these schools taught the Zionist credo, but were divided into three categories, one general, one socialist, one religious. When the State of Israel was born, this division was officially abandoned for the sake of national unity. In reality, however, a separate religious school system continues within the general public system. It is controlled by the National Religious Party, providing thousands of jobs for its members and tens of thousands of young recruits for its youth organizations. Two smaller religious parties also maintain independent school systems, financed by the government.
One could multiply these examples in every field, except the Army, which is truly national. More than half of the economy belongs to the Histadruth, which is not only the biggest trade union, but also the biggest employer in the country. This creates a curious situation in which the chief organization of workers is also the greatest advocate of keeping wages low; thus, the Histadruth, a labor federation, has become the main instrument for policing workers and crushing strikes, now mostly wildcat strikes directed as much against the Histadruth and the government wage policy as against private employers. In a typical dispute three friends, all members of the same party leadership, meet, one representing the striking workers, one representing the Histadruth-owned factory struck, the third a delegate of the government Ministry of Labor.
In the Histadruth itself, power is strictly divided, according to a "party key," among the major workers' parties, each providing a proportionate number of its functionaries to staff the Histadruth institutions at every level. It is a federation of parties more than a federation of workers.
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Each Zionist party is, thus, a great economic empire. The left-wing Mapam party has dozens of kibbutzim, which form an integral part of the party apparatus and