October 7, 2025

Today marks two years since October 7th, 2023 — one of the darkest days in recent Jewish history and the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. On this day we remember the lives stolen, families torn apart, and communities forever changed. May the memories of all the victims be for a blessing (zichronam livracha).

Today also marks 730 days of captivity for the 48 remaining hostages. We are heartbroken that, two years later, we are still calling for the return of those who remain in captivity. To the families of the hostages, we send our love, strength, and unwavering solidarity as you continue to endure the unimaginable.

Many members of Habonim Dror were personally impacted that day. Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose family is part of HDNA, was taken hostage two years ago today and murdered in captivity. Vivian Silver, a Habonim bogeret, chalutza, and lifelong peace and coexistence activist, was murdered in her home that same day. And Ofir Libstein, chairperson of Habonim Dror Olami and visionary leader devoted to a better future for Gazans and Israelis based on cooperation and shared humanity, was killed defending his family and community that morning.

We hold closely Ofri and the Brodutch family, who endured the terror of abduction and captivity, as well as the Shdaimah family, whose beloved mother and grandmother Ditza Heiman was kidnapped and held hostage until her eventual release. We also hold in our hearts Iair and Eitan Horn, Habonim graduates who were taken hostage — Iair has since been released, while Eitan remains in captivity to this day.

May the memories of all those we lost be not only a blessing but also a revolution — a call to action toward a more just, peaceful, compassionate world.

As we grieve these open wounds, we renew our clear call for an immediate end to this devastating and seemingly endless war and the senseless loss of innocent lives on both sides. We call for the release of all remaining hostages and a lasting solution that brings security, dignity, human rights, and peace to both peoples. May we build a future worthy of all we have lost.

February 7, 2025

Habonim Dror North America unequivocally condemns Trump’s recent statement calling for a US occupation of Gaza and the forcible displacement of Gazans and Palestinians from the region. This plan is not only a deliberate call for ethnic cleansing, but it is also blatantly illegal under international law.

As Peter Baker wrote in the New York Times, such an act would irreparably harm the possibility of a future two-state solution and will only lead to continued occupation, displacement and death. Sadly, Trump’s statement is not just the ravings of an American politician, but reflects the far-right language of Israeli politicians like Smotrich and Netanyahu who continue to undermine efforts for the complete return of the hostages, peace in the region, and Palestinian sovereignty.

As a Jewish youth movement built upon the philosophy of Shivyon Erech Ha’adam (the equality of human life) and Tikkun Olam (repairing the world, or social justice), we join the call of so many other Jewish organizations that are disgusted by such a blatant disregard for humanity. Israeli and American politicians must continue to condemn the words and actions of Trump and Netanyahu to prevent further war crimes and deaths.

As youth, we will continue to educate and fight for the safety and liberation of all peoples in Israel and Palestine, knowing that Jewish self-determination and safety cannot be fully realized in the absence of Palestinian self-determination and safety.

October 7, 2024

Today, as we mark the one year anniversary of October 7th, we sit in grief. We sit in mourning for the victims of the massacre on October 7th. We sit in longing for the safe return of the hostages, all 101 of them that remain in captivity. We sit, anguished at the immeasurable losses of the last year. Habonim Dror North America holds our community in our heart, and we wear our memories on our sleeve.

We remember Hersh Goldberg-Polin, we remember Vivian Silver, we remember Ofir Liebstein. We pray for the safety of Yair and Eitan Horn and hold Ofri Brodutch closely. We know that our community is wide-reaching and the damage from these losses continues to be devastating. On this day, we must bear the weight of our community’s pain together, and reach out to each other to share the burden.

Today is a day to sit, to hold a space, to remember the beautiful lives taken from us and to not forget the 101 hostages who are still held in Gaza one year later. However, when we do stand, we will stand for the future. For an immediate return of all the hostages and a ceasefire agreement. For an end to this war. For the safety of all the civilians, throughout Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon. A future that has evaded us this past year. As we sit in grief today, we are deeply aware that the turmoil has only grown, and will continue to grow until we say dayenu.

Habonim Dror North America continues to stand up for the rights of Israelis, Palestinians, and all peoples to live in peace, security, and dignity. Let this day be a day to sit in grief for all that has been and to hold that pain in our memories. Tomorrow, we will not forget: tomorrow, we will fight for a better future.

