Magshimey Herut
Encyclopedia
World Magshimey Herut is a Zionist young adult movement founded in 1999 by a group of Jewish activists who felt the need for a young adult movement dedicated to the ideals of aliyah
, social justice
and the territorial integrity of the Land of Israel
. The world headquarters of the movement are located in Israel symbolizing the state of Israel's centrality to Jewish life.
World MH is dedicated to a strong and independent Jewish nation in the Land of Israel, composed of Jews from around the world reuniting in their homeland. To this end the movement works in conjunction with the World Zionist Organization
(WZO), the Jewish Agency for Israel
, and the Jewish National Fund
on projects that advance common goals.
members looking to answer the need for a hagshama movement of young adult activists dedicated to the personal implementation of their commitment to social justice, the unity of the Hebrew nation and the integrity of the Land of Israel.
When a Likud
government led by Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu
relinquished parts of Hebron
to Yasser Arafat
in 1998, Betar (the youth movement most associated with the Likud) members were uncertain as to how to view a Likud Prime Minister's betrayal of one of their most sacred principles. As a reaction to the Prime Minister's decision, the Director of Overseas Activities at the time, Karma Feinstein-Cohen, along with a group of ideological purists and veteran activists from chapters throughout the world, left Betar in order to establish a new movement.
Led by a group of activists from different religious backgrounds, the new movement made an effort to be more sympathetic to all levels of Jewish observance. This was done because the unity of the Jewish people was their ultimate objective, above all.
World MH is proactively engaged in the fulfillment of classic Zionist goals:
Like the founding fathers of Zionism who dedicated their lives to the establishment of a state, dedication is needed to finish this Zionist task.
Although for the first time in two millennia there is a Jewish state, it is engaged in constant struggle for its continued existence. World MH takes the responsibility to guarantee its future. They gladly do so and commit themselves to the effort in order to ensure the welfare of Israel and the fulfillment of Zionism.
World MH views itself as loyal to the basic Zionist teachings of Zev Jabotinsky and the Revisionist Zionist Movement. Revisionist Zionism advocates the 'revision' of the 'practical Zionism' of David Ben Gurion and Chaim Weizmann, which was focused on independent settlement of the Land of Israel. Revisionist Zionism was instead centered on a vision of "political Zionism", which Jabotinsky regarded as following the legacy of Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern political Zionism. In its early years, and under Jabotinsky's leadership, Revisionist Zionism was focused on gaining British aid for settlement. In 1925, Jabotinsky formed the Union of Zionists Revisionists, in the World Zionist Congress, to advocate his views, which included increased cooperation with the British on transforming the entire Mandate for Palestine on both sides of the Jordan River into a sovereign Jewish state, loyal to the British Empire. To this end, Jabotinsky advocated for mass Jewish immigration from Europe and the creation of a second Jewish Legion to guard a promising Jewish state.
“I did not learn my Zionism from the works of Achad Haam, not even from Herzl and Nordau. I learned how to be a Zionist from the Gentiles. The best part of my youth I spent in Rome, where I made a careful study of the Italians. At the turn of the century, Italy was a free and pleasant country, liberal, peace-loving, carefree without the slightest trace of chauvinism – just a country almost 100 per cent Italian, harming nobody, persecuting no one. ‘This is how every nation should live and us Jews too’. I said to myself. Now sometimes I hear the argument that this Gentile Zionist school was detrimental, because Zionism must be nourished exclusively from Jewish sources with all the accompanying hair-splitting – for and against. But it is my view that this approach is incorrect. There is no hair-splitting in Zionism. There is also no for or against. Zionism is water and air, valley and hill. It is enough for one to observe the world of the Almighty in order to learn the wisdom of it all. And whether that corner of the world of the Almighty that one observes be Italy, France or England – it is of no consequence."
-Ze’ev Jabotinsky (‘By Intellect’, 1934, On Literature and Art)
1. Aliyah assistance from A to Z
2. Tailor-made internships
3. Leadership seminars
4. Helping with college campus activism
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
, social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
and the territorial integrity of the Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
. The world headquarters of the movement are located in Israel symbolizing the state of Israel's centrality to Jewish life.
