Hapoel Hatzair

(The Young Worker)

   A Zionist socialist political party established in 1905 by east European pioneers in Palestine. In general, it sought to distinguish itself from the other socialist groups, especially Poalei Zion. It established Degania—the first kibbutz. In 1930, it joined with Ahdut Haavoda to found Ma-pai. Strongly committed to the idea that labor was a prerequisite for the realization of Zionist aspirations in Palestine, it also advocated the exclusive employment of Jewish labor (in Hebrew, Avoda Ivri). It was a founding institution of the Histadrut labor federation in 1920.