Hashomer Hatzair

Hashomer Hatzair (or Hashomer Hatsair or HaShomer HaTzair) (Hebrew: "The Young Guard" or "Guardian Young") is a Zionist-socialist youth movement founded in 1913 in Galicia (now in Poland) and was also the name of the group's political party in the Yishuv in the pre-1948 British Mandate of Palestine.

In the State of Israel

After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the Hashomer Hatzair political party merged with other left wing parties to form Mapam which became the political party of both the youth movement and the Kibbutz Artzi federation.

Related Topics:
1948 Arab-Israeli War - Mapam

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Today, Hashomer Hatzair remains as a youth movement operating summer camps and youth clubs in Canada, The United States and Israel. The summer camp in Upstate New York and Perth, Canada is called Camp Shomria. Hashomer Hatzair runs educational activities promoting the peace process and withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza. In Israel it is was traditionally aligned with Mapam and later Meretz. It is not officially aligned with Meretz's successor party, Yahad, due to a recent merger of its parent organization, the Meretz-aligned Kibbutz Artzi Federation with the Labour Party's United Kibbutz Movement, Hashomer Hatzair is officially not aligned with either party though, by tradition, it is close in outlook to Yahad.

Related Topics:
Summer camp - Canada - The United States - Israel - New York - Perth - Peace process - West Bank - Gaza - Mapam - Meretz - Yahad - Labour Party - United Kibbutz Movement

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The movement has 3000 members worldwide (excluding Israel) running youth activities in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina. Uruguay, Chile, France, Belgium. Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands, Hungary, Bulgaria, Belarus, Ukraine and Australia.

Related Topics:
Canada - United States - Mexico - Venezuela - Brazil - Argentina - Uruguay - Chile - France - Belgium - Austria - Italy - Switzerland - Netherlands - Hungary - Bulgaria - Belarus - Ukraine - Australia

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Famous alumni include Tony Cliff, Mordecai Anielewicz, Abraham Leon, Benny Morris, Eliane Karp, Leopold Trepper, Amnon Linn, Abba Hushi, Sam Spiegel, Irv Weinstein, Manès Sperber and even Isser Harel and Menachem Begin who were briefly members before joining Mapai and the right wing Betar respectivly. Noam Chomsky sympathized with and worked with the group, although he was never a member.

Related Topics:
Tony Cliff - Mordecai Anielewicz - Abraham Leon - Benny Morris - Eliane Karp - Leopold Trepper - Amnon Linn - Abba Hushi - Sam Spiegel - Irv Weinstein - Manès Sperber - Isser Harel - Menachem Begin - Mapai - Betar - Noam Chomsky

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With the merger of the United Kibbutz Movement and Kibbutz Artzi, the likelihood of a merger between Hashomer Hatzair and UKM's youth movement, Habonim Dror has increased and the two youth movements, once rivals, have increasingly co-operated in various countries where they co-exist. Both movements even share an office in New York. However, the views of each movement on religion may be an obstacle to merger as Habonim Dror has a stronger identification with cultural Judaism as opposed to Hashomer Hatzair which has been at times stridently secular and anti-religious.

Related Topics:
Habonim Dror - New York

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