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The movement of Working and Studying Youth is today some 100,000 strong, encompassing members from all walks of life:
- 40,000 come from workshops, factories and offices
- 10,000 are kibbutzniks (children of the collective settlements)
- 12,000 are from villages old and new
- 35,000 come from the cities, new immigrant towns and development towns
- 5,000 are young Arab and Druze workers
The activities of the movement are adapted to the specific needs of the various groups but they all share one common aim -to instil the values of the labour movement and first and foremost, the principle of social justice and the equality of man. As a movement open to all working youth in Israel - boys and girls alike - its prime aim is to enable its members to achieve self-fulfilment within the framework of cooperative agricultural settlement.
Each year, the movement graduates some 1,000 members who turn to agricultural settlement via service in NAHAL (national service units which combine farming and military training) These graduates include working youths and students, sons of veteran settlers and new immigrants, youth from farm, development town and city.
Naan was the first kibbutz to be set up by the movement (almost 5.0 years ago) and Bet Shearim was the first moshav (village). Since then, graduates of the movement have established dozens of settlements - kibbutzim and villages alike. Its members have also qone to join existing settlements to strengthen and reinforce them. The youngest of the movement's kibbutzim is Afiq on the Golan Heights.
The educational framework of the Working and Studying Youth movement is like a melting pot into which the individual members, coming from contrasting backgrounds and with different educational experiences are all thrown together to emerge fullyequipped to shoulder the burdens of the tasks and challenges facing them.
Almost every settlement in the country has its branch of the movement, while the towns and cities boast several branches each. The movement is the spokesman for working youth and takes part in the legislative activities of the Knesset in this field. It has spread to the development towns and is even to be found in Arab towns and villages.
The Working and Studying Youth movement, like the Histadrut (General Federation of Jewish Labour), is an allembracing movement and therein lies its strength.
During the 50 years of the movement's existence, hundreds of thousands of youths have passed through its ranks, many of whom have later held important positions in government, the Knesset, local government and other public institutions. The President of Israel, Professor Ephraim Katzir, was himself one of the movement's first leaders.
