The Zionist pilgrimage to Tel Hai: between communitas and conflict

What is it about?

The pilgrimage to Tel Hai made by Zionist youth movements during the Mandate period forged a dynamic and vibrant arena, fostering the encounter of youngsters with a national sacred site. This annual rite instantiates the two main approaches in the study of pilgrimage. The journey to Tel Hai and the participation in the joint ceremonies increased intra-movement fraternity and cohesion. Concomitantly, the sojourn in the holy site, at the holy time, intensified the competition between Left and Right for ownership of the myth and exacerbated the inter-movement rivalry to the extent that British police forces were called up to the scene.

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