Habonim Dror Australia Information
Habonim Dror Australia (colloquially known as Habo or HDOZ) is a Jewish Socialist-Zionist Youth Movement. It has branches (kenim, in Hebrew: קנים) in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Adelaide (in descending order of size). In 2006, there were around 80 graduates (bogrim, in Hebrew: בוגרים) Australia-wide.
Habonim Dror Australia runs weekly meetings for students from years three to 12 as well as biannual camps. Each state runs independent winter camps and a summer camp for junior students (years three to eight), while annually in January all state movements come together for a federal camp for years nine to 12, which runs for ten days.
Contents |
History
- For more information on the history of both Habonim and Dror, see the History section on the main 'Habonim Dror' entry.
Habonim was first brought to Australia in 1940, when seven new Australians decided to create a Zionist youth movement along similar lines to those that already existed in Europe. In March of that year the first meeting was held in Melbourne's Herzl Hall, and later in December, Habonim's first summer camp.
After a brief union with Betar in 1942, Habonim grew into an Australia-wide movement in May 1944. The following year, Habonim Australia's first hachshara (preparation, in Hebrew: הכשרה) farm was established in Springvale, about 25 km out of Melbourne's centre. The next year five Habonim graduates made aliyah settling on Kibbutz Kfar Blum.
In 1957, the first organised group of Habonim graduates made aliyah in a garin to Kibbutz Yizre'el. Six garinim would ultimately be formed with the intention of making aliyah. It is unclear how many succeeded.
Although Dror never had a presence in Australia, when the aligned kibbutz movements of Habonim and Dror merged in 1980, so too did their respective movements, with Habonim Dror coming into existence in 1981.
A more detailed history of the movement can be found on Habonim Dror Australia's website
Ideology
Habonim Dror Australia's ideology is divided into are four pillars: Chalutziut (pioneering), Hagshama Atzmit (personal fulfillment), Judaism, фтв Socialist-Zionism.
Movement structure
At an Australia-wide level (federal), there is an executive secretariat (mazkirut, in Hebrew: מזכירות) which includes a Secretary-General (mazkir, in Hebrew: מזכיר), Treasurer (gizbar, in Hebrew: גיזבר) and a Head of Education (rosh chinuch, in Hebrew: ראש חינוך). Similarly, each individual branch has these executive positions, along with a point of liaison with junior leaders as well as Jewish schools. Currently, and in recent years, due to lack of bogrim, the Adelaide branch has only a Secretary-General.
Recently there has been more of an emphasis on collective responsibility for the movement and a shift away from the hierarchical secretariat system.
See also
- Habonim Dror -- the global movement.
- Zionist youth movement
- Mark Regev -- former member of the Melbourne ken, and now Spokesman for the Prime Minister of Israel.
- Guy Spigelman -- former mazkir and now IDF spokesperson.
External links
Categories:
- Jewish youth organizations
- Zionist youth movements
- Zionism in Australia
- Labor Zionism
- Organizations established in 1940
|