Gordonia (youth movement)

The movement's doctrines were based on the beliefs of Aaron David Gordon, i.e. the redemption of Eretz Yisrael and the Jewish People through manual labor and the revival of the Hebrew language.

In Gordonia the cadets learned Hebrew and the graduates organized themselves into training groups pending aliyah to the Holy Land.

Emerging from ideological crisis, Gordonia was seen as a reaction against what was perceived as the "fatal errors" of movements such as the Hashomer Hatzair, whom they viewed as adopting ‘foreign ideals’ (e.g. Marxism), which threatened to divert attention from the important historical pioneering task.

The principal distinction between Gordonia and the other movements was its decision not to engage in political activities, in alignment with the philosophies of their figurehead.

The United States branch of Gordonia was small and largely based in the Washington D.C.-Baltimore and Dallas areas, with only one summer camp, Moshava, near Annapolis.