September 1, 2024

This morning, we awoke to the devastating news that six hostages had been found dead in Gaza. One of them was Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a member of a Habonim Dror family. We are heartbroken over this tragic and senseless murder.

With a hostage deal and bilateral ceasefire, these six hostages could have been saved. To quote Hersh’s father, Jon Polin, “there is a surplus of agony on all sides of the tragic conflict in the Middle East. In a competition of pain, there are no winners. In our Jewish tradition, we say ‘kol adam olam kulo:’ every person is an entire universe. We must save all these universes.” Habonim Dror North America stands in solidarity with the protesters in Israel and around the world and with the Histadrut’s general strike. A ceasefire and hostage release deal is necessary to save all the universes we still can, for all of the innocents in Israel and Gaza.

Our thoughts are with Hersh’s family as we hold them in our heart and wish them strength and comfort. May we all strive for a future where the cycle of violence is finally broken and we are all collectively liberated. May their memories be a blessing.

June 5, 2024

We are saddened by the loss of Dr. Michael Livni, z”l, a boger and leader of Habonim North America, a lifelong Kibbutz Member, and a veteran Labor Zionist educator. Michael was born in Vienna, Austria in 1935, and grew up in Vancouver, Canada, where he graduated with an MD in 1959 from the University of British Columbia. His doctoral thesis in social psychiatry was: “An Adolescent Subculture – A Study of the Habonim Youth Movement in Vancouver”. He made Aliya to Kibbutz Gesher Haziv in the in 1963, and eventually settled at Kibbutz Lotan in 1986. Throughout his years as a true Kibbutznik Michael had a distinguished renaissance career as a farmer, gizbar, educator, writer, and lecturer. Amongst other things Michael was the first Shaliach of the Kibbutz Movement to the Reform Movement in North America, and was instrumental in founding the Telem Youth movement. From 1989-1992, he served as Director General of the World Zionist Organization’s Department of Jewish Education and Culture. Since joining Kibbutz Lotan he helped establish the the Center for Creative Ecology. Michael has always been a friend to Habonim and a believer in youth movements, and social movements ability to change the world. He will be missed. Michael Livni leaves behind his widow Dr Brenda Herzberg, three sons, Dvir, Nimi, and Sivan, six grandchildren, and numerous students in Kibbutz Lotan, in Israel, and across the world. May his memory be for a blessing.

April 16, 2024

Almost six months into the war there is still no end in sight. The massacre of October 7th still sits heavy on the minds of the Jewish people and Israeli society, and many of the hostages are still not home. There is ongoing right-wing settler violence in the West Bank, there is an invasion looming in Rafah, there is catastrophic hunger in Gaza, and the number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli assault is rising every day, including staggering numbers of civilians. This reality does not represent the vision of Habonim Dror North America for Israel and Palestine. A few weeks ago, HDNA, in partnership with the Progressive Israel Network, signed a letter urging President Biden and the United States government to call and work for the following three items:

1. A bilateral ceasefire that brings a stop to fighting and a release of all hostages;

2. A surge in humanitarian assistance;

3. A plan for peace, security, freedom, and self-determination for all.

We want to be clear that this is the educational stance of Habonim Dror North America. We also want to be clear that we are a youth movement composed of diverse individuals and situated within varied communities. The views represented in HDNA are numerous and impossible to summarize in one set of positions. Movement members and alumni hold a diverse array of opinions that consistently lie in tension with each other. As an educational youth movement, we have emphasized the need to hold those tensions and to work within them, and to hold Shivyon Erech Ha’adam – the equality of human value – at the center of our pedagogical practice.

As the Mazkirut Artzit, whose role it is to hold these multiplicities contained in HDNA while also leading and setting an educational direction, we have chosen to affirm this stance. We add to this stance that it is time for Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist government to be voted out of office. There needs to be a new government to achieve peace and self-determination for all. His fight to remain in office has only prolonged the war in Gaza and the occupation of the West Bank, while also eroding democracy in Israel. Further, we demand a reality where there is a return to a negotiated, diplomatic process as a way to end the cycles of bloodshed and war. HDNA remains committed as a Socialist-Zionist youth movement to democratic Jewish self-determination. This stance cannot be divorced from our position that as a social justice oriented and socialist movement, there needs to be Palestinian self-determination. We are committed to working towards a shared future based on equality and peace. The struggle for liberation necessitates the freedom of all peoples in Israel and Palestine. 

