Published: 5 February 2019
Last updated: 4 March 2024
FROM THE 1930S-1980S, Habonim Dror garinim (aliyah groups) had pioneered some 50 kibbutzim around Israel, out of 270 kibbutzim in total. With the kibbutzim in decline, through the 1990s there was almost no aliyah at all from Habonim Dror Australia.
As a result of this, youth movements connected to the values of the kibbutz movement needed to find new ways to realise their ideology.
In parallel, a new sister movement called Dror Israel was formed in 2006, which sought to revive the values of the kibbutz in an urban setting. As of today, there are approximately 1,500 members of Dror Israel. Amongst this group are around 20 Australians, mostly living in Haifa and Tiberias.
FULL STORY The passionate struggle over the future of Labor Zionist youth movements (Times of Israel)
Photo: Alumni of Habonim Dror at Ben-Gurion Airport (Nathan Brown)
