On one hand, Mizrachi wanted to raise the awareness among religious Jews towards the possibility of Aliyah and on the other hand they wanted to influence the non-religious Zionists by creating an atmosphere of tolerance and equality between the two factions. The Mizrachi party envisioned itself as the spiritual center of the Zionist organization and wanted to make Eretz Israel the spiritual center of Judaism.
During the first year of Mizrachi, 210 groups were established in Russia, Poland and Lithuania, aside from the Mizrachi group in other countries. It became the strongest branch of Zionism in Russia. Rabbi Reines fought strongly to keep the Zionist party from splitting over the Uganda resolution and other debates. Due to his efforts, the Mizrachi party remained within the Zionist organization
In 1905, Rabbi Reines opened the first modern yeshiva in Lida, Lithuania in which traditional religious and secular subjects were taught. Hebrew, not Yiddish was the language of instruction.
In 1921, Mizrachi established its own trade union branch (Hapoel Hamizrachi) whose mandate was to represent religious Jews in the Histadrut, the Zionist Trade Union movement.
The best known religious Zionist figure is Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1864-1935). He saw religious Zionism as G-d’s plan to bring the Jews back to their homeland. This event would lead to Jewish salvation, world peace and the Messiah’s arrival.(See Rabbi Kook). Rabbi Kook was the Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Jerusalem in 1924. That year he founded a Jerusalem yeshiva called, Mercaz haRav, which still educates most of the religious Zionist’s scholars and leaders.
Mizrachi members engaged in politics and studied agriculture in preparation for settling Palestine. In 1929 they established a youth wing (B’nai Akiva), which created settlements in Palestine, particularly in the Galilee’s Beit She’an valley.
After the State of Israel was created (1948), the Mizrachi party was the first religious Zionist party. In 1956 the Mizrachi party formed the National Religious Party. It founded the Ministry of Religion, spearheaded Kashrut and Sabbath observance laws and created a network of religious schools, which operate throughout Israel today.
Rabbi Meir Kahane (1932-1990) began a second “extreme” stream of Religious Zionism called Kahanism. This movement synthesizes religious Zionism with the pre-1948 right wing ultra nationalist school of thought led by the followers of Ze’ev Jabotinsky. Rabbi Kahan stated that Israel always was, and always will be, the legitimate, G-d given, homeland of the Jewish people and that liberal accommodation of Arab claims would be disastrous for the people of Israel. In 1990 he was assassinated in New York by a young Arab extremist. Movements such as Hazit, Gush Emunim, Tkuma, Effie Eitam and Meimad have all grown out of Kahanism.
Today religious Zionists are often called “Kippot Sruggot” or knitted skullcaps because of the knitted skullcaps worn by the men.