The Knesset's Education Committee held a special session Monday to mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Bnei Akiva religious-Zionist youth movement that combines Torah observance with working to build the land of Israel. Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin opened the session by saying that the movement has become “an icon and a generic brand name which has spawned numerous imitators and has inspired many.”
Bnei Akiva's combination of "Torah veAvoda", Torah learning with practical activities [settling the land, taking an active part in its development and in social welfare-ed.] remained the guiding principle of the movement throughout the years, Rivlin said. “This is what makes it relevant and attractive, even in the age of SMS and ICQ, when one would expect many children to prefer another hour in front of the computer to social activity at the Bnei Akiva branch.”
'What the future depends upon'
Education Minister Gideon Saar lauded Bnei Akiva for its “tremendous role” in the history of Israel. He said that Israel's youth movements need to be strengthened because their educational activities “are more effective than any campaign or law” in areas such as prevention of alcohol abuse or violence. “The combination of Torah and labor that Bnei Akiva etched upon its flag is what the future of the country depends upon today,” he said.
Rabbi Chaim Druckman, who is the movement's top rabbinical authority, said that when he was a member of the movement's management he knew every single one of the middle-school aged youths personally, but nowadays these number in the tens of thousands. “You find them everywhere and in every field and they are exemplary in their character, their morality and their ideals.”
Independence Day event planned for North America Olim
Natan Friedman, a veteran leader of Bnei Akiva in the USA who attended the special session, told Arutz Sheva that Bnei Akiva became active in the United States in 1935. As a result of its activity in North America, “at least 10,000 young American Israelis who had their background in Bnei Akiva and Camp Moshava [the movement's summer camp in the US] made Aliyah [immigrated to Israel - ed.]” over the decades, he said.
He also revealed that Bnei Akiva is planning to celebrate 75 years of activity in the US with a program in Israel for all those who came on Aliyah. The event is to take place on the coming Israeli Independence Day, he said, at Neot Kedumim, and is expected to draw five to 10 thousand participants, families included.
Time to aim for power
Rabbi Shaul Feldman, Director of Bnei Akiva in the USA and Canada, proudly pointed out that 16 of the currently serving Knesset members are graduates of Bnei Akiva – far more than the share of Bnei Akiva graduates in the general population. Upon being informed of this statistic Monday at the Knesset event, he said, “that galvanized me to think that it is time for Bnei Akiva to transform into active leadership, not just at the roots of society but at the top. We need to have more power in guiding the direction of the country.”
At an event like Monday's, he said, “You can see that how the experience of Bnei Akiva never leaves you, from the way we look at our Torah to the way we build the land with avodah [work]. It never leaves you, from the youngest child to the most mature Rosh Yeshiva.” Above all, he said, Bnei Akiva graduates emerge with the knowledge that "the only place for a Jew is Eretz Yisrael [the Land of Israel]."