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{{Start Sidebox|'''1930 - 2010'''}}

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== A Brief History of Habonim Dror Southern Africa ==

This History is based on an article written by Terri Edmunds (Mazkirat Chinuch, 2000)

==== The Foundations ====

The seeds for a Jewish youth movement were planted in 1928 in London, by a man named Wellesly Aaron, where he addressed a group of 6 people who responded to an advert in the "Jewish Chronicle" advertising a lecture on "How to interest young English speaking Jewish in their Jewish cultural heritage".
Among this small audience was an enthusiastic young South African by the name of Norman Lourie. Norman Lourie was mesmerized by the lecture and worked with Aaron for weeks gathering the manuscripts Aaron dictated.

Lourie soon returned to Johannesburg where in 1930 he and his newly wed wife, Nadia, started Habonim in South Africa. They started the movement in the Talmud Torah School in Doorfontein.

The movement began as a scouting movement and 3 boys aged 11-12 were chosen to become the heads of the first gedud in South Africa - Gedud Trumpeldor. A few weeks later the girls' movement was started with 3 girls placed in the same position for the girls Gedud - Gedud Deborah. At the time, two parallel movements were launched - Habonim and Habonot. The main aim of the movement was to attract youngsters to Judaism and Zionism, not by lectures, but by games.

Already, the Habonim movement was firmly based on the Zionist idea. Starting with the name "Bonim", whose aim was to "build" a national Home for all Jews in Palestine.
The movement at this stage was primarily aimed at youngsters' aged 12 -16, but as it grew it attracted an older group of 1 and over called "Hashomrim" (the guards) and later they added youngsters of 8 - 11 called "Hashtilim".

The movement also attracted university-aged students from Wits and UCT who formed the council and eventually provided new Manhigim (chief commissioners) to follow after Norman Lourie who was the first commissioner. A year after founding the movement the Louries organised Habonim's first machaneh (camp), taking place in Parys 1931.
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==== The Formative Years ==== 

In 1932, the first handbook was published and soon after that the Louries received a letter from a group of Young Jews in Bombay, India who wanted to start Habonim there. By this stage, the movement had spread all around South Africa and was now spreading overseas. When the movement spread to the USA it became identified with Labour Zionism.

In the formative years of channichim, the movement tried to keep completely apolitical, and heritage.
During the 40's Habonim became active in World War 2. The members of Habonim could not just sit back and watch as millions of Jews were being executed in the Holocaust. For some members it was a matter of collecting money and working with the youth of Palestine to build a children's village in Palestine for the thousand of Jewish children who were rescued from Europe. For others, the older members, many of them enlisted in the army to join the war against Germany.
There is even talk of Habonim members forming an underground movement during the war in Germany and fighting for the lives of the Jews in the Camps. Mordecai Anilewiz, the famed leader of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, was himself a member of the European version of Dror (a movement with which Habonim merged in later years).
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==== Throughout the Decades ====

In the late 1930's and early 1940's Habonim members, being Labour Zionists, built a socialist environment 9 miles out of Johannesburg called Kibbutz Habonim. This was started by a handful of Habonim graduates. Many used this development as a stepping-stone to making Aliyah to Kfar Blum and Ma'ayan Baruch in the northern Galilee.
In the 40's many Habonim members made Aliyah joining different kibbutzim and forming numerous settlements.
The 50's bought about much change in the movement. It was in this decade that Habonim shifted it's emphasis from a scouting movement to being an independent Zionist Youth Movement. Habonim also affiliated itself with the socialist movement as well as the world movement provided that their autonomy remained.
In 1958, two world Movements, Habonim in the English speaking countries and Anach in the French and Spanish speaking countries, united to form one 1 movement called Ichud Habonim ("Unification of the Builders")
It was also in the 50's that Kibbutz Tzora was founded, our current meshek yad Kibbutz.
In the 1950's the movement was a way of life for its members. Habonim being one's priority before studies and (perhaps even) family. To be a madrich meant real commitment, madrichim needed to sign an aliyah register, comitting themselves to aliyah. To be a menahel (madrich for shomrim) one had to sign the "chalutz register". This was about dugma Ishit and commitment. How could one be a madrich for Shomrim with out planning to go live on kibbutz? This was leadership by example - living the movements highest ideals.
In 1956 with a feeling of impending war in the middle east, there was a call up for Zionist Youth. 40 madrichim from South Africa left their homes, jobs and studies to join the Nachal brigade of the IDF. Furthermore, many chaverim in Habonim chose to study trades to prepare themselves for Aliyah.
The 60's proved strong times for Ichud Habonim Southern Africa. It was also during this decade that we purchased our gorgeous Onrust campsite for around R11, 000. The camp had grown from the 50 chaverim at the first machaneh in Parys to an astounding 900 participants.
In '67 with the threat of war in Israel, many Habonim members joined Israel in it's fight, while the others stayed behind to keep the movement going. The 60's also saw large amounts of members making Aliyah, with numbers like 65 olim in 1966 and 45 olim in '68; members were fulfilling theirs and the movements dreams.
In the 70's the movement continued to remain strong, with close to 100 people making aliyah in 1971. The movement was still growing and had well over 4000 members. The members of Habonim were active in social issues and marched in protests such as the one against the UN's anti-Zionist resolution.
In the 80's the members of Habonim South Africa, Habonim England and Ha'Noar Haoved v'Halomed (the Israeli Equivalent of Habonim) established Kibbutz Tuval. A kibbutz which was to be our meshek yad until 1991.
The 80's also saw the continuation of Aliyah and strong Zionist Education as well as the largest machaneh ever having to close their doors to all new forms some months before machaneh began.
It was in 1980 that Habonim officially became Habonim Dror, after merging with the movement Dror, a socialist movement grown out of Eastern Europe.
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==== The Movement Today ==== 

Throughout the 90's Habonim has continued to stay strong in its beliefs. With the abolishment of apartheid, the fall of the USSR and the decline of the Kibbutz Movement and the failure of the Oslo Accords and successive Camp David negotiations in Israel, the global and Zionist left has been struggling to redefine its ideology. Habonim has changed its Socialist pillar numerous times, from Keruv Levavot to Post-Socialism, to Service to Humanity and finally to Equality and Service to Humanity.
The movement now stands on its three pillars of Zionism, Judaism and Equality Service to humanity and with it educates the Jewish youth of South Africa to strive for a just and more equal society in South Africa and in Israel while creating leaders with a rich and meaningful Jewish identity. Today Habonim is the largest Jewish youth movement in Southern Africa and its numerical rise and importance will continue as long as it remains relevant to today’s world and true to its ideals.

For an Ideological history of the movement from 1930-2005 see: “Pillar History” By Doron Isaacs (Mazkir Klali 2002) download this file here
For a more in depth history of Habonim Dror from 1930-1999 see Lee Klawansky’s dissertation on Habonim (Rosh Chinnuch Machaneh 2003) download this file here For a more personalized analysis of the History of the movement from 1990-2005 see download this file here