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I took an interest in politics from a young age. I was very interested in the elections for the Spiritual Council [traditional mandate elections for the so-called Israelite Spiritual Council for the leadership of the synagogue and the religious community] and in the municipal elections [traditional mandate elections for the chairman of the Jewish municipality]. I was around eleven to twelve years old when I started taking interest in these things. At that time I was a Hashomer Hatzair member. The so-called General Zionists [18] were dominant then. Their youth organization was Maccabi. All well-off Jews were from the General Zionists who had one dream: Palestine. Although this was their dreamed land, nobody dared to go there. Their power was not in their deeds, but in their ideas.
The left party Poalei Zion [19] included the poorer people. Poalei Zion was a social democratic party at that time. There were continuous scuffles between the General Zionists and Poalei Zion in all kinds of elections. The other youth organization was Hashomer Hatzair, which was more left-oriented than Poalei Zion, meaning that it was more influenced by the ideas of communism, social equality and justice. I was one of its activists. There was another small group, Betar [20], which was a pro-fascist organization.
The left party Poalei Zion [19] included the poorer people. Poalei Zion was a social democratic party at that time. There were continuous scuffles between the General Zionists and Poalei Zion in all kinds of elections. The other youth organization was Hashomer Hatzair, which was more left-oriented than Poalei Zion, meaning that it was more influenced by the ideas of communism, social equality and justice. I was one of its activists. There was another small group, Betar [20], which was a pro-fascist organization.
Location
Bulgaria
Interview
Yako Yakov