The Melting Pot in Israel

Zvi Zameret

Description

This volume combines a translation of substantial portions of one of the most important documents in the early history of Israel—the government commission of inquiry concerning education in the immigrant camps, appointed in 1950—with analysis of the ensuing public debates and repercussions, and their meaning for Israeli society today. Using extensive historical research, Zameret traces the development of political and social processes in the early years of Israel's existence and points to their far-reaching and decisive implications for contemporary Israeli society, including the rise of Shas, the political party created by ultra-Orthodox Oriental Jews.

Abbreviations

Preface

BOOK I

Introduction

1. Early Incidents of Religious-Secular Conflict

2. Absorption of Mass Immigration in the Early Years: Facts and Figures

3. Why Was a Government Commission of Inquiry Appointed?

4. The Composition of the Commission of Inquiry

5. Ben-Gurion's Stand on the Education of Immigrant Children

6. Attitudes of Various Parties toward the Commission of Inquiry

7. Uniform Education in the Immigrant Camps and the Religious Workers Stream

8. Political Developments during the Course of the Commission's Investigation

9. The Culture Department's Objections to the Commission's Conclusions

10. Reactions to the Frumkin Report: Government, Knesset, Histadrut

11. Comments on the Procedures and Conclusions of the Frumkin Commission

12. The Decision to Introduce a State Educational System (1953)

13. Shas—The Party Whose Roots Lie in the Anti-Religious Coercion of Israel's First Years

14. Summing Up: Israel—From "Melting Pot" to Pluralistic State

Notes to Book I

BOOK II

Report of the Commission of Inquiry Concerning Education in the Immigrant Camps

Introduction: Appointment, Authority, and Procedures of the Commission

1. The General Background

2. The Immigrant Camps

3. Specific Accusations

4. Accusations in the Press

5. Sources of Propaganda Abroad

6. Conclusions

Addendum: List of Witnesses Who Testified before the Commission

Notes to Book II

Glossary of Hebrew Terms
Select Biographies
Bibliography
Index

Sujets

• Israel
• History of education
• History of the Middle East
• Central
• National

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 01 février 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780791489222
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

CHAPTER TITLE

The Melting Pot in Israel

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THE MELTING POT IN ISRAEL

SUNY series in Israeli Studies

CHAPTER TITLE

The Melting Pot in Israel

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The Commission of Inquiry Concerning Education in the Immigrant Camps during the Early Years of the State

Zvi Zameret

STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS

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THE MELTING POT IN ISRAEL

Revised version, translated from the Hebrew by Jonathan Chipman and Yohai Goell

The Hebrew edition (not including Chapters 12–14) was published by the Ben-Gurion Research Center and the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Press, Sde Boker, 1993.

Published by State University of New York Press, Albany

© 2002 State University of New York

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

For information, address State University of New York Press, 90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY 12207

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Tsameret, Tsevi. [Yeme kur ha-hitukh. English] The melting pot in Israel : the commission of inquiry concerning education in the immigrant camps during the early years of the state / Zvi Zameret. p. cm. — (SUNY series in Israeli studies) Translated from Hebrew. Includes index. ISBN 0-7914-5255-7 (alk. paper) — ISBN 0-7914-5256-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Children of immigrants—Education—Israel—History. 2. Jews—Cultural assimilation—History—20th century. 3. Israel—Emigration and immigration— c c c History. 4. Israel. Va adat hakirah al hinukh yalde ha- olim, 1950. I. Title. . . . . II. Series.

LC3747.I75 T7313 2002 303.48'2'095694—dc21

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Abbreviations Preface

CONTENTS

B OOK I Introduction Chapter 1 Early Incidents of Religious-Secular Conflict Chapter 2 Absorption of Mass Immigration in the Early Years: Facts and Figures Chapter 3 Why Was a Government Commission of Inquiry Appointed? Chapter 4 The Composition of the Commission of Inquiry Chapter 5 Ben-Gurion’s Stand on the Education of Immigrant Children

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Attitudes of Various Parties toward the Commission of Inquiry Uniform Education in the Immigrant Camps and the Religious Workers Stream Political Developments during the Course of the Commission’s Investigation The Culture Department’s Objections to the Commission’s Conclusions

