“Hebrew Teachers of America - Inaugural Conference.”

(PHOTOGRAPHY).

New York

November(?) 1912

Held aloft are copies of the newspapers Hatzefirah and Moledet, as well as a sign that reading: “Speak in Hebrew!” Verso with (later) printed list of names.

The phenomenon of ideologically aligned teachers supporting Zionism and the promotion of Modern Hebrew dates back to the short-lived Asefat HaMorim of 1891-5. It was followed by the Ihud HaMorim (later the Histadrut HaMorim), founded in 1903 in Zichron Ya’akov at the behest of Menachem Ussishkin. The organization was dedicated to ‘Educating a generation healthy, physically, and spiritually, that knows how to love its nation, land and language; a generation that loves work which is the source of its life.’ The Ichud / Histadrut eventually inspired loosely affiliated organizations throughout the Diaspora, including the group of 50-odd American educators pictured here.