Mizrachi (term coined from some of the letters of the Hebrew words merkaz ruḥani, spiritual center), religious Zionist movement whose aim was expressed in its motto: "The Land of Israel for the people of Israel according to the Torah of Israel" (coined by Rabbi Meir Berlin – Bar-Ilan). Mizrachi was founded in 1902 as a religious faction in the World Zionist Organization. The name was first used by R. Samuel Mohilewer , an early leader of Ḥibbat Zion, to express the idea that the Torah should be the spiritual center for Zionism. Many religious Jews, including famous rabbis, joined the movement of political Zionism, which worked toward the establishment of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel. Among the first to join was R. Isaac Reines , who responded to Theodor Herzl 's call and devoted his energies to spreading the idea of a national renaissance among Orthodox Jews. R. Reines believed that the Zionist movement must be dedicated exclusively to a political goal, and he led the fight against the inclusion of cultural activities in the Zionist program. After the Fifth Zionist Congress, however, when the strength of the "cultural" camp grew and official permission was granted to establish factions (federations) within the framework of the Zionist Organization. Reines decided to found a federation of religious Zionists. Toward this end, he convened the founding convention in Vilna on March 4–5, 1902, and it established the national-religious organization within the Zionist Organization.

An outstanding participant at the founding convention was R. Ze'ev Jawitz , who was charged with composing the organization's first manifesto. Two groups clashed at the founding convention: the "political" faction, which called for the preservation of the purely political character of the Zionist movement and opposed the decision of the Fifth Zionist Congress (1901) obligating the Zionist Organization to include cultural activities in its program; and the "cultural" faction, which demanded that Mizrachi, as a "spiritual center," influence the Zionist movement and its work in the Land of Israel in its traditional-religious spirit. The Mizrachi program, which was accepted by the majority of the participants at the founding convention, stated that the Zionist Organization should not engage in activities that do not have a direct relationship to Zionism. and it was stated in the manifesto that Mizrachi should try "to gather around it all those Zionists who wish to purge practical Zionism of any alien element that is not directly related to political and practical Zionism."

Ha-Po'el Ha-Mizrachi, religious pioneering and labor movement in Ereẓ Israel. Religious pioneers who settled in Ereẓ Israel in 1920–21 banded together and in April 1922 founded Ha-Po'el ha-Mizrachi, whose program stated that it "aspires to build the land according to the Torah and tradition and on the basis of labor, to create a material and spiritual basis for its members, strengthen religious feeling among the workers, and enable them to live as religious workers." The new framework was a product of the Third Aliyah , which included many young people marked by their religious consciousness. They were pioneers and workers who viewed settling in Ereẓ Israel as a mitzvah, a religious commandment and task, but did not find a place in the existing labor community, despite the fact that socially they belonged to it. They opposed the prevalent view among workers in the 1920s that regarded religion as obsolete and adherence to the mitzvot as an obstacle to the building of the land according to socialist principles. The concept of Torah va-Avodah emphasized the demand for social justice and a productive life as an essential condition of the return to the homeland and as an integral part of a full religious life in Judaism. In view of the desiccation of Jewish life in the Diaspora, even greater emphasis should be placed on those elements which were practically excluded from Jewish existence outside Ereẓ Israel. The ideology proclaimed that complete Judaism is a synthesis of religious, social, moral, national, and political elements, realized mainly through personal commitment and creativity. All these aspects of national life must be inspired by the Written and Oral Law. Special emphasis was placed on the demand for social justice. "Only he who earns his living by his own labor is certain that his livelihood is free from the labor of others, from exploitation and fraud." "Morality and justice are links in a long chain of sanctification and purification of life, which originates in the acceptance of the rule of God."

From its earliest appearance there were conflicts between Ha-Po'el ha-Mizrachi and Mizrachi because of the former's socialist trends, though technically it was an organizational part of Mizrachi. On the other hand, it had differences with the Histadrut , because of Ha-Po'el ha-Mizrachi's religious concept of the Jewish people, its opposition to the class struggle, and its demand for obligatory arbitration in labor disputes. In practice, it appeared as an independent element in the labor market. After an unsuccessful attempt to join the Histadrut in the 1920s, Ha-Po'el ha-Mizrachi acted as a part of the world Mizrachi movement. In 1925, however, it created a special body of its own in the Diaspora called Ha-Berit ha-Olamit shel Tenu'at Torah va-Avodah, which included Mizrachi youth groups and the pioneering Mizrachi movements in different countries. Thus Ha-Po'el ha-Mizrachi united an ideological movement, a labor federation, and a political party in one body.