In the

Beginning

FIRST STEPS (1911-1929)

The pioneering days of the Labor Zionist youth movement in America were indeed difficult. We appeared in the arena of American life when no organized socialist youth movement existed. Socialism
was still considered an imported product. Its application to American realities found but little response. Zionism was somewhat more popular Zionist youth clubs did exist in the various centers of America, though they were not Zionist in the sense that the term is employed today Nor were the youth groups banded together in any sort of organization bearing a distinct ideological, political, and educational physiognomy Such was the American scene when the Young Poale Zion appeared.

The period extending from 1911 to 1920 may be considered the "prehistoric" period of our movement. The groups formed in that interval were spontaneously organized. They were totally lacking in central direction. The elements that found their place in our ranks were primarily an immigrant youth. Their knowledge of Socialist Zionism was acquired abroad where some of them were active in the Zionist and labor movements. Coming to America, they sought a social environment where they could continue their work. The youth groups that were founded in those days were naturally Yiddish-speaking. The young Jewish immigrant found in the Young Poale Zion of those times an environment suitable for his cultural and social life.

The Poale Zion Party took cognizance of these young elements and from time to time assigned organizational work among the youth to a special committee. These Committees on Youth were temporary in nature and in most cases limited their activities to organizational routine rather than to the construction of a systematic program. A senior chaver devoted one or two hours a day to correspondence, issuing programs, and similar routine activities. Working under such conditions, the contacts with the various groups throughout the country were weak. Nor did the Committees on Youth possess the necessary financial means to engage in any extensive activity. The budget for the year 1917-1918, for example, was less than four hundred dollars. This sum included the secretary's salary, literature, postage, traveling expenses, and a dozen other items. The income from dues for the same period was less than seventy dollars.

In spite of the lack of leadership, of literature, and of a well organized center, the achievements of our movement during that period were considerable. The year 1917-18 was probably the peak year of that period. For then we numbered some twenty-five clubs with an approximate membership of seven hundred. The strongest centers were New England and New York. Our youth in Chicago consisted of three clubs, but our members controlled and led the Maccabee Children's Clubs with a membership of over five hundred. An attempt was made to organize English-speaking clubs; the guiding principle was that English was to be employed only as a transitional language, and that within a short time the club was to conduct its educational work in Yiddish.

The cultural level of the movement in that period was very high. Yiddish and Hebrew literature, Jewish history, Jewish folk songs and labor songs all gained a firm foothold in our ranks. Many study circles were formed, the most popular subjects being political economy, socialism, trade unionism, Jewish history and literature. That the most popular study circles were those pertaining to political economy
and trade unions is an indication of the fact that the youth elements were primarily workers. They oriented themselves mostly along lines of socialism and Diaspora work, since Zionism was at that time weak and without any positive effect on American Jewish life.

The press of our movement contributed greatly to our cultural development. The late Joel Entin wrote the following about our press: "As early as 1914, the youth press made its appearance. The New York delegate brought along the first mimeographed youth publication to the Party convention in Cleveland. A little later, the first issue of the Yunger Yiddisher Kemfer appeared weekly and, in times of financial stress, monthly. Very often, the publication was only a section of the Party paper, the Yiddisher Kemfer, edited by a special Youth Committee. . . ."

It is remarkable how the Yunger Yiddisher Kemfer affected the development of our movement. The fate of the movement was closely bound up with the publication since its content and size always reflected the strength and activity of the organization. When the paper suspended publication, the organization itself almost disbanded.

The place of English in the movement is best revealed by the following: When the above publication first appeared, it was entirely in Yiddish. Later, at one of the youth conferences, a resolution was adopted that an English section be included. The resolution had many adherents and opponents, and it was necessary to submit this question to a general referendum. The referendum recognized the "rights of English" but at the same time stipulated that the English section must occupy not more than one third of the publication.

This period also marked the beginning of a youth library. Three pamphlets were published—one on socialism, in Yiddish, and a pamphlet on Poale Zionism and a call to Jewish youth, both in English. In fund-raising our movement made valuable contributions. The Palestine Workers Fund (now the Histadrut Campaign) was our most beloved fund, and in many cities it was inaugurated through our initiative. In the two collections of 1917-18, our youth raised three thousand dollars. Much devotion was shown in the activities for the Jewish National Fund, which included distribution of boxes, sale of flowers and stamps, and a voluntary membership tax. Likewise, the youth participated in the distribution and sale of the shekel for the Zionist Congress, in the election campaign to the American Jewish Congress, and in the selling of shares in as well as copies of the daily publication of the Poale Zion, Die Zeit,

In 1919, our youth movement found itself in a very disorganized state. This may be traced to the lack of leadership caused by the enlistment of some of our most active chaverim in the Jewish Legion and their leaving for Palestine to fight for the Jewish homeland. This was the first chalutz manifestation in America.

