Poale Zion (, also
romanized
In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...
''Poalei Tziyon'' or ''Poaley Syjon'', meaning "Workers of
Zion") was a movement of
Marxist
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
–
Zionist
Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
Jew
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
ish workers founded in various cities of
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
,
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
and the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
at about the turn of the 20th century after the
Bund rejected Zionism in 1901.
Formation and early years
File:Pre-State_Zionist_Workers'_Parties_chart.png, chart of zionist workers parties, 360px, right
rect 167 83 445 250 Hapoel Hatzair
rect 450 88 717 265 Non Partisans
rect 721 86 995 243 Poalei Zion
rect 152 316 373 502 HaPoel HaMizrachi
rect 552 328 884 512 Ahdut HaAvoda
Ahdut HaAvoda () was the name used by a series of List of political parties in Israel, political parties in Israel. Ahdut HaAvoda in its first incarnation was led by David Ben-Gurion. It was first established during the period of Mandatory Pales ...
rect 891 301 1111 534 Poalei Zion Left
rect 283 519 668 928 Mapai
Mapai (, an abbreviation for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', ) was a Labor Zionist and democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in January ...
rect 5 665 169 1432 HaOved HaTzioni
rect 697 747 918 953 Ahdut HaAvoda Movement
rect 755 977 959 1234 Ahdut HaAvoda Poalei ZIon
rect 775 1265 1136 1444 Mapam
File:Pre-State_Zionist_Workers'_Parties_chart.png, chart of zionist workers parties, 360px, right
rect 167 83 445 250 Hapoel Hatzair
rect 450 88 717 265 The non-partisans (pre-state Zionist political movement), Non Partisans
rect 721 86 995 243 ...
rect 966 1023 1232 1217 HaShomer Hatzair Workers' Party
rect 1044 572 1228 766 HaShomer HaTzair
rect 942 769 1177 919 Socialist League of Palestine
rect 387 1275 734 1447 Mapai
Mapai (, an abbreviation for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', ) was a Labor Zionist and democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in January ...
rect 365 1260 174 1447 HaPoel HaMizrachi
rect 36 6 1225 81 Labor Zionism
Labor Zionism () or socialist Zionism () is the left-wing, socialist variant of Zionism. For many years, it was the most significant tendency among Zionists and Zionist organizations, and was seen as the Zionist faction of the historic Jewish ...
desc bottom-left
Ideology
The key features of the ideology of early Poale Zion were acceptance of the
Marxist
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
view of history with the addition of the role of
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
, which theorist
Ber Borochov, a leader of Poale Zion, believed could not be ignored as a factor in historical development. A Jewish proletariat would come into being in the
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...
, according to Poale Zion, and would then take part in the
class struggle. These views were set out in Borochov's ''Our Platform'', published in 1906.
Early parties and organisations
Poale Zion parties and organisations were started across the
Jewish diaspora
The Jewish diaspora ( ), alternatively the dispersion ( ) or the exile ( ; ), consists of Jews who reside outside of the Land of Israel. Historically, it refers to the expansive scattering of the Israelites out of their homeland in the Southe ...
in the early 20th century. A branch of Poale Zion came into existence in New York City in 1903. Branches were formed in London and Leeds in 1903/04 and 1905 respectively and on a national basis in 1906. An Austrian group was formed in 1904, and published a newspaper, ''
Yidisher Arbeyter''. In November 1905 the Poale Zion (Workers of Zion) Party was founded in
Palestine
Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
and a month later the Socialist Jewish Labour Party (Poale Zion) was formed in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
.
In March 1906, the
Jewish Social Democratic Labour Party (Poale Zion) was founded in Russia under the leadership of
Ber Borochov and
Itzhak Ben-Zvi.,
and other groups were soon formed elsewhere in Europe. A French group was formed, under the leadership of
Marc Jarblum, which was influential on the
SFIO and its leader
Leon Blum. By 1907, the party had 25,000 members in Russia.
With the threat of
pogroms, and meeting clandestinely, the
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
Poale Zion formed a commando unit (bojówka) with around sixty guns. They were used to "expropriate" funds from well-to-do citizens. In March 1906 the entire Warsaw leadership were amongst the 120 delegates arrested attending the Poale Zion conference in
Poltava
Poltava (, ; , ) is a city located on the Vorskla, Vorskla River in Central Ukraine, Central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Poltava Oblast as well as Poltava Raion within the oblast. It also hosts the administration of Po ...
