The Arbeter-ring in Yisroel – Brith Haavoda ( - lit., Worker's Circle in Israel – Labor Alliance) was the

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i branch of the

International Jewish Labor Bund The International Jewish Labor Bund (ILJB) was a New York-based international Jewish socialist organization, based on the legacy of the General Jewish Labour Bund founded in the Russian empire in 1897 and the Polish Bund that was active in the i ...

, launched in 1951 and disbanded in 2019.Shani Littman,
An anti-Zionist Movement That Promoted Judaism as a Secular Culture Shuts Its Doors
, ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

'', 19 September 2019

History

The Bund in Israel was founded by Holocaust refugees that settled in Israel as a result of the situation-post and having family in Israel rather than political conviction; many of them had come from states with active Bundist movements like Poland and Lithuania and had opposed

Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

in diaspora. During the 1950s and 60s the organisation had c.2,000 members. Upon its dissolution the organisation transferred most of its assets to the Beit Shalom Aleichem; a Yiddishist-Zionist organisation.

Electoral participation

The Israeli Bund chapter presented a list at the 1959 Knesset election, under the name Socialist Union, but failed to win a seat with only 1,322 (0.1%) votes of the roughly 8,100 required.

Ideology

As such, the organisation became focused on the Bundist ideals of ''Doikeit'' or "Hereness", promoting Yiddish culture in Israel in the same way they had in their countries of origin. While the group openly supported justice for

Palestinians Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenou ...

and

Mizrahi Jews Mizrahi Jews (), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () in plural and ''Mizrahi'' () in singular, and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are terms used in Israeli discourse to refer to a grouping of Jews, Jewish c ...

alike, it found difficulty reaching out to these groups due to its refusal to organise in any language other than Yiddish. The Israeli Bund opposed the anti-Yiddish policies of the Zionist movement and Israeli government, although failed to preserve the language; with many of its own members not teaching the next generation how to speak it.

Activities

The Israeli Bund ran biweekly meetings, lectures, a theatre troupe, and a choir.

Staff

Secretaries

Its first secretary was Isachar (Oskar) Artuski (birth name: Eichenbaum/Aykhenboym, 1903 or 1908-1971), a former Polish Communist who had joined the Bund in 1935. He was also the founder and first editor of ''Lebns Fragn'' (see below) and a correspondent of an American Trotskyist magazine “Labor Action”. Since 2006 the present secretary has been Josef Fraind, who immigrated to Israel from

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

in 1952.

Other

Bella Bryks-Klein has been the Director of Cultural Events and Library since January 2007 to the present.

Lebns Fragn

The Israeli Bundist magazine was ''

Lebns Fragn ''Lebns Fragn'' (Life questions, Yiddish: לעבנס־פֿראַגן) was a Yiddish, Bundist-orientated magazine, published bimonthly in Israel. The first issue appeared in May 1951, under the editorship of Isachar Artuski. The responsibility for ...

'' (, Life questions), founded in May 1951 by Isachar Artuski, the responsible editor was Ben-Zion "Bentsl" Tsalevitsh (1883-1967), who moved to Mandatory Palestine in 1922. After Artuski's death in November 1971, Yitskhok Luden became its editor. Ceased publication in 2014.

Sources

Iconography

a scanned front page of ''Lebns Fragn''

Filmography

*''Bundists in Israel'' (''Bundaiim''), 2007 (director:

Eran Torbiner Eran is an ancient town and archaeological site in the Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh, India. It was one of the ancient mints for Indian dynasties as evidenced by the diverse coins excavated here. The site has 5th and 6th-century Gupta era t ...

), se
the synopsis page
on the website bundism.net an
the director's short bio
on the same site. The whole documentary has been pu
online on Youtube
by its director. * "The Bund: Utopia For Real", 1998(?) (Director:

Izzy Abrahami Izzy is a common nickname for the given names Israel, Isaac, Isidor, Isidore, Isadore, Isidora, Isabel, Isobel, Isabella, Isaiah, Issam, etc. Izzy, Izzie, Issie, Issy, Isy or Izy may refer to: People Izzy * Israel Izzy Abraham (born 1980 ...

), "From the members of the Israeli Bund club in Tel Aviv we hear of the oppression the Bundists have suffered in Zionist Israel...
For more information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arbeter-ring in Yisroel - Brith Haavoda Bundism in Israel Jewish anti-Zionism in Israel Jewish anti-Zionist organizations Secular Jewish culture in Israel Socialism in Israel Yiddish culture in Tel Aviv 1951 establishments in Israel 2019 disestablishments in Israel