On the tenth anniversary of the "HeHalutz" movement, AZR testifies about himself as a founding witness, and traces the arc from Bilu to the era of building:
"I, thank God, stood at the cradle of Hibbat Zion, that small spark which lit up the darkness in the Russian exile. And without calculations the Biluim leapt up and went up to the Land of Israel… Slowly, slowly the spark grew… and behold, we have driven in our stake in the Sharon, in the Jezreel Valley, in the hills of Judea and Ephraim, on the Carmel and in the Galilee." AZR, "On the Tenth Anniversary of 'HeHalutz'" ("Davar," Adar 5688/1928), Ben-Yehuda read/44061.
Even though "a lion crouches at the border of the Land of Israel," there is no despair: "The train has moved, and no force can stop it." And he leans on the sacrifice of Tel Hai:
"Not in vain did Yosef Trumpeldor and his comrades give their lives defending the homeland. With their blood they sealed an everlasting covenant between the generations to come and the Land of Israel." Ibid. (See "AZR and the Labor Movement.")
The duty toward the immigrants, AZR stresses, is not charity but heartfelt regard and national responsibility, even to the point of self-denial:
"If a man gives his donation and withdraws, he has not thereby fulfilled his duty… We must constrict ourselves, our desires, in order to make room for our guests who come to settle among us." AZR, "To the Aid of the Aliyah" ("Haaretz," Adar 5685/1925), Ben-Yehuda read/43882. (And in the prophet's words: "The place is too narrow for me; make room for me that I may dwell.")
AZR did not spare the rod of criticism from the Zionist establishment itself. In 1921 he came out against the abandonment of the young pioneers, stranded for months on the way (crossing the Dniester under fire, left stranded in Romania, Vienna, and Constantinople):
"A squandering of the lives of idealistic young people… Such squandering cannot be forgiven!… The Zionist Organization is responsible for all the precious souls of young people who stretch out their hands and plead: Let us come to the Land of Israel! It is responsible for them even while they are in the diaspora." AZR, "The Young Immigrants and Zionism" (Kuntres, Adar 5681/1921), Ben-Yehuda read/43917.
And his closing, a direct demand: "Do not justify yourselves with excuses. Let the young people go up to their land! Cease this squandering of souls."
The three articles paint AZR as the conscience of the aliyah: a witness who stood at the cradle of Hibbat Zion, one who commands a loving absorption and even self-denial, and a sharp critic of the Histadrut when it abandoned the pioneers. His Zionism is not merely a vision — it is practical responsibility for every soul.