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CONTENTS

Chapter 10 Reactions to the Frumkin Report: Government, Knesset, Histadrut Chapter 11 Comments on the Procedures and Conclusions of the Frumkin Commission Chapter 12 The Decision to Introduce a State Educational System (1953) Chapter 13 Shas—The Party Whose Roots Lie in the Anti-Religious Coercion of Israel’s First Years Chapter 14 Summing Up: Israel—From “Melting Pot” to Pluralistic State Notes to Book I

B OOK II Report of the Commission of Inquiry Concerning Education in the Immigrant Camps Introduction: Appointment, Authority, and Procedures of the Commission Chapter 1 The General Background Chapter 2 The Immigrant Camps Chapter 3 Specific Accusations Chapter 4 Accusations in the Press Chapter 5 Sources of Propaganda Abroad Chapter 6 Conclusions Addendum: List of Witnesses Who Testified before the Commission Notes to Book II

Glossary of Hebrew Terms Select Biographies Bibliography Index

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AHH ARZBI ARZMHK BGA

BGRC CAHJP CZA GHA ISA LMA MA RKA YBZ

ABBREVIATIONS

Archives of Hakibbutz Hameuhad, Yad Tabenkin, Efal Archives of Religious Zionism, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan Archives of Religious Zionism, Mossad Harav Kook, Jerusalem Ben-Gurion Archives, the Ben-Gurion Research Center, Sde Boker The Ben-Gurion Research Center, Sde Boker Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People, Jerusalem Central Zionist Archives, Jerusalem Archives of Mapam and Hashomer Hatzair, Givat Haviva Israel State Archives, Jerusalem Labor Movement Archives, Lavon Institute, Tel Aviv Mapai Archives, Beit Berl Religious Kibbutz Archives, Kevutzat Yavne Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi, Jerusalem

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PREFACE

“In the world they say: The Jew has succeeded. This is a nation that in blood forged for itself a state, But we know the truth: this is still a state that must forge a nation.” —Nathan Alterman, from “The Seventh Column” (Hebrew),Davar, October 1949

“We have come to the Land of Israel to build and be built [a popular Zionist slogan] Many of us interpreted ‘to build and be built’ as eradication of memory, as complete transformation, and as uniting with this territory; in other words, ‘a normal life’ as it was customary to call it.” —Aharon Appelfeld, fromThe Story of a Life (Hebrew) ( Jerusalem: Keter, 1999), 107

PREFACE

This book, which is primarily an extended introduction to the Frumkin Com- mission Report, is based upon copious documentation that has been brought to light, mostly in recent years, in most of the major archives throughout Israel. The Central Zionist Archives in Jerusalem contain the full mimeographed report as well as detailed records of the Commission’s discussions and investigations. Doc- uments relating to the early years of the Ministry of Education and Culture are contained in the Israel State Archives (ISA), although these are neither complete nor sufficiently organized. Also deposited in the ISA are relevant documents of other government ministries—including those of the Prime Minister’s Office and religious government ministers. Most minutes of cabinet meetings, ministe- rial committees, and Knesset committees from the early years of statehood are still closed to the public; a few have recently been made available. Information for this work was gathered primarily at the Ben-Gurion Research Center in Sde Boker, where I was privileged to work for an entire year. There I had access to Ben-Gurion’s diaries, his correspondence (both incoming and outgoing), summaries of his meetings, and the totality of his writings, lectures, and speeches. I likewise found there photocopies of documents from the Mapai Archives and from the archives of the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor). Examination of the documents of those two organizations was supplemented at the Mapai Archives in Beit Berl and the Labor Movement Archives in the Lavon Institute in Tel Aviv. It should be noted that the documents of Mapai are more accessible to scholars than those of any other political party. As a result, Mapai has at times been more open to criticism than any other party. Mapam (a more left-wing party) also has an archives at Givat Haviva, but numerous min- utes of party discussions are as yet unavailable to the scholar (or perhaps did not survive). I found some Mapam documentation in the archives of Hakibbutz Hameuhad at Yad Tabenkin in Efal.

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