An analysis of this period shows that the movement then was by no means oriented on the American scene. This may be attributed largely to the fact that the chaverim who came from abroad knew very little of American conditions and hence endeavored to transplant European methods in American soil. The very name of the organization, Junior Poale Zion, is indicative of the fact that the groups were but the youthful counterpart of the Poale Zion Party. The separate youth organization filled merely a social need rather than an educational one.
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The second cycle in the development of our youth was the period of 1920-1929, in which an attempt to penetrate American youth was made. To foster the growth of the movement, the leadership of that time called the first convention in August, 1920, at Pittsburgh, where the delegates representing some two or three hundred members assembled. At that convention the delegates decided to form the organization Young Poale Zion (until the time known as Junior Poale Zion) and declared itself an autonomous organization working in close cooperation with the Party. It worked out a constitution and elected its own administration. The principles of the new organization follow:

The aim of the Young Poale Zion movement is to educate and prepare the Jewish youth for the         struggle for the liberation of the Jewish nation, for the upbuilding of the National Homeland in Eretz Israel and for the emancipation of the Jewish working class together with the workers of all nations.

The Young Poale Zion movement is a section of the Poale Zion Party of America.* The specific purpose of the youth movement is to prepare and to educate the American Jewish youth to aid and to become active partners in the struggle of the Party.

The Young Poale Zion movement dedicates itself to the fight against assimilation and to the education of Jewish youth in the spirit of progressive Jewish nationalism.

The work of our members will consist of two parts: first, practical Poale Zionist and national Jewish activity; second, education and self-education along the lines of secular and Jewish culture.

The language of the movement is Yiddish.

The youth movement is autonomous. The Central Committee will consist of nine people, five from the ranks of the youth, and four senior chaverim; one of the seniors will serve as secretary. The nine chaverim will be elected by the Convention. The four seniors must be approved by the Central Committee. Changes in personnel are subject to a movement referendum.

Decisions and action opposed to party policy can be vetoed by the Central Committee.

The decision of the first convention to become autonomous, with separate administrative organs, was very beneficial, as it charged the leadership of the youth with a responsibility for the development of the organization. Nevertheless, the post-war recovery period of our youth was long and drawn out. In September, 1922, at the second convention in Hartford, it was reported that the organization was composed of thirteen clubs, of which six were in New England, three in New York City, two in Montreal, and one each in Rochester and Toronto. No publication appeared. Practical activities were very -meager. The total membership was two hundred and rose during the following year to only four hundred.

A monthly Yiddish-English publication called Yugnt was launched. The Yiddish section was rich in content, its tone militant and socialistic. The English section was limited in size; socialism was treated with kid gloves; the revolutionary tone was absent. Yugnt was not merely a publication in two sections, Yiddish and English; it was, in reality, two organs—the Yiddish addressing itself to a working, class-conscious, and revolutionary element; the English to a liberal American youth, who knew little of national problems and much less of social problems.

It must be remembered that the third decade of this century was one of the most critical periods in the social history of the United States—the "jazz age." Being part of American youth, the Jewish youth, too, was drawn into the whirling life of the country and contributed on no small measure to the "spiritual activities" of that period. Small wonder, then, that our leadership was at a loss for an approach to American Jewish youth; the English section of the publication of that period gave clear evidence of their helplessness. Thus, their activities were again restricted to the Yiddish-speaking elements. The 1923 report tells us of great activity on behalf of the Palestinian funds'—the movement raised two thousand dollars for the Palestine Labor Fund—and of participation in trade union activities, strikes, picketing, etc.

Considerable advances were made in 1923-24. The Yugnt appeared at regular intervals. Labor Zionist schools were formed in New York and in Chicago for the training of leadership. Ten thousand dollars was raised for the Jewish National Fund, Palestine Labor Fund, and the Labor Sanitorium Fund, the latter sponsored by the Farband. Libraries, dramatic circles, and choirs were established in many cities. Labor activities were intensified. Leading chaverim of our movement in Paterson played a prominent role in the silk workers' strike; the secretaryship of the bakers' strike in New York was headed by one of our members; the St. Louis club contributed greatly to the furriers' strike.

A new problem arose. Seven new clubs were formed, consisting of American-born elements. At last we had begun to penetrate American youth. But what educational program was to be employed with these groups? Were they capable of understanding the essence of Socialist Zionism? The problem was no longer how to organize American Jewish youth but rather how to keep it in our ranks and how to fuse it with the rest of the movement. This problem continued to demand attention at conferences for several years.

