The Mizrachi Entrance into the WZO Educational Enterprise in the Diaspora

The basic ambivalence of Mizrachi/Poalei Mizrachi toward institutionalized Zionist education in the diaspora, which from the beginning of the twentieth century was deemed to be primarily secular in nature, evolved from a non-participatory stance to an active? even aggressive? participation via what it termed "Jewish" or "Torah education," which was considered by them to be ipso facto true Zionist education. During the initial three years of the State of Israel, Mizrachi/Poalei Mizrachi exploited the political realities of both the state and the World Zionist Organization in order to establish as a base its own separate WZO Department of Torah Education and Culture for the Diaspora.