The JNF Culture

A very important and integral part of the JNF’s propaganda work was aimed at altering the behaviour of adults, children, and young people. This can be seen as a process of socialisation, the changing of attitudes and approaches in the general spirit of Zionist ideology and outlook as formulated by the JNF and its various agents in particular. These processes were introduced into the daily activities of the adult public in formal and informal education in Eretz Yisrael and the Diaspora, producing what we shall term the ‘JNF culture’, which had behavioural components, social codes, and special ceremonies. The JNF culture, centred on Eretz Yisrael and the organisation’s symbols, was part of an entire system of social change that developed during the period under study. In this respect the JNF was arguably one of the important agents of the creation and internalisation of the new Hebrew culture, its symbols, and its products. It was part of the ‘cultural opposition’ that contributed to the crystallisation of Hebrew culture in Eretz Yisrael. Specific ceremonies, behavioural norms, and a range of texts distributed by the JNF became the cornerstone of the official (even canonical) culture of the Yishuv in those years. Evident examples are school festivities, money collection campaigns in the streets, and the popularisation of the songs of Eretz Yisrael.

The JNF culture presumably contributed to forming the character of Israeli civil religion. Those who use this term refer to the similarity of features between religions and their ceremonies and the development of national rituals. ‘The God that the believers in civil religion worship is the nation, the state, the homeland… . The fact that Zionism was a national revolution, which drew upon symbols, myths, and folklore from ancient Jewish history and the Bible, only strengthened the religious character’. Accordingly, in the case of a sort of civil religion, defined goals are also sanctified and a social order is legitimised. In this way the concepts associated with it are sanctified, ceremonies are created, traditions of doing what is proper are established, and a diversity of myths are created.