Ben-Gurion's Attack on Mapam, 1953: Ideology as Politics

Abstract

In January-April 1953, under the pen name ‘Saba Shel Yariv’ (Yariv’s grandfather), Ben-Gurion published a series of articles in the newspaper Davar titled ‘On Communism and Zionism in Hashomer Hatzair.’ The series launched a fiercely disparaging attack on the leadership of the Mapam party, Hakibbutz Haartzi and Hashomer Hatzair youth movement owing to their docile support of the Soviet Union. Current research considers BG’s articles in the series as an ideological and educational move in his struggle with Mapam over the hearts and minds of Israel’s elite youth. However, this view is disputable since it fails to take into account the political and ideological weakness Mapam demonstrated in its near-blind support for the Soviet Block. Our contention is rather that Ben-Gurion’s main political concern at the time was not left-wing Mapam but the rise of the right-wing Zionim Klalyim (General Zionists) party which had channeled public dissatisfaction with Mapai and the ‘Bolshevik’ policies of the Histadrut. Hence, Ben-Gurion lashed out at Mapam in order to portray Mapai under his leadership as a bulwark against Communism and Stalinism and the only bridge between Israel and the West. Likewise, Ben-Gurion used the series to take on the influential Me’orer circle of Mapai which was challenging his socioeconomic policies from a socialist pioneering point of view.