FROM METULLA TO EILAT

Back in the United States and Canada, things were different for us in Habonim. How we loved the debates, the innumerable discussions and informal meetings devoted to ideology. We had it all figured out. We started with the basic question, "Are the Jews a Nation?" and proceeded, step by step, until we got to the synthesis of Zionism and socialism.

How delightful it was to engage in the debate on dual loyalties— America and Palestine, the place of the movement in the American Jewish community and on the American scene in general. Palestine— a homeland, a commonwealth, a state? Which was it to be? And then, the types of subjects arising from the introduction of scouting. What was scouting? Should our girls wear lipstick? Is social dancing compatible with pioneering? . . . and on and on in endless stimulating debate.

And, overriding all the principles, there was one unshakable doctrine—hagshama atzmit, self-realization, meaning not only aliya but participating in the pioneering way of life as embodied in the collective life of the Kibbutz. For it was not enough to create a Jewish homeland. It was to be a particular kind of home, based on equality and social justice. Was there a more natural way of finding expression for that ideal than in the kibbutz? And so we educated toward the kibbutz as our ideal way of life.

It is perhaps too early to determine whether or not this emphasis was correct. Several things emerge from an examination of the Habonim aliya. Almost the entire leadership of Habonim immediately preceding, during, and immediately following the Second World War came to Palestine, nearly all of them going to a kibbutz. Almost all are permanently settled here, and fully a half make agriculture their permanent way of life. The same is probably true of the rank and file of Habonim of that period who came here.

But my purpose here is not to relate the story of Habonim in kibbutzim, but to tell the story of Habonim and other Americans who came to Israel and found their place in other walks of life. That brings me back to the beginning of this article. In the "old country," we debated ideology, and here we participated actively in the building of the State. And what a difference! Instead of "Are the Jews a Nation?" we worried about employment. Instead of a Socialist-Zionist synthesis, we were concerned about housing. Instead of dual loyalties, we were concerned about the education of our children. And how unprepared we were to deal with these problems! Here and there some managed to find their way on their own. A goodly number got started in the armed forces. We learned Hebrew, we learned trades, we established connections; and it was easier for us to find our place as civilians after service. Some individuals found work in the government, the Jewish Agency, and the Histadrut, as economists, statisticians, and social workers.

But, by and large, Habonim and other Americans who left the kibbutz were not able, in the years following Israelis War of Independence, from 1949 to 1951, to adjust themselves to life in Israel outside the kibbutz and many reluctantly or otherwise found their way back to the United States and Canada. This was true for the great majority of the five thousand Americans of all types, from all kinds of organizations, including many who had never belonged to a Zionist organization, who came to Israel during that period. The country was simply not ready for them. It was geared to mass treatment for mass immigration from North African, Arab, and East European countries. There was neither the machinery nor the climate necessary for smooth integration of immigrants from the Western countries. The Jewish Agency set up a special department; however, it could not function properly due to an inadequate budget and the fact that the general conditions offered to the newcomer from the Western countries were unacceptable. What was considered as fairly comfortable housing by an immigrant from North Africa was nothing more than a shelter in a slum area as far as Americans were concerned.

The employment question was not easier. To the extent that the Americans were professional and technical people of high skills, they could have been absorbed but for their own lack of knowledge of Hebrew and the complete lack of housing for themselves and their families. Those of us who came from Habonim had no experience or training or background of any kind in dealing with the practical aspects of integration. Our ideological debates prepared us emotionally and intellectually for a full Jewish life in a Jewish state, but left us woefully unprepared for facing and living up to the hard facts of the economic and social life in Israel. On top of that, those of Habonim who left the kibbutz always had a guilty conscience and felt they had betrayed their friends and themselves.

All these factors combined, our own unpreparedness and the conditions existing in the new state, meant that a golden opportunity was lost insofar as American aliya was concerned. The majority of the Americans who came here-between 1949- 51 returned. Many of them were bitterly disappointed; and many placed the blame, sometimes wrongly, on others in an effort to cover up their own shortcomings. If the country would have absorbed the bulk of the newcomers from America during those crucial years, the effect upon American aliya would have been tremendous. The enthusiasm for Israel was at its peak; and, if these people had succeeded in settling here, they undoubtedly would have encouraged thousands of others to come.

In 1952, after most of the five thousand had returned and the enthusiasm on the part of American Jewish youth for personal identification with Israel was somewhat dampened, aliya from America and Canada began to decline seriously. Instead of one thousand to two thousand a year, aliya figures went down to four hundred to five hundred and kept on dropping until they reached the low point of about two hundred in 1956.

In 1952, some of us who had been in Israel for a number of years began to consider seriously the problems of integration of Americans. After a number of discussions, it was decided to try to form an organization composed of Americans and Canadians in Israel to deal with the problem of integration. Among the initiators of the organization were two former national secretaries of Habonim, David Breslau and Akiva Skidell; Dr. H. Pomerenz, the former leader of the Chicago Poale-Zion; and Sophie Udin, the founder of the American Pioneer Women. An organization called Hitchadut Olei America VeCanada (Organization of American and Canadian Immigrants) was established early in 1955 on a completely non-political and non-partisan line, with the writer serving as the first executive secretary.

