Bnei Akiva

Bnei Akiva (בְּנֵי עֲקִיבָא, bneɪnbspəkivə, "Children of Akiva") is the largest religious Zionist youth movement in the world, with over 125,000 members in 42 countries. It was first established in Mandatory Palestine in 1929. Bnei Akiva was established on Lag BaOmer 1929 as the youth wing of the Mizrachi movement. Concurrent with the establishment of the movement in pre-independence Israel, organizations of religious youth operated in the Diaspora. In 1958, the Israeli and Diaspora groups merged to form the modern World Bnei Akiva, which operates both in and out of Israel for Diaspora youth, along with Bnei Akiva Israel, which operates in Israel for Israeli youth. Bnei Akiva's objectives are to educate Jewish youth with values of Torah and work, to provide stimulating experiential and informal opportunities for encountering Judaism, and to encourage Jewish continuity and leadership. Bnei Akiva's twin ideals of Torah and Avodah translate to religious commitment and work on the land of Israel. Bnei Akiva believes in emigration to the land of Israel (Aliya) as a central commandment of Judaism, and maintains that the future of the Jewish people is tied to the state of Israel. In the organization's early years, Avodah was understood as meaning agricultural work, as reflected in the symbolism of the movement's emblem. In more recent years, there has driven a shift in ideology towards a broader definition of working for the development of the country. Members are encouraged to spend a year in Israel on organized learning and touring programs to broaden their knowledge of Israel and developing their leadership skills. Similarly, the original socialist aims of Bnei Akiva are less actively pursued. Until the 1980s many Bnei Akiva members joined religious Kibbutzim in groups based on mutual army service or Aliya. Since the 1990s, Bnei Akiva members now typically settle in development towns and settlements. Bnei Akiva actively promotes moving to the state of Israel in a process called aliya (literally meaning "to go up"), but the way in which this occurs has changed over the years.