At Veida 2022, HDNA reaffirmed its commitment to educational action on Israel, Palestine and Zionism. Since the war, HDNA has exemplified this by running a week of education focused on choosing life, running numerous peulot in-person and online that delved into the educational dilemmas of the moment, and organizing the PIN network to run an educational program on shared futures. In this way, we are an educational movement, but there are also many important political organizations whose work we want to highlight and support. These include but are not limited to: Ameinu, Americans for Peace Now, JStreet, A Land for All, New Israel Fund, Partners for Progressive Israel, Standing Together, T’ruah, and Women Wage Peace. We invite our ma’apilimot and bogrimot to join this work as many have already done.

We strive for a shared future in Israel and Palestine based on partnership and community. We do so educationally, by bringing our members into dilemmas – ones that not everyone will agree with – so that meaningful thought can be developed to then be turned into action, either by individual action, or through building education that explores these principles this summer at machaneh. It is only in the moments of deep disagreement that we move towards our vision for a shared future and we rely on every member of the movement to embrace the impact of those moments of disagreement. As HDNA, we invite you to take educational action and enter into dialogue and dilemmas, both to remember our shared core, but also to grow together. Here we have emphasized our shared core. It is by no means our final stance, but rather the beginning of an educational conversation.

Aleh v’Hagshem, 
Mazkirut Artzit 5784

January 22, 2024

HDNA is saddened to share the tragic news that Workshop 73 madricha Rebecca Baruch passed away in the early morning of the 21st of January 2024 following a short illness.

Originally from Habonim Netherlands, Rebecca made aliyah several years ago. She was a true Magshima of the movement, embodying its values in her everyday life.

Rebecca was a wonderful madricha who led her chanichimot with strength and compassion. We are sure that the connection she forged with our workshoppers will continue to inspire them in their movement journeys.

We send our love to Rebecca’s family, Habonim Netherlands, the worldwide Habonim family, and all those who had the pleasure to know her.

May her memory be a blessing.

November 14, 2023

This morning, we received the tragic news that Vivian Silver was confirmed killed in the October 7th massacre. Vivian was an HDNA magshima and Alum, a member of Kibbutz Beer’i, and a founding member of Kibbutz Gezer. 

Vivian was an incredibly powerful woman and lifelong activist. She was a founding member of Women Wage Peace, and Najeec Nisped (a Bedouin women’s org). She had connections with many Gazans and initiated and managed many co-existence projects with residents of the West Bank and Gaza. She worked tirelessly towards peace and justice. 

All peoples are blessed to have a partner like Vivian. We pray that her legacy not be forgotten, and that the work to create a shared and peaceful society in Israel and Palestine not be forgotten. May her memory be for a blessing.

October 11, 2023

Following is a statement by members of the Progressive Israel Network (PIN), a coalition of organizations representing Americans who are committed to pursuing democracy, equality and peace in Israel.

As we grasp the dimensions of the horror in southern Israel, the magnitude of the carnage, injury and destruction, we mourn the lives lost and wish a speedy and full recovery for those injured. We also urge the government of Israel, the Biden administration and all other stakeholders to immediately start negotiations over returning the hostages taken by Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Their savage attack on Israel, beginning on Saturday, targeting civilians and murdering them in cold blood, is an inexcusable war crime.

We stand with the people of Israel in this very difficult time. Our hearts are with the Israeli public. We urge our members and supporters to assist our sisters and brothers in Israel in every way possible.

We express our deep appreciation to President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken for supporting the people of Israel and for their diplomatic efforts to prevent a regional crisis.

Following the catastrophic security failure of the Netanyahu government, we urge Israeli authorities who are carrying out military operations in the Gaza Strip to act responsibly and respect international law. An irresponsible, rash reaction that violates the laws of war is likely to result in disastrous repercussions, further civilian casualties on both sides, and calamitous political consequences. Hamas’s horrific war crimes cannot justify further war crimes.

Going forward, we urge our government in Washington and the government of Israel to pave a path toward a political settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which would put an end to the ceaseless cycle of violence and suffering between Israelis and Palestinians.

The following PIN organizations signed the statement:

Alliance for Jewish Renewal
Ameinu
Americans for Peace Now
Jewish Labor Committee
J Street
Habonim Dror North America
Hashomer Hatzair USA
New Israel Fund
New York Jewish Agenda
Partners for Progressive Israel
Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
Reconstructing Judaism
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights