Machzikei Hadas (organization)

Machzikei Hadas was a prominent organization first founded in the late 19th century in Galicia and Bukovina, and continuing to the present day in association with the Belz Hasidic community, headwartered in Jerusalem, Israel.[1]

Machzikei Hadas marked the first effort by the Orthodox Jewish community to unite for political action, aiming to defend and promulgate their beliefs within Jewish societal circles. The formation of this society was prompted by a meeting of larger Jewish communities, convened by Shomer Israel in Lvov (Lemberg) in 1878. The meeting was held in response to their opposition to the proposed establishment of a rabbinical seminary and the potential organizational changes within the communities.

The establishment of the Machzikei Hadas society was primarily to ward off the perceived threats stemming from these new plans. Its leadership comprised prominent figures such as Shimon Sofer (Schreiber) of Cracow, the son of the esteemed Chasam Sofer, and Joshua Rokeach, the Rabbi of Belz. The inaugural convention of this society took place on March 13, 1879, during which the organization's rules were delineated. Also, a bimonthly publication, Machzikei Hadas, was launched in both Hebrew and Yiddish as a counterpoint to the publication Izraelita.

In the Austrian parliamentary elections of 1879, the Machzikei Hadas nominated a unique list of candidates, with Shimon Sofer being the only one elected. Sofer subsequently joined the "Polish club," a group opposing Jewish assimilationist representatives. In 1882, the organization held a significant conference attended by 200 rabbis and 800 community representatives. The goal was to protect the religious ethos of the communities from the reformist leanings of the progressives. The conference concluded with a resolution that full voting rights for communal elections should be granted exclusively to Jews who observed the precepts of the Shulchan Aruch.

Following the death of Shimon Sofer in 1883, the movement experienced a temporary setback. However, it rebounded in 1908 when the Rabbi of Belz issued a proclamation, Kol Machzikei Hadas. This proclamation strongly opposed any efforts to instill a progressive spirit into the communities, patterned after Western Europe, or introduce secular national content under the influence of Zionism and socialism. The Rabbi of Belz also criticized the Vienna community's attempts to establish a central union for Austria.

After World War I, when Poland gained independence, a section of the Orthodox community, inspired by the Rabbi of Belz, founded an independent political party named Machzikei Hadas. The party was launched at a convention in Grodek Jagiellonski (Gorodok) on December 22, 1931, attended by representatives from 100 communities. The influence of the party was predominantly felt throughout Galicia, where it emerged as a significant competitor to Agudat Yisrael.