Education for Cooperating in the Histadrut Labour Federation and Israeli National Frameworks, 1940-1960: Theory, Partial Success and Causes of Failure

Introduction: Definitions and Theoretical BackgroundIn this paper, we present as a case study the history of education for cooperation in 1940-1960, the transition years between the earlier period of the Histadrut (General Federation of Jewish Labor in Israel) and Jewish settlement, to the present period of the State of Israel.We set out the theory, its practical applications and the reasons for failure, as indicated by educational theory and research.We also want to draw from the historical case study conclusions relevant for education for cooperative and communal living today.Of the various definitions of the term 'cooperation', we have chosen that of the International Labour Office in 1956: "A cooperative organization is one of a varying number of people contending with the same economic difficulties who are united, on the basis of equal rights and duties, by a common will to resolve these difficulties together . . .Members transfer to their enterprise one or more of their economic activities, as their needs dictate, and making collective use of its services for their financial and moral benefit." 1 Alexander Barzel, a philosopher who studies collective living, defines cooperation in terms of togetherness, beginning with a level that preserves individual separateness, with defined and limited areas of cooperation, through degrees of cohesion that unite the individual with some group members in some areas, to the comprehensive togetherness of the commune and the kibbutz, in which cooperation relates to all aspects of life.Other investigators have classified various coopera-