In the mid-1920's a better understanding and a closer relationship on the part of our youth with Palestinian working youth was fostered by the book campaign that was undertaken for Hanoar Haoved, the youth movement of the Histadrut. The writer recalls how deeply he was impressed by the discussion of this book campaign at his first visit to a Young Poale Zion meeting. This club, which was located in the Midwest, was typical of the new elements that were drawn into the movement during that period. While all previous discussions of practical fund-raising campaigns had had little effect, this new campaign brought forth a great response. For the first time we were made to feel that there was a Palestinian working youth that needed our cooperation .The request was a very simple one: "Send us books!" Over two thousand books were transmitted. From that time on we maintained a close contact with the Hanoar Haoved.

This period also witnessed an increase in membership. One-fourth of our movement now consisted of American elements; the monthly publication was enlarged, the English section enriched; simultaneously a special activity on behalf of the Jewish Folk Shulen and Jewish Teachers' Seminary was conducted. The movement was now ready for consolidation.

In 1927 the national secretary, for the first time in our history, made a national tour and thus established contact with forty cities. Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and Winnipeg were visited for
the first time. New groups were formed, and, at the Toronto convention held in September, 1927, it was reported that thirty-two groups were affiliated with our movement, of which eighteen were English-speaking.

In 1928 two notable events transpired. During that year two or three children's clubs were formed. They bore the name of Junior Young Poale Zion and were composed of children between the ages of thirteen and sixteen, organized by members of our youth clubs. Their permanent status was established in a convention resolution. But again we were at a loss as to what to do with the children. Many chaverim debated the advisability of organizing children's groups. The opponents always raised the question: "How can one teach Poale Zionism to children of that age?" Very few chaverim believed that in later years these children's groups would constitute the major part of our organization and that the organizational structure would be changed because of the entrance of American children.

The same year witnessed a larger interest in the Hanoar Haoved. The Palestinian delegation that toured the country devoted much of its time to our youth. Thus a better understanding of the Histadrut in general and of the Hanoar Haoved in particular was effected. As a result we decided to make other Zionist youth groups aware of the existence and activities of the Hanoar Haoved. In Winnipeg, Minneapolis, Toronto, and Washington, we sponsored conferences of Jewish youth clubs. Though the response was not very favorable, this experiment was beneficial since it brought us into contact with other groups and opened the way for further cooperation with other elements.

The increase of our activities was not always accompanied by concomitant organizational expansion. The American elements drawn into the movement were between the ages of seventeen and twenty-one. Labor Zionism was strange to them, and it was difficult to retain them. They did not appreciate the social life of the movement and the Yiddish-speaking elements. Hence, when the national office neglected its contacts, there were immediate deleterious effects on the groups. In 1929, when the secretariat changed, many of the groups were in a disorganized state. Such was the condition of our youth at the close of 1929. It must be pointed out that, during that year, four of the oldest groups in St. Louis, Chicago, Winnipeg, and Toronto were transferred to the Poale Zion, thus draining the youth organization of some of its most active chaverim.

From the viewpoint of ideological development the year was most important. A few of our chaverim began to talk about chalutztiut. At first the term was merely an abstraction, but when we published the 
the pamphlet Tel Chai and Trumpeldor, some chaverim began to awaken to the real meaning of Labor Zionism. An article by Tabenkin on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Second Aliya, which was included in the pamphlet, taught our chaverim the meaning of such concepts as kibbush avodah (conquest of labor), chalutziut (pioneering), and hagshama (self-realization). In Detroit, a group was formed under the name of "Kvutzah" whose aim was to prepare itself to leave for Palestine within two years. Some of its chaverim were sent to agricultural colleges; plans were drawn up for a hachshara (training) farm. Several Young Poale Zion chaverim joined the "Kvutzah" from its inception.

We were assembled at our Washington convention, in the last days of August, 1929, when news of the Arab riots in Palestine was received. The session on cr5alutziut was as spontaneous as were the events themselves. And the answer was that the "Young Poale Zion must strengthen the position of the chalutzim in Palestine." A few members immediately indicated their readiness to leave for Palestine. In 1929 our youth saw in the events in Palestine an attack on our national honor. Chalutziut became synonymous with self-defense.

A summary of the development of our movement during the years 1920-29 points clearly to the following conclusions: The first five or six years were accompanied by very few changes in our organizational methods. In a sense, that period may be included in the "prehistoric" period of our organization. Only in the years of 1927-29 had the Young Poale Zion penetrated American youth. By that time a small group of chaverim who had come through our ranks were prepared to assume the leadership of the movement and to guide it for the next several years.

MOSHE COHEN, Los Angeles, 1950

* In 1928 the Pioneer Women also recognized the Young Poale Zion as its youth movement. In 1931 the organization was similarly recognized by the Jewish National Workers Alliance (Farband) and, together with the Farband Yugnt Clubs, formed the Young Poale Zion Alliance, the official youth movement of all sectors of the Labor Zionist movement in America.