Habonim gets 90th anniversary started online

TALI FEINBERG

The celebrations were meant to begin with Kaleidoscope, a five-day multi-dimensional exploration of Israel, engaging with the brightest minds and most important personalities in the Jewish state. This was to be followed by a two-day Habonim Ultimate Gathering (HUG), “celebrating yesterday, today, and tomorrow. A combination of fun, debate, and meeting old friends in the true spirit of the movement,” says Stephen Pincus, who heads the HABO2020 committee and created Kaleidoscope, which has run several successful programmes over the past five years.

But then, the coronavirus hit, and everything changed. “The 90th birthday celebrations are under review. We hope to announce what will happen by 15 July,” says Dave Bloom, one of the event organisers.

South Africa’s Habonim manhig (senior advisor) Errol Anstey says that Norman Lourie started Habonim in Southern Africa in 1930 on his return from the United Kingdom, where Habonim had started the previous year. “But the first formal meeting of 12 boys was actually held in Doornfontein in March 1931, so the 90th anniversary starts in 2020, and continues through to 2021.”

So what’s a movement to do when its reunion is uncertain? It goes online. Soon after the coronavirus crisis broke, the HABO2020 committee formulated a new plan: a weekly, free, virtual gathering of former and current Habonim chaverim (members) from around the world. A presenter would be chosen from the plethora of former Habonim members that are leaders in their field, and anyone could share photos, reminisces, even jokes and skits that they might have performed aside a campfire many years ago. Along with Pincus, Anstey and Bloom, Mark Kedem and Felicity Swerdlow have played a vital role.

Titled Habonim Engaging in Dialogue (HED), 188 people registered for the first webinar on 29 March. There are currently over 700 people registered, with an average of 350 people attending each session. A recent panel, with expert doctors who are former Habonim members, had 403 registrations.

Dr Alan Rabinowitz (Vancouver), Dr Leon Fine (Los Angeles), Dr Jonny Broomberg (Johannesburg), Dr Brian Fredman (Israel), Dr Sean Wasserman (Cape Town), Dr Val Mizrahi (Cape Town), and Dr John Abeles (United States) shared their experiences of the coronavirus crisis. Many have played a key role in their country’s response to the pandemic.

“We looked at ways to maintain the momentum and interest of HABO2020 and at the same time, to build towards the event in the future. These weekly events are proving a great success, and those who were ‘borderline’ participants in the reunion are now more than likely to attend having tasted the kind of tochniet [programmes] we would be running on Kaleidoscope,” says Anstey.

“It’s been quite serendipitous, allowing us to extend the 90th anniversary celebrations,” says Bloom. “Even though it’s virtual, it allows people to come together as a community with a common background. We will build on that when we do have our reunion. There are so many interesting stories to tell, and some people have said it reminds them of the Sunday evening Habonim meetings that they attended long ago.”

When it comes to choosing presenters, “Many past chaverim have submitted proposals to present in their fields. We have drawn up a list of topics we would like to explore, and approached past chaverim who we think would be good at delivering a high-impact talk. We are also mixing young and old to maintain interest across a large age band,” says Anstey. The organisation is inviting any past Habonim members to take part as presenters or listeners.

“When you look at the 350-plus participants, you see the cream of South African Habonim graduates who have all reached the pinnacle of their career life paths,” says Anstey. “From the chalutzik [pioneering] Zionists who literally built Israel, to leaders in education, health, community, politics, and business, they are all using the unique skills they gained at Habonim as madrichim over the years.”

The HED gatherings have also been an opportunity for introspection. Karla Green Dana’s recent presentation on ‘When Habonim realised it had a gender problem’ provided a chance for members to look at their time in the movement with a new lens, and review how much it has changed in recent years, as female leadership has been prioritised.

A discussion on Sunday 17 May saw a panel of chaverim speak about Israel’s new unity government and where the country is heading economically and politically.

When it comes to the 90th anniversary celebrations in South Africa, “fortunately, these were still in the planning stages, so we are waiting to see what the world looks like and whether we are continuing”, says Nina Reitenberg, the current mazkira klali (secretary general) of the movement. “Right now, we are focusing our efforts on campaigning and promoting our HED talks.”

Ten Habonim members are currently on the movement’s gap year in Israel. Reitenberg says they are still in lockdown at the Machon programme on Kiryat Moriah in Jerusalem. “They have busy days with online classes, peulot [activities] and virtual meetings. They are doing well, but are hoping to be able to continue their normal programme soon.”

• To register for free HED talks and keep up to date with Habonim’s 90th celebrations, join the Facebook group HABO2020.