Habonim Dror is a Jewish, Socialist-Zionist youth movement which exists to take responsibility for the Jewish People, Israeli society and the world. Habonim Dror’s vision for an ideal society is one based on a critique of that society, and a method for the implementation of those critiques. The ideology of Habonim Dror is - for clarity - divided into two sections: actions and values. The actions are the ways in which we build our envisioned society, the values are the foundations and the guiding force of our actions. Each and every chaver/a embodies the spirit of Habonim Dror based on their experiences and values gained in the movement. What is written below is an attempt to represent that spirit in words.

 

ACTIONS

ציונות סוציאליסטית Socialist-Zionism

1. Habonim Dror believes in the participation of the Jewish people in building Israel as a Jewish state and in strengthening it as a society.

2. Habonim Dror believes that the Socialist practices of common ownership, collectivism, equal opportunity and democracy are essential in the creation of any community.

3. Habonim Dror participates in education, both in Israel and in The Diaspora, to strengthen Jewish unity based upon the centrality of Israel.

4. Habonim Dror believes in educating towards living in communities in Israel based on the structures of kibbutz and kvutsah, be it urban or agricultural.

5. Habonim Dror promotes the expression of Israeli culture to help chaverim foster a meaningful connection to the country and believes that the use of Hebrew – the national language of the Jewish people – is essential in developing this connection.

6. Habonim Dror believes in the Socialist-Zionist aim of Tikkun Olam, healing our world, on a personal, environmental and societal level. This can be achieved by:

a. Striving for betterment of self and our relationships with others.

b. Caring for our environment and correcting the ecological imbalance created by our society.

c. Striving towards an equitable society with equal access to resources for all humankind.

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יהדות Judaism

1. Habonim Dror believes in Cultural Judaism – a holistic approach to Judaism as a culture where religion and nationality are interwoven and integral parts.

2. Habonim Dror engages in a process of Jewish education through cultural practices and the use of sources and texts both secular and religious.

3 Habonim Dror facilitates the learning and questioning of one’s beliefs and heritage; encouraging the formulation of personal expression and meaning within our communal Judaism.

4. Habonim Dror believes that Judaism contains morals and wisdom of a just and humane society, by which all chaverim should aspire to live.

5. Habonim Dror believes in the centrality of the State of Israel as the home of the Jewish religion and people, and as an essential element of Jewish expression and education.

6. Habonim Dror recognises and strives towards the solidarity of the Jewish people. We are One People – Am Echad, characterised by mutual, collective responsibility.

7. Habonim Dror believes that a Jew is a person of Jewish descent or any person who declares himself or herself to be a Jew and who identifies with the history, narrative, ethical values, culture, civilization, community, and fate of the Jewish people.

 

הדרכה Hadracha

1. Habonim Dror educates informally through the processes of Lemida (theoretical learning) and Hitnasut (experiential learning).

2. Habonim Dror believes all chaverim need madrichim to constructively challenge and take an invested interest in the lives of their chanichim.

3. Habonim Dror believes in the concept of madrich mudrach. Madrichim should continually be engaging in self-education while educating others.

4. Habonim Dror believes in the notion of dugma ishit - that in order to honestly and truly advocate for one’s beliefs, one must be a living example and act according to those beliefs.

 

VALUES

שוויון ערך האדם Equality of Human Value

1. Habonim Dror believes that each and every human being is an entity which experiences life in complex ways, having the capacity to live a fulfilled and conscious life, and therefore has equal value.

2. Habonim Dror encourages its chaverim to lead lives that are collective and communal, and to take responsibility for one another.

3. Habonim Dror believes that the innate human qualities of goodness, love and creativity have the potential to flourish in every individual. It is our responsibility to foster this potential in ourselves and in others.

 

זהות Identity

1. Habonim Dror believes it is crucial to nurture and respect the uniqueness of each individual’s identity.

2. Habonim Dror believes that identification within a larger group, society, or people is a fundamental process through which every human can develop and find one’s place in the world.

3. Habonim Dror believes that identification within a larger group involves tying oneself to the shared future of that group.

4. Habonim Dror believes that engaging with shared practices, rituals and traditions is important in overcoming separations that may exist within a group, society or people, reinforcing shared and accumulated wisdom.

5. Habonim Dror believes in the right to self-determination of all peoples.

 

חלוציות Chalutziut

1. Habonim Dror believes in an ongoing process of transforming oneself through a constant introspection and critical evaluation of one’s own behaviours, beliefs and values.

2. Habonim Dror believes that the transformation of the individual detailed above is a critical step in the transformation of society as a whole.

3. Habonim Dror believes in the process of evaluating society: we should recognise the merits of society, and where we do not find merit, we shall strive to pioneer alternatives.

4. Habonim Dror believes that the above process is an inextricable element of the youth.

 

 

Hagshama is the manifestation of the above values and actions in one’s life.

1. Habonim Dror believes that Hagshama Atzmit is the process of personal fulfillment (mimush atzmi*) of all movement aims; thus turning the vision outlined in Habonim Dror’s ideology into a reality. Those who are living their lives intentionally, according to the movement’s values and are working towards reshaping the world according to these values are partaking in the process of Hagshama Atzmit.

2. Habonim Dror believes that Hagshama Tnuatit is the process of a movement striving towards the realisation of its ideology.

3. A movement’s ideology cannot be developed by an individual; it is developed and advanced by collectives. Hagshama Atzmit is therefore only relevant within a collective framework that is striving towards Hagshama Tnuatit.

4. As an individual chaver/a progresses through the movement, the tangible manifestations of Hagshama evolve and intensify (e.g. progressing through the junior and senior movement, going on Shnat Hachshara and leading as a boger/et). Habonim Dror believes that Chalutzic  Aliyah, through building a Socialist-Zionist community in Israel and embracing one’s Jewish identity, is the highest expression of Hagshama. 

5. Hagshama is not an attainable goal but an ongoing process. Habonim Dror encourages each chaver/a to continuously examine their life and to actively pursue a life that is inspired by the movement’s ideology.

 

* Mimush Atzmi, or self-fulfillment, is about personal satisfaction, happiness, and the right to flourish physically, intellectually and spiritually. This can exist in cooperation with Hagshama Atzmit, but in the case where an individual’s Mimush Atzmi is not aligned with movement values, then it does not align with Hagshama.