The Histadrout (ההסתדרותהכלליתשלהעובדיםבארץישראל) (Hahistadrout hachlalit Shell ha' ovedim baeretz Israel) (General association of the workers of Eretz Israel) is the main trade union of Israeli workers. It is affiliated with the international Trade-union confederation.

Under the impulse of several personalities of which David Ben Gourion and the writer, Joseph Haïm Brenner, Histadrout was created in December 1920 with Haïfa as a Jewish trade union which provided services to its members: change of employment, vacation disease paid, and other advantages. Its initial objectives were to federate the whole of the Jewish workers of the Palestine under British mandate, to support their installation in the country, to defend the rights of paid near the employers and to support the use of a Jewish labor compared to the cheap Arab labor. Histadrout also had its health system.

Its first general secretary is David Ben Gourion, elected in 1921 (it occupied this station until in 1935). Under its presidency, Histadrout strongly has privileges nationalism compared to the socialist project of transformation (at the time association was named general Organization of the Hebrew workers of Eretz Israel ). He will be always opposed so that workers not-Jews (Arab) can be organized within Histadrout. He declared for example: The socialist mode and the commune cannot have any interest for us in this country if those which apply them are not Jewish workers. We did not come here to organize anyone, and we are not here to spread the socialist idea near anyone. We are here to establish a fatherland of work for the people juif Indeed, it is only starting from 1962 that Arabic did not have right to become member of the organization.

Histadrout counted 4.400 members in 1920, then quickly 8.394 members in 1922. In 1927, it asserted nearly 25.000 members, that is to say 75% of the Jewish workers of Palestine. Histadrout quickly became one of the most powerful institutions of the State of Israel, a fish pond for the movement Labor Zionist and a pillar of national construction. Lastly, a great number of companies and factories were its property and it became the first employer of the country by the means of his economic branch, " Hevrat HaOvdim" (הברתהאובים) (Company of the Workers) which had inter alia the most important conglomerates of Israeli industry and the second bank of the country, the " Bank HaPoalim" (בנקהפאולים) (Bank of the Workmen).

In 1983, Histadrout counted 1.600.000 members, which accounted for a third of the Israeli population and 85% of the credits. 170.000 members were of Arab origin.

However, the importance of Histadrout started to decrease in the years 1980 with the growing liberalization of the Israeli economy. It remains always a major actor of the economy of the country.

In 2005, the leader of Histadrout Amir Peretz, is elected chief of the Workers party.