Place, purpose and politics in forging religious Zionist identities: The ideology, networks and interrelationships of Brit Chalutzim Dati’im (Bachad), 1928-1962

Abstract

The Jewish, Orthodox, Zionist, pioneering movement, Brit Chalutzim Dati’im (Bachad – The Alliance of Religious Pioneers) was established in Germany in 1928 amidst great upheaval: ideological, political and spiritual. By engaging with modernity whilst concurrently safeguarding traditional religious observance, Bachad responded to the threats of antisemitism, assimilation and secularism by providing hachsharah for Jewish youth – vocational preparation – in readiness for their new life in Eretz Israel, ideally within religious kibbutzim. From Germany, Bachad’s activities spread to many other countries, including the UK from late 1938, where this work continued until 1962. This thesis presents for the first time a survey of Bachad’s history 'in the long view' and in doing so, examines how the identities of both the movement and its chaverim (members) were forged by 'place', 'purpose' and 'politics'. Propelled by a locus-based political ideology (Zionism), a particular purpose (to safeguard Torah-observance in the Jewish homeland) and fuelled by natural responses to persecution, Bachad’s strong, but subsuming Zionist narrative has led to important aspects of Bachad’s past being obscured from public view. This study begins to address these lacunae. Bachad’s purposes were clear and pursued with great energy. However, to realise its goals, the movement’s leadership had to engage with organisations and individuals with different outlooks and purposes to its own. These included secular Zionists, assimilationists, (Jewish) anti-Zionists and also a considerable number of non-Jews. The intersection of 'purposes' with 'places' and 'politics', led to meaningful, but mostly short-lived relationships: with the (Christian) Bruderhof community in 1930s Germany; the Reverend Dr James Parkes; top scientists in the fields of soil erosion and rheology and with those non-Jews employed by Bachad or with whom Bachad engaged in the course of its business. These interactions reveal differing degrees of coalescence or contradictory purposes (sometimes both), centred on specific locations – especially Eretz Israel – and facilitated by Bachad’s transnational, 'Torah Va’Avodah' networks within the Diaspora. Bachad’s places were numerous, but one in particular – the Bachad Farm Institute, Thaxted, Essex, UK – has been singled out as a focal point to illustrate how 'place', 'purpose' and 'politics' intertwined and influenced how 'place' has been, or continues to be remembered. The physical reality of Bachad’s 'places' in the Diaspora existed alongside its transnationalism: Eretz Israel was never far from the hearts and minds of its chaverim – themselves drawn from five continents. However, the tension between universalism and Jewish particularism is evident. All these elements influenced Bachad’s public face in a fast-changing world and the character of the narrative preserved by its chaverim. The nature of ideologically-driven 'kibbutz-like' communities – particularly those led by youth and for youth – influenced the extent to which 'zeitgeist' was imbibed. Peering behind the scenes, however, reveals a hitherto unacknowledged and far more nuanced reality, an equally valuable part of Bachad’s legacy from which much can be learned.

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