The Histadrut in the Shadow of the State

Abstract

During the British mandate in Palestine, the General Labour Federation, which shall be referred to henceforth in its shortened Hebrew name Histadrut, was a voluntary body, which took upon itself tasks which are usually handled by a government, and concentrated under its auspices tasks and responsibilities in various fields: education, security, health, housing and employment. This was done despite the fact that the Histadrut was a body with a clear ideological commitment to the Labour Movement with its various parties. A significant proportion of the Jewish population in Palestine were not members in the Histadrut.