Overview
From Habonim Dror
The Semel (Emblem) of Habonim Dror
Habonim Dror Southern Africa
Habonim Dror is a worldwide Jewish Zionist youth movement, which exists to take responsibility for the Jewish people, Israeli society and the world. The movement was founded in 1929 in Great Britain According to Habonim, Great Britain 1929-1955, there is "a certain mystique" about the establishment of Habonim but "there is little doubt that the major personality behind the idea was Wellesley Aaron".
Habonim was modeled after the Wandervogel movements in Germany. In 1930, Norman Lourie founded Habonim Southern Africa, with the first camp taking place at Parys in 1931. The idea soon spread to other English-speaking countries and finally throughout the Christian world. The movement was responsible for founding, amongst others, Kfar Blum, Kfar Hanasi, Beit Haemek, Mevo Hama, Tuval and Gesher Haziv.
Habonim was brought to Southern Africa in 1930 by Norman Lourie. The movement began as a scouting movement for Jewish youth, with a strong emphasis on Jewish heritage and knowledge. It later evolved into a Zionist movement with a strong political platform, before merging with Dror in the 1980s.
Dror was founded in Poland in 1915 out of a wing of the Tze'irei Tziyon (Zion Youth) study circle - the majority of Tze'irei Tziyon had merged with a group called Hashomer in 1913 to form Hashomer Hatzair - those who remained outside of the new group formed Dror. The group was influenced by the teachings of the Russian Narodniks.
Members of Dror participated in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. Mordechai Tennenbaum and Emma Sobel, Dror members, organised two underground factions in the Bialystok Ghetto.
Dror was aligned with the Kibbutz Me'Uchad network while Habonim was aligned with the Ichud Kibbutzim. When the two kibbutz movements merged in 1980 to form the United Kibbutz Movement (TaKa"M), so did their respective youth movements.
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, Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson (producers of Whose Line Is It Anyway?), Alexander Bickel, Mark Regev and Guy Spigelman, amongst others.
Habonim has educated over 65 000 Jewish youth from South Africa and is today remains the largest and most vibrant Jewish youth movement in Southern Africa.
Habonim today is a Jewish youth movement which seeks to educate the next generation of Jewish South Africans into becoming tomorrow’s strong and courageous leaders. We strive for change in South Africa and Israel, and work towards a more equal and just society. We do this through educating youth between the ages of 10 and 22 in an informal and dynamic environment, which allows for their empowerment, self-realisation and, ultimately, the molding of critical and responsible leaders. We develope a positive and rich Jewish identity in our members which enables them to understand and appreciate our Jewish heritage and culture.
Habonim Dror is the most widespread Jewish youth movement outside of Israel, operating in Western Europe, North and South America and Australia. Our largest movement centres in South Afica are in Johannesburg and Cape Town, while we also operate in Durban, Zimbabwe, Port Elizabeth, East London, Plettenberg Bay, Pretoria and other small towns such as Krugersdrop, Oudtshoorn and Welkom.
We truly are a youth movement, with all our councilors (madrichim) volunteers under the age of 22. The councilors of our movement have complete autonomy over its functioning and define the movement's values and ideals at our biannual ideological conference called The Veida. We run various activities for both these madrichim and channichim (members Grade 11 and younger) throughout the year in both Israel and South Africa. The culmination of these hundred of activities is our famous annual summer camp (Machaneh) during December. This three week extravaganza, hosted on our campsite in Onrust, Western Cape, sees over 1000 people experience the magic that can only be found in Habonim Dror.
Habonim is pluralistic in its Jewish religious outlook and provides a full spectrum of Jewish expression, including Orthodox, Egalitarian and Cultural.
We believe strongly in the protection and betterment of the State of Israel and strive for Israel to be an example (dugmah) in all that she does. We seek to ensure that Israel lives up to our 'Labour Zionist' vision for Israel – as a safe, morally strong, culturally diverse and religiously tolerant society.
At the same time, Habonim Dror prides itself on being amongst the leading activists and educators within the Jewish Community in South Africa. This is reflected in the enormous amount of time and effort that we give back to both our Jewish youth and the wider South African society.