. Three months later eighteen gunmen raided Warsaw railway station, stealing cash and leaving "a receipt in the name of Warsaw's Poale Zion".
Global coordination
A World Union of Poale Zion was formed. The first World Congress took place in August 1907 in
The Hague
The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
. Its second congress in 1909 in
Kraków
, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
emphasised practical socialist projects in Palestine, further congresses followed in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
(1911 and 1920) and
Stockholm
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
(1919).
Palestine
A conference in the name of the ''Jewish Social-Democratic Workers' Party in the Land of Israel'' was held in
Jaffa
Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...
between 4–6 October 1906. It was organised by
Israel Shochat who over the previous two years had organised an underground group of around 25 Poale Zion followers. About 60 people attended the conference and it was chaired by newly arrived
David Ben Gurion.
As a result the following January they produced ''The
Ramleh Program'', a
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
version of the ''
Communist Manifesto'' with the added declaration: 'the party aspires to political independence of the Jewish People in this country." After much debate they agreed that there should be segregation of Jewish and Arab economies. It was also agreed that all Poale Zion business should be conducted in Hebrew, though this was not the larger group's policy which held that proceedings should be in
Yiddish
Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
or
Ladino depending on the community. Hebrew was seen as the language of the
bourgeoisie
The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...
. At the time there were 550 active pioneers, Jews working on the land, in the country. In 1910-1911, it was decided that the organisation's journal would be published in Hebrew instead of Yiddish; it was named ''Achdut'' (he: אַחְדוּת ''achdut''), meaning unity.
In Ottoman Palestine, Poale Zion founded the
Hashomer guard organization that guarded settlements of the ''
Yishuv
The Yishuv (), HaYishuv Ha'ivri (), or HaYishuv HaYehudi Be'Eretz Yisra'el () was the community of Jews residing in Palestine prior to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. The term came into use in the 1880s, when there were about 2 ...
'', and took up the ideology of "conquest of labor" (''Kibbush Ha'avoda'') and "
Hebrew labor" (''Avoda Ivrit''). The first formal congress of the "Jewish Social Democratic Workers' Party in the Land of Israel–Poalei Tziyon" was held in early 1907. Poale Zion set up employment offices, kitchens and health services for members. These eventually evolved into the institutions of Labor Zionism in Israel.
UK during World War I
During
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Poale Zion was instrumental in recruiting members to the
Jewish Legion. Poale Zion was active in Britain during the war, under the leadership of J. Pomeranz and
Morris Meyer, and influential on the British
labour movement
The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...
, including on the drafting (by
Sidney Webb and
Arthur Henderson
Arthur Henderson (13 September 1863 – 20 October 1935) was a British iron moulder and Labour Party (UK), Labour politician. He was the first Labour Cabinet of the United Kingdom, cabinet minister, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1934 and, uniqu ...
) of the
Labour Party's War Aims Memorandum, recognising the '
right of return' of Jews to Palestine, a document which preceded the
Balfour Declaration by three months.
Factions and activity after World War I
Factions, 1920 split and aftermath
Poale Zion was torn between left-wing and right-wing factions in 1919–1920; the organization formally split at the Poale Zion fifth world congress in Vienna in 1920, following a similar division that occurred in the
Second International
The Second International, also called the Socialist International, was a political international of Labour movement, socialist and labour parties and Trade union, trade unions which existed from 1889 to 1916. It included representatives from mo ...
.
The right wing was less Marxist and more nationalist, and favoured a more moderate socialist program and supported the
International Working Union of Socialist Parties to continue the work of the Second International, essentially becoming a
social democratic
Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
party. The left-wing faction did not consider the Second International radical enough, and some accused its members of betraying Borochov's revolutionary principles (although Borochov had begun to modify his ideology as early as 1914, and publicly identified as a social democrat the year before his death).
Poale Zion Left, which supported the
Bolshevik revolution, continued to be sympathetic to
Marxism
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...
and
Communism
Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
, and attended the second and third congresses of the
Communist International
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internationa ...
in a consultative capacity. They lobbied for membership, but their attempts were unsuccessful, as the internationalist communist movement under
Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
and
Trotsky was opposed to Zionist nationalism. The
Comintern advised individual members of Left Poale Zion to join their national Communist parties as individuals; at their 1922
Danzig conference, these terms were rejected by the party. The Comintern declared it an enemy of the workers' movement.
