Hechalutz

Hechalutz was a Jewish youth movement that trained young people for agricultural settlement in the Land of Israel. It was one of the organisations who worked with the Central British Fund caring for the Boys. It also helped to resettle them in Israel.

The Boys were teenage and child-Holocaust survivors, who were brought to the UK after the war for rest and rehabilitation.

Hechalutz (meaning “The Pioneer”) was a worldwide Zionist youth movement founded in Eastern Europe in the early 20th century. It prepared Jewish youth for life in Palestine through ideological education and practical agricultural training.

In Britain, Hechalutz became active particularly in the 1930s and 1940s, setting up hachsharot (training centres) where members learned farming and communal living skills. The British branch worked closely with the Central British Fund and other Jewish organisations to assist Jewish refugees, including the Boys. Hechalutz ran Alton hostel in Hampshire, south-east England, and provided training opportunities for those interested in making aliyah. Those who joined the movement often went on to settle in Israel, contributing to the development of new kibbutzim. One of the Boys, Rabbi Hugo Gryn, became a notable UK leader of Hechalutz.

After Israel’s independence in 1948, Hechalutz became an umbrella organisation of the pioneering Zionist youth movements and was absorbed into Hashomer Hatzair, which continues to be active worldwide today.