims. The spiritual father of Dror was Ze’ev Zlickin, nicknamed ‘Valia’, who was influenced by the teachings of the movement “Nadorobolchi” which gave rise to revolutionary Socialism in Russia.
The Dror movement developed different Chugim according to different ages. The youth (under the age of 20) belonged to the Shichvah “El Hamishmar” for all their lives as members of Dror. They were commited to the movement. Dror educated them and brought them to the movement ‘Hachalutz Hatzair’ – ‘the Young Pioneer’ (led by Yitzchak Tabenkin) and through this movement they came to Eretz Israel and Kibbutz. This created a link between Dror and the ‘Hityashvut’ (‘Settlement’ movement) and thus a partnership with Degania and Rehavia.
In 1925 a contingency from the Histadrut (Workers’ Union) in Palestine, mostly from Kibbutz Ein Harod, was sent to Hechalutz in Poland. This contingency was instrumental in the development of Hachalutz in Poland and thus also re-injected life into Dror. By the 1930s, the centre of Dror was in Warsaw, Poland. From there, with the help of Shlichim, the movement spread throughout the map of Europe to other Jewish communities in Eastern Europe and even in South America.
With the rise of the Nazi movement in Germany and the breakout of the Second World War, these youth movements were involved in actions against the Germans and were involved in big uprisings in cities such as Bialistock, Vilna, Warsaw and many other cities throughout Europe. In Warsaw the Jewish Fighters’ Brigade together with Hechalutz, Dror, Hashomer Hatzair and other youth movement, fought in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising in 1943. Graduates of Dror made aliyah to Palestine, fought as partisans and in the Jewish brigade. The joined groups joined many kibbutzim throughout Israel. This took place both before and after the declaration of the State of Israel.
Amongst the youth movement members training groups were built which eventually developed into Garinei Aliya to many kibbutzim in the ‘Kibbutz Hame’uchad’ movement. In the 1940s there was major cooperation in the formation of common Garinim by the movements Hechalutz and Habonim, particularly in Hungary, with the help of Shlichim from Kibbutz Hame'uchad. At this time there was major criticism of this cooperation due to differing ideological attitudes towards the Yishuv in Israel – its social character, economics, and the return to Jewish work in Israel.
The Unification
The movement Ichud Habonim and the movement Dror were active in different countries, and each identified with a different stream of the kibbutz movements. In 1952, the segmentation of the Kibbutz Hame'uchad movement developed into a new kibbutz movement in Israel, “Ichud Hakibbutzim Ve Hakvutzot”. This movement combined the groups and kibbutzim and separated from the Me'uchad kibbutz movement on an ideological basis. Whole families were split and some kibbutzim were divided ideologically between the two movements, such as Ein Harod, Givat Chaim, Ashdot Ya’akov and many more. The youth movement for Kibbutz Hame'uchad was Dror, and the youth movement from Ichud Hakibbutzim was Ichud Habonim.
In 1980, the reunification of the two kibbutz movements under one name, the “Takam”, led to the parallel combination the different movements under one name, “Habonim Dror”. Since then, the movement has operated as one body and at each world Veida challenges its direction and redefines its activities to suit its ideology in the Diaspora.
Famous graduates of the two movements include Golda Meir, Mike Leigh, Mordechai Richler, Jonathan Freedland, Stanley Fischer, Chaim Herzog, Tony Judt, Sacha Baron Cohen, Seth Rogen, Noah Beresin (a.k.a. Xaphoon Jones) of Chiddy Bang, Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson, producers of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Alexander Bickel, Leonard Fein (columnist of The Forward and founding editor of Moment), J.J. Goldberg (editor-in-chief of The Forward), David Twersky (columnist with the New York Sun), Aaron Naparstek, Matt Witten, Mark Regev, Shuli Egar, Guy Spigelman, Tooker Gomberg, Baroness Deech, Jack Markell (the governor of Delaware), Kenneth Bob, Toba Spitzer, Ron Bloom and Jaques Wagner (the governor of Bahia, Brazil).
Habonim Around The World
Habonim Dror is present today in _____ countries on all continents and brings more than _____ participants from all around the world to experience Israel themselves on a variety of programs. To learn more, please visit WeKibbutz official website.
Habonim Dror sends every year Israeli Shlichim to various Jewish communities, to assist with Israel education. Meet our Shlichim around the world:
http://habonimdror.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Habo-Around-the-world.png
A LETTER FROM THE MAZKIR
I was greatlly honoured for having been chosen to be Mazkir of World Habonim Dror.
My name is Yochai Wolfin and I was born in 1970 in Port Elisabeth, South Africa, where my father Aryeh was a Shaliach for Ichud Habonim. In 1981, I spent 2 years in London, where my family was on Shlichut Aliya for the Jewish Agency. While there, I went to the Jewish Free School and was very active in the local Habonim Dror branch. Prior to my army service I did Shnat Sherut in the branch of HaNoar HaOved in Haifa, and after the army I again worked for HaNoar HaOved for 1 year in the Kibbutz sector. I did my army service in Nachal Mutznach and underwent an officers course in Bahad Echad, after which I served as a commanding officer. In 1995 I was sent with my family on Shlichut for Habonim Dror for two years in Capetown, South Africa.
My Habonim background is extensive in my family as my father, Aryeh, is a graduate of British Habonim. He came on Aliya to Kfar Hanassi with his Gar'in in 1958.
I am greatly looking forward to commencing the task that I was chosen for.
Yochai Wolfin,
Mazkir Olami