Poale Zion Left opposed the decision by Poale Zion to rejoin the World
Zionist Organization, viewing it as essentially
bourgeois
The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...
in character, and viewed the
Histadrut as
reformist and non-socialist. Aside from differing attitudes towards
Zionism
Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
and
Stalinism
Stalinism (, ) is the Totalitarianism, totalitarian means of governing and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953), 1927 to 1953 by dictator Jose ...
, the two wings of Poale Zion parted ways over
Yiddish
Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
and Yiddish culture. The Left was more supportive of the latter, similar to the members of the
Jewish Bund, while the Right bloc identified strongly with the emerging
modern Hebrew
Modern Hebrew (, or ), also known as Israeli Hebrew or simply Hebrew, is the Standard language, standard form of the Hebrew language spoken today. It is the only surviving Canaanite language, as well as one of the List of languages by first w ...
movement in the early 20th century.
Palestine
In
Palestine
Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
, the major leaders of Poale Zion since their immigration in 1906 and 1907 had been
David Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion ( ; ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary List of national founders, national founder and first Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister of the State of Israel. As head of the Jewish Agency ...
, who joined a local Poalei Tziyon group in 1904 whilst living in
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, and
Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, a close friend of Borochov and an early member of the
Poltava
Poltava (, ; , ) is a city located on the Vorskla, Vorskla River in Central Ukraine, Central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Poltava Oblast as well as Poltava Raion within the oblast. It also hosts the administration of Po ...
group. After the split the two ''Benim'' ("the Bens") continued to control and direct Poale Zion Right in Palestine.
The party in Palestine split into right and left wings at its February 1919 conference. In October 1919, a faction of the Left Poale Zion founded ''Mifleget Poalim Sozialistiim'' (Socialist Workers Party) which became the
Jewish Communist Party in 1921, split in 1922 over the Zionist issues, with one faction taking the name
Palestine Communist Party and the more anti-Zionist faction becoming the
Communist Party of Palestine. The former retained its links to Poale Zion Left. These two factions reunited as the
Palestine Communist Party in 1923 and become an official section of the
Communist International
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internationa ...
. Another faction of Poale Zion Left, aligned with the
kibbutz
A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...
movement
Hashomer Hatzair, founded in Europe in 1919, became the
Mapam
File:Pre-State_Zionist_Workers'_Parties_chart.png, chart of zionist workers parties, 360px, right
rect 167 83 445 250 Hapoel Hatzair
rect 450 88 717 265 The non-partisans (pre-state Zionist political movement), Non Partisans
rect 721 86 995 243 ...
party. Poale Zion Right, under Ben Gurion's leadership, formed
Ahdut HaAvoda
Ahdut HaAvoda () was the name used by a series of List of political parties in Israel, political parties in Israel. Ahdut HaAvoda in its first incarnation was led by David Ben-Gurion. It was first established during the period of Mandatory Pales ...
in March 1919. In January 1930 it merged with another party to become
Mapai
Mapai (, an abbreviation for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', ) was a Labor Zionist and democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in January ...
, predecessor of the modern
Democrats.
Bolshevik Revolution and USSR
In Russia, the Poale Zion Left participated in the
Bolshevik Revolution and organized a brigade of Poale Zion activists nicknamed the "Borochov Brigade" to fight in the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
. The party remained legal until 1928 when it was liquidated by the
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...
. Most other Zionist organizations had been closed down in 1919, but Poale Zion Left remained untouched because it was recognized as a Communist party. In 1919, the Communists of Poale Zion Left split to form the
Jewish Communist Party which ultimately joined the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...
, leading to a sharp loss of membership in Russia. While the Bund was forcibly disbanded in 1921, Poale Zion and
Hechalutz were allowed to operate freely in the Soviet Union until 1928.
Poland
In Poland, for a brief period following World War I, both factions of Poale Zion were reported as legal and functioning political parties. The Polish Left party was the largest Left Poale Zion party in the world. It worked closely with the Bund in developing Yiddish schools in Poland and supporting secular Yiddish culture, although they had political differences (e.g., the Bund was more supportive of the Polish Socialist Party than LPZ). As part of the large-scale ban on Jewish political parties in post-
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Poland by the
Communist
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
leadership, both Poale Zion groups were disbanded in February 1950.
Austria
In
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, the left faction was led by
Michael Kohn-Eber, who joined the
Austrian Communist Party in 1938. The right faction also remained active until 1938.
United States
The first Poale Zion group in America was established in 1903.
