Bialik Profile
Strength•Roots•Continuity
Bialik Hebrew Day School was founded by the Labour Zionist Movement in 1961 with a total of 43 students. The school was a natural extension of the existing Farband Jewish Folk Shule which had been in continuous operation since the mid 1920's. The Movement felt that a need existed within the Toronto Jewish community for a Labour Zionist day school emphasizing Jewish education values.
It was fitting to name the school for Chaim Nachman Bialik , the Jewish Poet Laureate. His writings marked the beginning of a renaissance in Hebrew language and literature, and inspired the Jewish people in their pursuit of a homeland.
While Bialik has grown to 800 students, it remains as originally conceived by its founders - a school offering a unique environment, with an extensive curriculum, to students from junior kindergarten to grade 8.
Challenging•Evolving•Progressive
Bialik is uniquely positioned to provide the kind of education called for in our modern times. Our program reflects the values central to Labour Zionism: a commitment to the State of Israel, the desire to support and create a positive Jewish culture wherever Jews live in the world and the determination to promote an atmosphere of social justice which preserves the human dignity and social worth of every individual. Our dual curriculum is designed to help students develop a strong Jewish identity and a strong connection to Judaism and Israel, while at the same time helping them to develop their Canadian identity, culture and beliefs.
While continuing to honour our roots in the Labour Zionist Movement, our programs are constantly evolving in order to keep in touch with our changing world. Our aim is to help our students learn to value their Jewish heritage within a Canadian context.
HISTORY OF THE LABOUR ZIONIST MOVEMENT
Tradition•Commitment•Social Justice
The Labour Zionist movement, originally the "Poalei Zion" Movement, was brought to Canada by the more politicized immigrants following the failure of the Russian Revolution of 1905. Early Poalei Zion members were involved with the struggle for a Jewish homeland, were in the forefront of the battle to spread Yiddish culture, to open a separate Jewish school system and to create trade unions. It was both a political party and a fraternal organization whose goal was the reconstruction of the Jewish people.
Poalei Zion fought for social justice for the Jew as a worker and as a citizen of the world. The movement showed that it was possible to enter into conflict with some elements of the community over labour matters, yet unite with them on the question of Jewish survival.
The years from 1914-1930 were ones of growth of organizational life. There was a renaissance of Jewish culture, of Yiddish literature, of the Hebrew language and of the growing idea of Jewish self-government and self-determination. It was during these years that the Jewish Labour movement and Zionism grew. The Labour Zionist Movement attracted large numbers of new immigrants.
In 1956, the Labour Zionist Organization of America, (the national organization in Canada and the United States that was founded in 1905), reformulated its program in a new declaration of principles. Included in the aims of the organization were the following:
- aid in the building of the State of Israel as a cooperative commonwealth and the national and spiritual home of the Jewish people
- the strengthening of Jewish life throughout the world
- promoting the welfare of the working people and the cause of labour in all lands.
Bialik Hebrew Day School is affiliated with the Labour Zionist Movement and specifically with Na'amat, the Labour Zionist Alliance and Labour Zionist Youth Movements.
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