On the frontier of integration: the Histadrut and the Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel

This article analyzes the Histadrut, the quintessential Labor Zionist organization, and its policies regarding the Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel between the years 1948-1967. Using archival documents, published material, and oral history, the article reconstructs previously unexplored aspects of Palestinian membership in the Histadrut and reveals the spectrum of attitudes that it elicited. Whereas previous research has identified the Histadrut’s role in segregating the Jewish and Palestinian communities in Palestine, this article argues that after 1948, the Histadrut integrated the Palestinian Arabs into Israeli society in a way that complicates our understanding of Zionism.