Hapoel HaMizrachi Party Election Poster “Torah and Labor” 1949 Printed in Bezalel acdemy of art in Jerusalem.

The Mizrachi movement emerged as the earliest expression of religious Zionism, blending Zionist ideals with Jewish theology. Originated at the 1902 Zionist Congress in Vilna, under the leadership of Rabbi Yitzchak Jacob Reines, Mizrachi garnered support from prominent figures like the Zionist Organization President Benjamin Ze’ev Herzl, the father of modern political Zionism. Its core belief was that the realization of the Zionist vision was inseparable from the fulfillment of Jewish religious obligations, setting it apart from secular Zionist factions and certain Orthodox groups.

Its name came from the Mizrachi Zionist organization and is a Hebrew acronym for Religious Centre (Hebrew: מרכז רוחני, Merkaz Ruhani).