In 1915 it was estimated they had fewer than 3,000 members. After the First World War, the American party was led by veteran socialist Zionist thinker
Nachman Syrkin. In America, the right faction was dominant, and initiated the
National Labor Committee for Palestine, raising money for the Histadrut.
Manya Shochat, one of the Poale Zion leaders in Palestine, toured the United States in 1920. Writing to
Rachel Ben Zvi she estimated there were “maybe” 2,000 members of Poale Zion in the whole country, with 180 of them in New York. She comments “The entire movement here is worthless.”
United Kingdom
Poale Zion in Britain formally affiliated to the
British Labour Party in 1920. Its original affiliate status with the Labour Party in 1920 was as The Jewish Socialist Labour Party (Poale Zion).
Worldwide
Globally, Poale Zion, under the leadership of
Shlomo Kaplansky, was involved in the 1921 formation of the centrist
International Working Union of Socialist Parties, then between 1923 and 1930 the World Union of Poalei Zion (i.e., the PZ right) joined the
Labour and Socialist International
The Labour and Socialist International (LSI) was an international organization of socialist and labourist parties, active between 1923 and 1940. The group was established through a merger of the rival Vienna International and the Berne Intern ...
(as its Palestine section).
As of 1928, it claimed to have 22,500 members in branches around the world; 5,000 in Poland and the United States, 4,000 in Palestine, 3,000 in Russia, 1,000 in Lithuania, Romania, Argentina and the United Kingdom, 500 in Latvia and another 1,000 scattered across countries such as Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, France and Brazil. The general secretary of the World Union of Poalei Zion at the time was
Berl Locker. The World Union had a women's wing, the Women's Organization for the Pioneer Women in Palestine.
Labour and Socialist International
The Labour and Socialist International (LSI) was an international organization of socialist and labourist parties, active between 1923 and 1940. The group was established through a merger of the rival Vienna International and the Berne Intern ...
.
Kongress-Protokolle der Sozialistischen Arbeiter-Internationale - B. 3.1 Brüssel 1928
'. Glashütten im Taunus: D. Auvermann, 1974. p. IV. 100
World Union of Zionists–Socialists (1932)
In 1932, Poale Zion's world federation merged with
Hitahdut Olamit, the World Union of
Hapoel Hatzair and
Zeirei Zion, to create Ihud Olami, the World Union of Zionists–Socialists. During this period several well-known Zionist leaders and politicians were active in Poale Zion, including Ben-Gurion, Ben-Zvi, kibbutz movement leader
Yitzhak Tabenkin,
Jewish Agency Executive member Shlomo Kaplansky, and future Israeli politicians
Moshe Sharett and
Dov Hoz.
The Holocaust
The Holocaust-era Jewish resistance group
ŻOB was formed from a coalition including
Hashomer Hatzair,
Dror,
Bnei Akiva, the
Jewish Bund, various Jewish
Communist
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
groups, and both factions of Poale Zion. Poale Zion was also active in the
Anti-Fascist Bloc.
Several notable Jewish resistance fighters during the
Holocaust
The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
, particularly those involved in the
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, were members of Poale Zion. They include:
*
Adolf Berman, Warsaw ŻOB fighter; Secretary of
Zegota (Poale Zion Left)
*
Hersz Berlinski, member of Warsaw ŻOB Command (Poale Zion Left)
* Yochanan Morgenstern, member of Warsaw ŻOB Command (Poale Zion Right)
*
Emanuel Ringelblum, member of Warsaw ŻOB; chronicler of the Warsaw Ghetto (Poale Zion Left)
Legacy
Mandatory Palestine and Israel
After World War I,
David Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion ( ; ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary List of national founders, national founder and first Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister of the State of Israel. As head of the Jewish Agency ...
integrated most of Poale Zion Right in
Palestine
Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
into his
Ahdut HaAvoda
Ahdut HaAvoda () was the name used by a series of List of political parties in Israel, political parties in Israel. Ahdut HaAvoda in its first incarnation was led by David Ben-Gurion. It was first established during the period of Mandatory Pales ...
party, which became
Mapai
Mapai (, an abbreviation for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', ) was a Labor Zionist and democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in January ...
by the 1930s. The Poale Zion Left merged with the kibbutz-based
Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party of Palestine and the urban-based
Socialist League of Palestine to form
Mapam
File:Pre-State_Zionist_Workers'_Parties_chart.png, chart of zionist workers parties, 360px, right
rect 167 83 445 250 Hapoel Hatzair
rect 450 88 717 265 The non-partisans (pre-state Zionist political movement), Non Partisans
rect 721 86 995 243 ...
