Page 3 - C.A.L.L. #28 - Spring 2007

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From the SecretaryFrom the Secretary’’s Desks Desk
From the Secretaryrom the Secretary’’s Desks Desk

Dear Reader,

Guests of honour at a recent meeting of the Desk were Jan and Ruth
Bang. Former kibbutzniks, they now live at a Camphill commune in his
native Norway. Their account of their life there was moving and
inspiring. (See page 16) Jan has recently finished his second book on
eco-villages…. Other interesting reports came from 2 young Israelis,
who were on communal "holidays" abroad. Michael Weindholtz had spent a fascinating month at
Auroville, the community/town of communities in India. Nir Giron attended Ecotopia, the annual
festival run by EYFA (European Youth For Action) at Zajezova, Slovakia and visited the commune
there. Hopefully, we'll have more about EYFA in the next issue.

A new book on the Hutterite communal movement has just appeared – so far only in Hebrew. "By
Their Faith Shall They Live" was written by two geography professors, Israeli Yossi Katz and
Canadian John C. Lehr, and published by our own Yad Tabenkin. The fruit of several extended two-
way visits by and to the Katz family, it provides intimate glimpses of life on several Hutterite
communes and a wealth of historical and factual material. It is not known when the English
version will appear.

The communal grapevine has informed us that Eileen Caddy, veteran member of Findhorn, has
passed away at a ripe old age (See page 19). One of the three founders of the Findhorn Foundation
spiritual community in Scotland, she was a mystic, a spiritual teacher and author – a very special
person.

It's still not too late to register for this summer's ICSA Conference at Damanhur, Italy, and get to
meet a variegated selection of academics and community members. (See page 19) The fascinating
Damanhur Federation of Communities is in itself enough reason to get there. And you might
consider a communal side trip to the Holy Land.

Violence is so out of tune to our way of thinking that violence in the communal world is very
traumatic. Our last issues have mentioned attacks in 2 very different ICs, not carried out by actual
members of the communities. (May I take this opportunity to wish Jeff of Ganas a full recovery
from his wounds.) To this list, I add the tragic murder of Amish school children, even though these
good folk don't consider themselves as intentional communities. But this last summer saw a sad
record of escalated violence: over a month-long bombardment of northern Israel, with its dozens of
kibbutzim, by rockets (See page 10). Even now, more than a dozen kibbutzim, plus the urban
kibbutz Migvan (at Sderot), bordering on the Gaza Strip in the south, are still living under the daily
threat of rocket attacks.

Finally, one gets the impression nowadays that the world in general – at least, the western part of
it – is more and more coming around to the intentional communities' way of thinking. Ecology,
sustainability, and alternative fuels no longer belong to us "crazy" few, but have joined the public
debate. Simultaneously, alternative life styles are also becoming more and more prominent in the
general media. Maybe, our ideas aren't so way out after all.

In the meantime, we have an urgent request. Please write to us! C.A.L.L. can only live if you, the
IC members, provide us with oxygen: your way of life, your activities, your joys and your woes.
Even your problems – if you have any!

Yours in community,

Sol Etzioni,
Kibbutz Tzora, DN Shimshon, Israel 99803
solrene@tzora.co.il

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