Sans titre | Musée du Montréal juif

Youth groups were at the vanguard of Montreal’s Zionist activism between the 1920s and the 1940s. Alongside the mainstream Young Judaea, the more Left-leaning Habonim and Hashomer Hatzair worked to instill a sense of Jewish national consciousness amongst Montreal Jews through avodah (work) and aliyah (immigration to Israel). Connections to labour politics made the organizations popular among immigrant families. Originally a cultural youth group founded in Britain in 1929, Habonim (Builders) became unequivocally Zionist and socialist, and was involved in Israel’s Kibbutz (collective agricultural communities) Movement, leading training farms in Canada and around the world. Habonim later became affiliated with David Ben-Gurion’s MAPAI party (today’s Labor Party in Israel).

Montreal’s chapter of Habonim was established in 1935 as the youth branch of the Canadian Poale Zion (Labour Zion) Movement. Eventually named the Habonim Labour Zionist Youth Organization, its meetings took place at the local (meeting hall) at 5116 Park Avenue, attracting many “downtown” Jewish teens, including Mordecai Richler. Meetings would begin with a lecture or discussion, followed by the learning of new Israeli songs or dances, and would conclude with socializing and dancing. It was also common for members to attend concerts for special events or to spend more informal evenings listening to records or reading poetry at people’s homes.

The progressive Zionist youth movement soon spread nation-wide. Habonim members began engaging in Canadian political and labour activism. Members attended rallies or supported boycotts, and campaigned against antisemitism in Montreal and abroad. Habonim became briefly involved in Canadian politics in 1949, with members promoting poet A. M. Klein’s campaign as C.C.F. candidate for Parliament.

But Habonim’s main focus and attraction for its members was Zionism. The youth group emphasized the revival of Hebrew through their monthly publication, Haboneh (the Builder). Through informal educational programs in the kenim (local chapters) and machanot kayitz (summer camps), Habonim trained North American youth to become chalutzim (pioneers) to build a Jewish national home, and to become leaders in defending the rights of Jews everywhere. Habonim’s Camp Kvutza in St. Faustin, Quebec, opened in 1935. Modeled after an Israeli kvutza (collective agricultural colony), it featured arts, scouting activities, overnight excursions, and leadership training. Inspired by principles of social justice, cooperative living and self-government, Israeli shlichim (emissaries) reinforced ties between North American campers and chaverim (friends) in Israel, with the objective of promoting aliyah. Some of the more dedicated members of Habonim went on to a hachshara (training) farm in Smithville, Ontario (1946–1951), operated in conjunction with Hashomer Hatzair, and then made aliyah. Another hachshara farm opened in Sainte-Julie-de-Verchères, just east of Montreal, in 1947.

Having met the objective of establishing a Jewish state of Israel in 1948, many of the Zionist youth groups experienced a slow decline in the 1960s and 1970s. Previously at the forefront of Zionist activism, many shifted their focus to general youth outreach. They were joined in the 1950s and 1960s by synagogue youth groups like United Synagogue Youth (USY), North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY) and the National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NCSY), as well as nondenominational groups such as the B’nai Brith Youth Organization (BBYO). In the 1980s, Habonim merged with the Dror movement (another offshoot of Labour Zionism with Polish and Russian roots), becoming Habonim Dror or Builders of Freedom.

Compiled by Marian Pinsky.