דער בונד

...

That's "The Bund" to you.

As part of our Zionist history class, we all had to participate in an inforomal educational experience called "The Duma Exercise" this evening. Essentially, all 32 Rabbinical and Education students (Cantors don't take Zionist history... because it's not important for their line of work?) were divided into 8 groups representing different (mostly) historically accurate Jewish political and interest groups in early 1900's Russia. Plotsk, to be exact.

Such groups represented were the Russian Social Democratic Workers Party/RSDWP (aka Communists); the Autonomists; the Terretorialists; a groups advocating immigration to America; Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Jews; Socialist Zionists; and the Bund, a Jewish socialist, anti-Zionist, group. I was, as you may have guessed, in The Bund. I was a Bundist. Part of the Bund. The Bund.

The Bund has ironically been described as "Zionists with seasickness," a group thank acknoledged Jewish national unity, but constantly wavered on whether those national and cultural traits meant statehood or integration into the Russian social and economic struggle. It was a hard group to wrap my head around.

The exercise was called "The Duma" because the groups were meant to assemble in 1906 in Plotsk and elect representatives from the Jewish community to the Duma, the new Russian parliament. Each group had to prepare a statement - a platform - and read the platform, take questions from the other groups, and then sing an anthem. We also had to dress up. It was a ridiculous evening program, but ultimately fun. It was a good, experiential way at getting into the heads of the different groups that existed in Eastern Europe when the Zionist movement was gaining prominence; early Zionists were only one voice in a cacophony of different responses to modernity.

To help my group argue our case, I baked a Bund(t) cake. It was delicious.

Here are some pictures of my group:


The Bundists sit in the forum, holding up signs


Comrades Joel and Nikki argue our case