About Mizrachi
Mission Statement
Board Members
World Centers
The Mizrachi Family

About Us

Members of Mizrachi in Israel are found throughout society. They are at the forefront of economics, politics, welfare, technology, science, the army and in every sphere of everyday life. In Jewish communities outside of Israel, Mizrachi members are at the forefront of communal leadership, spiritual leadership and education.

The two Mizrachi women organisations, Emunah and AMIT are also very active. Emunah has branches in 24 countries worldwide aims to educate their members and is very active in fund raising to maintain its institutions in Israel. In Israel, Emunah operates 120 Day Care and Early Childhood centers throughout the country. In addition the Emunah network also includes: 9 Afternoon Care Centers, 3 Youth villages, a number of secondary schools, 2 technological high schools and an institution of tertiary study.

AMIT, the Mizrachi Women of America organization is also involved in educating its members and fundraising for their institutions in Israel. In Israel the AMIT educational network includes: 22 primary and secondary schools, 4 youth and family residential facilities, 5 youth technology centers and 7 technical training colleges.

A further arm of the Mizrachi educational institutions is the Yeshivot and Ulpanot Bnei Akiva. This network includes 16 secondary schools for boys and 12 schools for girls. Students have the option of living in dormitories and this leads to many of our students "leaving" home in pursuit of the finest education.

A large problem meets Mizrachi members in Israel when they reach the age of 18. They are faced with the dilemma of choosing between continuing their Torah studies and serving in the army. This problem was overcome by the setting up of the "Hesder" program where boys sign up for 5 years in place of the regular 3 and throughout this period combine the two. In order to accommodate the over 6000 members presently in this program 30 yeshivot - talmudic academies - have been established. Other members decide to dedicate an extra year to learning before they enter the regular army stream and to accommodate for this special talmudic academies have been established. Of great pride to the Mizrachi movement is the proportionally large number of serving officers in the Israel Defense Forces that are associated with the Movement.

Female members of the Mizrachi movement living in Israel also face a dilemma when they reach the age of 18. There is a question within Jewish law whether women should serve in the army or not. Three options exist for our members. The first is to get a religious exemption from service, but this option is very rarely used. The second is to serve in the educational corps of the army where our girls serve as teachers in various spheres: to regular soldier, those from underprivileged homes and those with learning impediments as well as working in underdeveloped towns.

The third option is called "Sherut Leumi", a program under which our girls volunteer for one or two years of national service. At present there are some 6000 girls "working" from Eilat through to the northern border, from the coast through to the Jordan River. Their National Service may take many forms and they work in hospitals, old age homes, shelters for children from broken homes, various educational institutes, with new immigrants and in many more options available to them throughout Israel. Forty - five of these girls are selected every year to serve as teachers in Jewish communities throughout the world.

As mentioned earlier, part of our motto is "Am Yisrael B'Eretz Israel" and this entails settlement of the land. The Mizrachi movement proudly boasts the Kibbutz Hadati network of 16 kibbutzim where an Orthodox lifestyle is maintained. These kibbutzim are spread throughout the Land and are involved in many types of agriculture and industry. They proudly observe the various Torah laws which are contingent on the Land of Israel including: Shemitta (the sabbatical year), Orlah, Tevel etc.

The largest settlement arm of the Mizrachi movement is the "Religious Moshav Movement". This is a network of 64 moshavim which can be found throughout the land. In addition it also boasts 9 Moshav Shitufi where the lifestyle is a combination of kibbutz and moshav. Finally the Mizrachi movement also has 14 community settlements which are not connected to any agricultural enterprises.

The Mizrachi movement is represented in the Knesset by the National Religious Party - Mafdal. The party had been represented in every Knesset since 1948. It has had a very high profile and only sat in opposition once during the years 1992-1995. Its members have held various ministerial portfolios and are involved in many committees. Our late president Dr. Josef Burg z"l (1909-1999) is still the longest serving Knesset member, having served for 40 consecutive years, 35 of these as a Minister in various portfolios. In the present Knesset the Mafdal has only 5 seats.

The Mizrachi movement is also active in all the National Institutions. Its members are active throughout the Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization. These include: Mr. Avraham Duvedevani - Chairman of the Settlement Division and member of the Executive, Mr. Eliezer Shefer - Chairman - Department for Spiritual Resources in the Diaspora and a member of the Executive. Mizrachi is also represented on the Board of the Jewish National Fund by members of the world movement.

The Mizrachi movement also has five additional institutes of higher learning, four trade schools, five old age homes, a mortgage bank, a pension fund, an international student organization, 131 free interest loan societies, a construction company and kibbutz guest houses. Cultural institutions include the daily newspaper Hatzofe, Mossad Harav Kook and the Talmudic Encyclopedia.

The Mizrachi movement's achievements in the Land of Israel are truly outstanding. This however does not reflect on the important work that Mizrachi does in the various Diaspora communities. Many members of the Mizrachi movement are sent as emissaries throughout the Jewish world, specifically to smaller communities where their impact is enormous. This is in addition to the 37 countries where the Mizrachi movement had active branches.

The World Movement finds itself at a very exciting moment in Jewish history where it is experiencing a time of great growth and a revival in the Religious Zionist movement. This can be witnessed by the opening of new Mizrachi branches (Philadelphia, Baltimore, Hong Kong etc.) and educational institutions worldwide, and increase in our manifold activities as well as vast increase in the number of students attending our various educational institutions in Eretz Israel.