Voluntary Organizations in Developing Countries and Colonial Societies: The Social Service Department of the Palestine Jewish Community in the 1930s

Abstract

Voluntary organizations may serve somewhat different functions in devel oping countries and colonial societies than they do in more developed countries. In all societies, voluntary organizations engage in social action in order to make their governments more responsive to the social needs and political rights of the population, but this function is especially crucial in societies where there is no access to the political decision-making structures. This case study explores yet another role for the voluntary organization: the deliberate and planful utilization of a voluntary organi zation structure to prepare for self-government and political independence. The establishment and early years of operation of the Social Service Department of the Jewish National Council in British-ruled Palestine in the 1930s serves as the example.