North American members of Hashomer Hatzair (circa 2009) taking a walk around the movement's memory lane at the Yad Yaari Research and Documentation Center exhibition halls, Givat Haviva

 

When the Givat Haviva Institute was founded by the Hashomer Hatzair Movement in the late 1940s as the national education center for the Kibbutz Artzi Federation, the declared goals of the center was to promote the values of equality and human dignity.

Sixty years down the historical line during which period there have been another five major wars and two Palestinian uprisings, Givat Haviva continues to strive to attain the goals set six decades ago in the belief that education is the most important contribution to be made to future generations.

On a fast track to the future, and based on a recent past that has shaken from time to time the basic tenants upon which the center and the Hashomer Hatzair Movement was founded, witnessing the arrival of young present day Shomrim from all over the world attending seminars on campus is most uplifting for the staff of Yad Yaari, the keepers of the movement's past and recorders of its present day activities for the future.

Recently over 70 youngsters from all over the world, wearing their blue Hashomer Hatzair shirts with white cord at the neck, invaded the campus for a day.  The youngsters were at various stages of programs in Israel – some were returning home that evening – others continuing longer term programs in the country.

Visiting the exhibition halls of Hashomer Hatzair at the Yad Yaari Research and Documentation Center a small group of North Americans listen intently to their blue-shirted Israeli education councilor Maidan Ben-Ami who kicks off by testing the young Americans understanding of the Hashomer Hatzair's very own 'Ten Commandments.'

The Shomrim do-and-do-not movement pillars are illustrated in a row of photographs of black and white wood cutouts.

"Why do we – and if indeed we do – need these today?" asks Maidan Ben-Ami of the young North Americans and their two accompanying movement educators from back home Yotam Marom and Ayal Rosenblum.  It would seem that the Shomrim of today do agree that the guidelines of old are still applicable to the young Shomrim of the new millennium even though - from listening in on the interaction between them and their educators - it would seem the individual interpretation might differ slightly.

 

Little by little the Shomrim from the States open up and delve deeper in to the why and wherefore of the founding of the movement, some of the well-known and lesser known personalities and their important contribution to the Hashomer Hatzair, the kibbutz movement and building the State of Israel and Israeli society.

Maidan hands out some papers and one by one the young 'chalutzim' (pioneers) of present times read out loud different pieces of somewhat profound prose, discuss and analyze them in depth.  The sincerity of their reaching deep inside to pull upon and share their understanding of, feelings for and belief in the obvious and not so obvious messages contained in the prose would make the writers of yesteryears movement proud to still be around today.

 

The writing on the wall – the Shomrim do and do not list.

 

Yotam Marom – the Educational Director of the Hashomer Hatzair Youth Movement in North America - is a General Studies student focusing on Political Philosophy.  He is also one of the founders of Without Walls, a group seeking to integrate democratic, egalitarian and informal educational methods into formal settings to engage youth with topics such as social issues, identity, community and activism.

A native of Hoboken, New Jersey, Yotam is also a member of the Kvutzat Orev urban kibbutz nowadays living in Brooklyn.  Two years ago the members of Kvutzat Orev lived for a period in Israel and worked with high-school students in Barta'a village in Wadi Ara.

Upon his return to New York and asked to comment on his latest visit to Givat Haviva with his movement peers and youngsters they are now working with, Yotam emailed the following:

'It was an important part of our process of re-discovering the history of Hashomer Hatzair to continue developing a modern understanding of Hagshama.  Looking back to Tarnov, to Bitaniya, to the days of Maam, to -67, and to the other moments in history when our movement stopped to create and recreate itself, we remind ourselves that – whilst Hashomer Hatzair is ours to recreate today – it is something on its own, has a history, has roots, has an ideology.

Also, just in general, as a museum, it is always really impressive to Shomrim who grow up lonely and small in North America to come to a country our movement played a big part in creating, where there is an entire museum (and archives) in its honor.

It was a really empowering feeling to have our final mifkad there, with pictures of Abba Kovner and Haike Grossman hanging over us, to remember we are not alone, that we are part of something bigger.

Yotam Marom.'

 

Back to the past – Hashomer Hatzair from North America visiting the Yad Yaari.

 

Text & photos: Lydia Aisenberg