Histadrut, Histadrut

Its initial goals were to provide a federation for all Jewish workers in the British Mandate of Palestine, promote land settlement, promote workers' rights against management and to promote Jewish employment despite the lower wages paid to Arabs. The Histadrut had approximately 4,400 members in 1920 and grew to 8,394 members in 1922 or just over half of the Jewish working class. By 1927 the body claimed 25,000 members or 75% of the Jewish workforce in Mandatory Palestine.

About 170,000 Histadrut members were Arabs (who were admitted to membership starting in 1959). In 1989, the Histadrut was the employer of approximately 280,000 workers.

The Birth of Israel, 1945-1949: Ben-Gurion and His Critics, Joseph Heller, p.7 Both parties were primarily nationalist parties. Z. Sternhell, 'The founding myths of Israel', 1998, ISBN 0-691-01694-1, p. 17980 In 1920 Third Aliyah (19191923) immigrants founded the Labor Legion (Gdud HaAvoda) and demanded a unified organisation for all workers. According to Tzahor this forced the issue for the old parties, upon which the Histadrut was founded in December 1920. Despite the participation of the new immigrants the Second Aliyah leaders also became the leaders of the Histadrut. Z. Tzahor, 'The Histadrut', in 'Essential papers on Zionism', 1996, Reinharz & Shapira (eds.) ISBN0-8147-7449-0 According to Tzahor the Second Aliyah leaders were afraid the Third Aliyah immigrants wanted to emulate the Bolshevik revolution, while their own experience had taught them to preserve a balance between grand aspirations and realistic possibilities, and that it was better to focus on constructive action. Z. Tzahor, 'The Histadrut', in 'Essential papers on Zionism', 1996, Reinharz & Shapira (eds.) ISBN0-8147-7449-0, p.504 The initial aim of the Histadrut was to take responsibility for all spheres of activity of the workers movement: settlement, defense, trade unions, education, housing construction, health, banking, cooperative ventures, welfare and even culture. Z. Tzahor, 'The Histadrut', in 'Essential papers on Zionism', 1996, Reinharz & Shapira (eds.) ISBN0-8147-7449-0, p. 476 The Histadrut took over economic firms operated by the parties, which operated by subcontracting, and their Office of Information, which was expanded into a Labor Exchange. Already after a few months the Histadrut became the single largest employer in the Yishuv. The Histadrut succeeded in improving worker's rights as e.g. the right to strike was recognised, employers had to motivate dismissal and workers got a place to turn to with their complaints.

This changed after David Ben-Gurion became appointed in the General Secretariat. Ben-Gurion wanted to transform the Histadrut into a national instrument for the realisation of Zionism. Z. Tzahor, 'The Histadrut', in 'Essential papers on Zionism', 1996, Reinharz & Shapira (eds.) ISBN0-8147-7449-0, p. 486 According to Zeev Sternhell Z. Sternhell, 'The founding myths of Israel', 1998, p. 3-36, ISBN 0-691-01694-1 Ben-Gurion's exclusive commitment to this goal is illustrated by a December 1922 quote: [1] Our central problem is immigration ... and not adapting our lives to this or that doctrine.

Providing immigrants with work was often seen as more important than the financial soundness of its operations. The labor leaders saw failure to absorb immigrants as a moral bankruptcy that was much worse than financial bankruptcy. In 1924 the Histadrut's Office for Public Works collapsed and went bankrupt, and in 1927 the same happened to its successor, the privatised Sollel Boneh. In both cases the Zionist Executive bailed them out and recognised the deficit in the category of "expenses for immigration absorption". The Zionist Executive, sharing the goal of stimulating immigration with the Histadrut, had to do this because beside the Histadrut there was no other organisation in Palestine with the ability to absorb immigrants.

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