Politically, Strongly to the Left

Table 11. Overall, how would you describe your views on political issues?

Habonim Dror characterizes itself as politically progressive, at one point explicitly aligning with the international socialist movement. In terms of political identity and views, its alumni fall disproportionately on the left. A few key questions clearly illustrate this conclusion. Perhaps most tellingly, self-described liberals vastly outnumber self-described conservatives, by a 12-to-1 margin (85% vs. 7%) (see Table 11).

SOURCE: Habonim Dror Survey, 2013

By contrast, a survey of American Jews in 2012 found that liberals outnumbered conservatives by a more modest margin of 2.5 to 1 (44% vs. 18%). Among those Habos living in the United States, Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans (84% vs. 4%) (see Table 12).

Table 12. Overall, how would you describe your political partisanship?

SOURCE: Habonim Dror Survey, 2013

In contrast, in a recent Workmen’s Circle survey, the Democrats lead was present but far less lopsided (55% vs. 22%).

It follows that the Habonim Dror alumni sample living in the United States went overwhelmingly for Obama over Romney, 94% to 6%, in sharp contrast with estimates for the overall Jewish vote of about 74% to 26%.

Other evidence for the progressive commitments of this sample comes in the large number who contribute to progressive organizations that focus “on issues such as economic

justice, social justice, human rights, peace and the environment” (72%), as well the slight majority (51%) who claim to support at least two such organizations.

The liberalizing impact of the Habonim Dror experience is correlated with the level of activity in the youth movement. Among those who were least active, just 24% now describe themselves as extremely liberal, vs. 31% among those who were most active. Similarly the number describing themselves as liberal or extremely liberal rises from 67% to 84%, while the proportion who are self-described conservatives drops from 12% to 5%.

In short, the evidence points to a significant liberalizing effect of Habonim Dror. The alumni are far more liberal than comparable Jews, and those who undertook more Habonim Dror activities are more liberal as well as less conservative.

The volunteered comments often speak of how the Habonim Dror experience shaped a deep and wide commitment to progressive social justice and world views, consistent with the results reported immediately above. Many bogrim comments mentioned the opportunity to learn about and engaging in discussions of the environment, tikkun olam, social justice, and critical thinking. The following quotes illustrate this theme:

• It’s hard to describe the influence Tavor had on me. The biggest impact I think is on my concept of social justice and communal living. It greatly contributed to my desire to do my share and help those in need.
• My life is much different than it would have been otherwise without Habonim, and I am better for it. I learned values about the environment, social justice, Zionism, minority rights, and more, and would probably have substantially different viewpoints otherwise. It taught me that you could feel and be Jewish by engaging in the cultural activities of the Jewish people.
• Totally contributed to my natural attraction and need for involvement with social justice and tikkun olam, strong pull toward critical thinking and education, friendships, wonderful memories, positive childhood.
• Habonim provided me with the ability to engage in critical thinking; to question conventional wisdom; and to think logically. Moreover, it provided me a stronger foundation on issues of social justice, civil rights, and civil liberties. Finally, it gave me a lifelong love for Israel and a commitment for social justice there.
• Incredibly open minded place that taught me to always question myself and the world around me. Taught me a lot about leadership, working with people, the political process, community service etc.
• As a camper, Habonim helped frame my values of social justice and peace. As a madrich, I picked and chose which ideological points to emphasize. As an alum, Habonim has left me sympathetic to Jewish causes while still encouraging critical thought.
• Habonim provided me with the ability to engage in critical thinking; to question conventional wisdom; and to think logically. Moreover, it provided me a stronger foundation on issues of social justice, civil rights, and civil liberties. Finally, it gave me a lifelong love for Israel and a commitment for social justice there.
• Habonim also instilled in me strong values of Tikkun Olam and Jewish communal identity, which today I express via active involvement with my shul and Limmud as well as giving money to Jewish charities.

To be sure, not all Habos appreciated the political lessons the movement tried to teach them. But even their statements of disaffection testify to the likely influence of the experience, if not upon them then upon others:

• Given Habonim's political outlook, it made me challenge my personal views and left me with a bad taste about both how Habonim informed its young people regarding its political views and with those involved in the movement.
• I don't regret my time in Habonim, but I completely reject the ideology.

On Israel: Very Dovish, Hardly Hawkish

On a variety of positions, the Habonim Dror alumni in this sample take positions that place them squarely on the left or dovish side of the Israeli political spectrum. Asked to choose the Israeli party with whom they most closely identify, they provided the following distribution (see Table 13).

Table 13. In Israeli politics, with which political party do you most closely identify, if any?

SOURCE: Habonim Dror Survey, 2013