| Ariel Hebrew: אריאל | |
| Type: | Jewish Youth Movement |
| Status: | Non-profit organization |
| Purpose: | Educational |
| Headquarters: | Jerusalem, Israel |
| Membership: | Youth |
| Leader Title: | Secretary General |
| Leader Name: | Dvir Amior |
| Parent Organization: | Bnei Akiva |
Ariel Movement is a religious nationalist youth movement in Israel that was established in 1980. The movement was founded by a group of boys from the Bnei Akiva movement. Compared to the three central youth movements in the sector (Bnei Akiva, Ezra, and Ariel), it is the smallest movement in the religious nationalist public.[1] [2]
The branches are divided into boys' branches and girls' branches, and the activities in them are divided into groups called tribes according to age groups, starting from 3rd grade up to 12th grade. The age groups are divided into two groups: Chevraya Aleph, which includes grades 3 to 8, and Chevraya Bet, which includes grades 9 to 12. Starting from 10th grade, the members enter into leadership training.
The management in the movement is divided into a boys' sector and a girls' sector, with each sector having a coordinator or a female coordinator responsible for the commune teams, enrichment days and training courses, and initiatives and projects in the movement. Under them are deputy regional coordinators responsible for accompanying the branches in the district they are assigned to. The movement also operates an office that includes a finance department, projects, human resources, and a secretariat.[3]
In Sivan 5739, the Bnei Akiva branch "Between the Walls" was established in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem. The uniqueness of this branch was its mode of operation in a separate format for boys and girls, which was not accepted in the movement at the time. The rabbis Mordechai Eliyahu, Avigdor Nebenzahl, Yerachmiel Weiss, and Rabbi Nachum Neriah attended the establishment ceremony. Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook supported the establishment of the movement. When the matter became known, a storm arose within the movement, and in response, it quickly disassociated itself from the establishment of the branch, through an advertisement in the 'HaTzofe' newspaper. The next day, a response article by Rabbi Yosef Bramson was published, attacking the movement's leadership for this.[4]
In an attempt to calm the situation, the founders of the separate branch, including Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, met with Amnon Shapiro and Rabbi Moshe-Zvi Neriah, founders of the Bnei Akiva movement. Rabbi Haim Drukman also supported the existence of a separate branch. However, Bnei Akiva stood in opposition to the act.
Due to the high demand for a separate branch, and because of the number of members who arrived, even from distant neighborhoods such as Kiryat Moshe and Givat Shaul, it was decided to open an additional boys' branch in the Givat Shaul neighborhood in the city. By the decision of Bnei Akiva, the new separate branch was not included in the movement. A year after the establishment of the new branch, the Ariel movement was established.
The first branch of the movement to be opened since the establishment of the movement is the girls' branch of Givat Shaul.
Apart from the Givat Shaul branch, which constituted the initial core, the first branches of the movement were established in Mevaseret Zion, Beit El, Kiryat Arba, Kochav HaShachar, Bnei Brak, Ma'ale Adumim, Sha'alvim, and Bnei Atzmon, and today the movement's branches are spread across the country - from Eilat to Katzrin. In the past, there were branches of the movement in Neve Dekalim and Atzmona.
In 2015, the movement operates 156 branches, including 16,000 members. The movement had a unique writing site for youth named "Shamayim" that appeared as a sub-site on the movement's website.
The movement conducts five movement activities per year for the members - Sukkot journey, Hebrew journey held during Hanukkah (intended for Chav"B - movement graduates from 9th grade onwards), Tu B'Shvat journey, Passover journey, and a summer camp. Except for the Hebrew journey, all journeys last one day, and the length of the summer camp varies by tribe, so the smallest tribe goes out for only two days and the largest tribe goes out for a whole week.
The movement operates on the local level according to the rulings of Rabbi Eitan Eisman, and on public matters according to the rulings of Rabbi Avraham Elkana Shapira (until his death).