The purpose of the organization was to encourage aliya from the United States and Canada, assisting in the integration of those who come here from those countries so that they would remain in Israel and become contented and useful citizens of the country and, in that way, directly encourage their relatives and friends to come over. It was recognized at the very beginning that every American remaining here can potentially influence five or ten others to come. The problems of integration were manifold. It was, therefore, felt that activities in the United States that concerned direct propaganda and education for aliya were matters that must be dealt with by the official Zionist bodies and the Jewish Agency, and that the activity of the organization was to be confined solely to assisting in the integration of those who did come. To the extent that the organization could have contact with potential immigrants before they came, it would advise them prior to their departure.

There was a second cardinal idea; and that was that in all matters pertaining to the integration of Americans and information and advice prior to their leaving the United States, all Zionist bodies there should
recognize the organization as their arm in Israel, turning to it themselves, and directing potential immigrants to it, and receiving from it information and advice, upon which they would act on policy matters affecting such activities in the Jewish Agency and in their representations to the government. It was felt that, should the organization be able to bring about such an organizational tie-up, it would gain in prestige in the country and, as a result, would be better able to fulfill its aims. There was another consideration that some of the founders, including the writer, had, and that was that by such an organizational tie-up we might help to revitalize the Zionist organizations in America. The thinking behind this was that the dynamics of the Zionist movement express themselves in aliya. All other activities—public relations, fundraising, education—as important and essential as they were, could not in themselves make for a dynamic Zionist movement. Therefore, aliya, even on the extremely small scale that it existed from America, was vital, not only for Israel but for the Zionist movement itself. To the extent that this organizational tie-up would more actively engage the Zionist movement in America in participating in matters of aliya from America, it would have a healthy influence on the movement there.

The methods for achieving the aims of the organization in the integration field were thought of as being three-fold: (1) direct personal service to each and every newcomer from the United States and Canada; (2) the creation of financial institutions with resources that could be directly utilized by the organization under its integration program; (3) the creation of a favorable climate among official and semi-official bodies and the public at large for this aliya, and assistance by them to help in its integration.
The creation of the Hitachdut finally gave an "address" to Americans and Canadians coming here and to those who were here and needed assistance. Although there was no budget available for financial assistance, the organization succeeded to some extent in getting that assistance from public and semi-public bodies. But it was not only the financial assistance in itself that was important for the newcomer; it was the fact that he had some place to turn where someone would understand him and would be able to represent him competently. The organization stimulated greater activity on the part of the Jewish Agency and the government for integration of Americans and Canadians. It provided social activities, a reception committee, and in general made it easier for the newcomer to take the bumps.

It is difficult to determine how many Americans remained in Israel because of the assistance of the Hitachdut, but certainly it is safe to say that a good number of those who did remain can be credited to the Hitachdut.

Basically the organization dealt with the integration of the individual as contrasted with the group integration of those coming from organized youth movements to the agricultural settlements. Those coming to settle on the land found many institutions ready and able to accept them and to deal with them. The individual found nothing like this; nevertheless, many found their way, including a goodly number of Habonim. We will find them today in Israel, from Dan to Eilat, in all walks of life, as teachers, government employees, lawyers, engineers, doctors, professors, administrators, executives in private industry, skilled workers, clerks, farmers, etc. The need for individual attention still exists and will always exist.

Keeping in mind everything I have said with reference to individual and personal attention, practical steps for aliya from the West must nevertheless be based on group aliya. We must realize that the field of absorption of professional aliya is limited, particularly because the more recent European immigration brought with it trained, professional people, and also because of the success of the Hebrew University and the Haifa Technion in providing properly trained professionals.

There is a field for highly skilled technical workers, but unfortunately not too many Jews are engaged in such occupations. PATWA (Professional and Technical Workers Aliya) in the United States and England looked for a complete year for a Jew who knew how to operate a paper machine and did not succeed in finding even one candidate. Because of this situation one cannot talk today of aliya from the West without solving the problem of employment. Therefore, it must be a planned aliya, based on economic projects by those who come, which will create employment for themselves and for others. This is not a dream but a definite possibility. It needs very careful planning and a first class organizer. Let me give you the best example of this.

Near the paper mill in Hadera there is the Mechanica Company, founded by Habonim graduates and others from Baltimore, which overhauls certain spare parts of automobiles. These boys pooled their engineering, technical, and administrative skills, raised some capital among themselves, their parents, and friends, and set up their enterprise in 1952. Today they have expanded and employ one hundred people, and are now entering a second expansion phase. This was done, in the beginning, actually on a shoestring. Small and medium projects of this kind are still needed in the country, and will get government backing and financial help. This must, in my opinion, be the trend.

In summary, one can say that, though an historic opportunity was lost in the years 1949-1951, aliya from the United States and Canada is continuing and, in the past three years, has increased to approximately five hundred settlers a year. The Americans who are settled here permanently are making a contribution to Israel, both in the farm settlements and in individual professions and skills; among them a not inconsiderable number of Habonim graduates is to be found. The movement has every reason to be proud of this contribution. At the same time, it must reorient its thinking regarding aliya, and actively engage in preparing its numbers for aliya in groups designed for specific economic projects needed in the country, giving immediate employment to those coming with the group and creating potential employment for others. This does not detract in any way from education towards the farming cooperatives. That can, and must, continue; but it will encourage other groups and individuals as well to come and stay.

MOSHE GOLDBERG, Tel Aviv, 1960