World MH is dedicated to a strong and independent Jewish nation in the Land of Israel, composed of Jews from around the world reuniting in their homeland. To this end the movement works in conjunction with the World Zionist Organization
World Zionist Organization
The World Zionist Organization , or WZO, was founded as the Zionist Organization , or ZO, in 1897 at the First Zionist Congress, held from August 29 to August 31 in Basel, Switzerland...
(WZO), the Jewish Agency for Israel
Jewish Agency for Israel
The Jewish Agency for Israel , also known as the Sochnut or JAFI, served as the organization in charge of immigration and absorption of Jews from the Diaspora into the state of Israel.-History:...
, and the Jewish National Fund
Jewish National Fund
The Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for Jewish settlement. The JNF is a quasi-governmental, non-profit organisation...
on projects that advance common goals.
History
World MH was founded in 1999 by a number of BetarBetar
The Betar Movement is a Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Vladimir Jabotinsky. It has been traditionally linked to the original Herut and then Likud political parties of Israel, and was closely affiliated with the pre-Israel Revisionist Zionist splinter group...
members looking to answer the need for a hagshama movement of young adult activists dedicated to the personal implementation of their commitment to social justice, the unity of the Hebrew nation and the integrity of the Land of Israel.
When a Likud
Likud
Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...
government led by Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is the current Prime Minister of Israel. He serves also as the Chairman of the Likud Party, as a Knesset member, as the Health Minister of Israel, as the Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel and as the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel.Netanyahu is the first and, to...
relinquished parts of Hebron
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
to Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
in 1998, Betar (the youth movement most associated with the Likud) members were uncertain as to how to view a Likud Prime Minister's betrayal of one of their most sacred principles. As a reaction to the Prime Minister's decision, the Director of Overseas Activities at the time, Karma Feinstein-Cohen, along with a group of ideological purists and veteran activists from chapters throughout the world, left Betar in order to establish a new movement.
Led by a group of activists from different religious backgrounds, the new movement made an effort to be more sympathetic to all levels of Jewish observance. This was done because the unity of the Jewish people was their ultimate objective, above all.
Ideology
World MH is a Zionist movement. It unabashedly embraces Zionism as the legitimate term to describe the just aspirations of the Jewish people for normalcy and sovereignty in their national homeland.World MH is proactively engaged in the fulfillment of classic Zionist goals:
- The ingathering of the majority of world Jewry into the Land of Israel
- Jewish settlement throughout the homeland
- The incorporation of the entire Land into the free nation-state of the Jewish people, in the State of Israel.
Like the founding fathers of Zionism who dedicated their lives to the establishment of a state, dedication is needed to finish this Zionist task.
Although for the first time in two millennia there is a Jewish state, it is engaged in constant struggle for its continued existence. World MH takes the responsibility to guarantee its future. They gladly do so and commit themselves to the effort in order to ensure the welfare of Israel and the fulfillment of Zionism.
World MH views itself as loyal to the basic Zionist teachings of Zev Jabotinsky and the Revisionist Zionist Movement. Revisionist Zionism advocates the 'revision' of the 'practical Zionism' of David Ben Gurion and Chaim Weizmann, which was focused on independent settlement of the Land of Israel. Revisionist Zionism was instead centered on a vision of "political Zionism", which Jabotinsky regarded as following the legacy of Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern political Zionism. In its early years, and under Jabotinsky's leadership, Revisionist Zionism was focused on gaining British aid for settlement. In 1925, Jabotinsky formed the Union of Zionists Revisionists, in the World Zionist Congress, to advocate his views, which included increased cooperation with the British on transforming the entire Mandate for Palestine on both sides of the Jordan River into a sovereign Jewish state, loyal to the British Empire. To this end, Jabotinsky advocated for mass Jewish immigration from Europe and the creation of a second Jewish Legion to guard a promising Jewish state.
-Ze’ev Jabotinsky (‘By Intellect’, 1934, On Literature and Art)
Activities
World MH is active in several countries around the globe with four major types of activities.1. Aliyah assistance from A to Z
2. Tailor-made internships
3. Leadership seminars
4. Helping with college campus activism