Editing General Zionists (section)

== History ==
The term "General Zionism" initially referred to the beliefs of the majority of members of the [[World Zionist Organization|Zionist Organization]] (ZO) who had not joined a specific [[Political faction|faction]] or party and belonged to their countrywide Zionist organizations only.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Zionism/General_Zionism.html |title=General Zionism |encyclopedia=Jewish Virtual Library |access-date=21 June 2015}}</ref> The term was first used at the 1907 [[Zionist Congress]] to describe the delegates who were affiliated with neither [[Labor Zionism]] nor [[religious Zionism]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ty0uAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT362|title=A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Middle East|first=Dilip|last=Hiro|publisher=[[Interlink Publishing]]|year=2013|pages=361–62|isbn=9781623710330 }}</ref>

In 1922, various non-aligned groups and individuals established the Organization of General Zionists as a non-ideological party within the Zionist Organization (later the World Zionist Organization) at a time when the Zionist movement was becoming polarized between [[Labour Zionism|Labour Zionists]] and [[Revisionist Zionism]]. Eventually the General Zionists became identified with European [[liberalism|liberal]] and [[middle class]] beliefs in [[private property]] and [[capitalism]].

In 1929, the General Zionists established a world organization, holding their first conference in 1931. At this conference, rifts opened up between the conservative right wing and those who held more moderate views.<ref name="Sofer p272"/> They were divided over social issues, economics and [[labour (economics)|labour]] issues (e.g. the [[Histadrut]]). The "General Zionists A" favored the economic policies of Labour Zionism and were supportive of [[Chaim Weizmann]]'s compromising approach to relations with the British. The "General Zionists B" were skeptical of socialism and more outspoken against British policy in Palestine.<ref name=Medoff>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SYW0AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA62 |title=Historical Dictionary of Zionism |first1=Rafael |last1=Medoff |first2=Chaim I. |last2=Waxman |publisher=Routledge |date=2013 |page=62 |isbn=9781135966423 |access-date=21 June 2015}}</ref>

After the independence of the State of Israel, the gap between the two groups widened. The General Zionists A helped form the [[Progressive Party (Israel)|Progressive Party]], which won five seats in 1949 Knesset elections and entered the Mapai-led governing coalition. The General Zionists B, running as the General Zionists, won seven seats and chose to remain in the opposition.<ref name=Medoff/> In the years following the establishment of the state of [[Israel]] in 1948, the General Zionists moved towards the right in opposition to the hegemony of [[Mapai]] and other Labour Zionist movements in Israeli politics.

The General Zionist party supported private enterprise, the suspension of state support to collective institutions, and the termination of the [[Histadrut]]'s control of the economy. However, it favored leaving the Histadrut with state control over several aspects of economy and welfare. It also supported a unified system of education (as it contributed to the passage of the 1953 State Education Law) and a written constitution to enshrine democratic freedom and civil rights. It was [[secularist]], though not as vocally so as the Progressive Party.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/politicsofcompro0000birn |url-access=registration |title=The Politics of Compromise: State and Religion in Israel |first=Ervin |last=Birnbaum |year= 1970 |publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson University Press |isbn=08386-7567-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/politicsofcompro0000birn/page/64 64] |access-date=21 June 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Peretz Bernstein.jpg|thumb|Peretz Bernstein]]
In 1936 the General Zionists established a daily newspaper, {{lang|he-Latn|[[HaBoker]]}}, which was edited for the first ten years of its existence by [[Peretz Bernstein]]. It ceased publication in 1965.