in 1948, which in the 1990s merged with two smaller parties,
Ratz and
Shinui, to form
Meretz. In 1946, a split in Mapai led to the creation of another small party,
Ahdut HaAvoda – Poale Zion, which united with Mapam in 1948. In 1954, a small group of Mapam dissidents left the party, again assuming the Ahdut HaAvoda – Poale Zion name. That party eventually became part of the
Alignment in a 1965 merger with Mapai (and later included
Rafi and Mapam). In 1992, the Alignment became the
Israeli Labor Party
The Israeli Labor Party (), commonly known in Israel as HaAvoda (), was a Social democracy, social democratic political party in Israel. The party was established in 1968 by a merger of Mapai, Ahdut HaAvoda and Rafi (political party), Rafi. Unt ...
. In 2024, the Israeli Labor Party and Meretz merged to form
The Democrats.
Youth movements
Several youth movements emerged out of Poale Zion: the Marxist
Hashomer Hatzair (the largest, with 70,000 members on the eve of the Holocaust), the socialist
Habonim Dror, the Left Poale Zion's
Yugent, and Zeirei Zion.
North America
In North America, Poale Zion founded the
HeHalutz movement, the
Farband and
Habonim Dror, and later the Labor Zionist Organization of America, which merged with other groups into the Labor Zionist Alliance, which rebranded itself in 2007 as
Ameinu. US Poale Zion published a Yiddish newspaper, the ''
Yidisher Kempfer'', and an English journal, ''
Jewish Frontier'', edited by
Hayim Greenberg
Hayim Greenberg ( 1889, Todirești, Ungheni, Todirești, Beletsky Uyezd, Bessarabia Governorate, Bessarabia – 1953, New York City) was a Jewish-American thinker and Labor Zionist thinker. He was the head of Poale Zion, Poalei Zion and he ...
and
Marie Syrkin.
United Kingdom
In Britain, Poale Zion rebranded itself in 2004 as the
Jewish Labour Movement.
Worldwide
Internationally, the Poale Zion right is represented within the
World Zionist Organization by the
World Labour Zionist Movement; the group "to the left" of the WLZM within the WZO is Mapam's successor, the World Union of
Meretz. Meretz succeeded Mapam as a member of the
Socialist International
The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism, consisting mostly of Social democracy, social democratic political parties and Labour mov ...
and, since 2013, is also a member of the
Progressive Alliance
The Progressive Alliance (PA) is a political international of progressive and social democratic political parties and organisations founded on 22 May 2013 in Leipzig, Germany. The alliance was formed as an alternative to the existing Socia ...
.
See also
*
Jewish Communist Labour Party (Poalei Zion)
*
Jewish Communist Party (Poalei Zion)
*
Jewish Communist Union (Poalei Zion)
*
Poalei Agudat Yisrael
*
Mifleget Poale Zion VeHaHugim HaMarksistim beEretz Yisrael
*
Labour Zionism
*
Gordonia
*
Farband
*
Jewish left
References
Bibliography
*Dominik Flisiak, Wybrane materiały ideologiczne i propagandowe Syjonistyczno-Socjalistycznej Partii Robotniczej Poalej Syjon-Hitachdut. Przyczynek do badań nad lewicą syjonistyczną w pierwszych latach powojennej Polski (1944/45-1949/50), Chrzan 2021.
*
*
*
* Scott Ury, ''Barricades and Banners: The Revolution of 1905 and the Transformation of Warsaw Jewry.'' Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2012.
External links
MideastWeb: A brief history of Labor and Socialist ZionismPoale Zion Archive at M.I.A.The Ber Borochov Internet Archive at Angelfire''Der neue Weg'', B311 a digitized periodical published by the organization, at the
Leo Baeck Institute, New York
The Ber Borochov Internet Archive at M.I.A.— founding program of Poale Zion, sets out its analysis, at JewishVirtualLibrary
*
Ber Borochov: The Economic Development of the Jewish People, 1916
Poalei Tziyon Peace Manifesto, 1917*
Ber Borochov: Eretz Yisrael in our program and tactics, 1917
Levic Jessel: Biographical note on Borochov, 1935- a description of Poale Zion split
— More detail on the split
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Jewish political parties
Zionist political parties in Europe
Jewish socialism
Jewish Polish history
Jewish Russian and Soviet history
Jewish Ukrainian history
Zionism in Lithuania
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Labor Zionism
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