Page 3 - C.A.L.L. #33 - Winter 2010/2011

100 YEARS OF KIBBUTZ – NOW WHAT AND FOR WHAT?

By Michael Livni, Kibbutz Lotan

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The 100 anniversary celebration of kibbutz, held in Degania on Oct. 4, 2010 and the
special session of the Israeli parliament marking the anniversary recognized the
seminal role the kibbutz played in the Zionist movement and in the establishment of

the state. Significantly, the emphasis was on past achievements. Focus on the future
was avoided. The facts on the ground are that many Israelis view the kibbutz as an
anachronistic icon.

Currently, one-quarter of the kibbutz movement is collective. In the last twenty
years, the rest have opted for differential wages and have, in effect, become a class
society. There is no longer a kibbutz "movement". The "movement" is an organization
of kibbutzim whose function is to further common (mainly economic and legal)
interests.

Significantly, kibbutzim – including most of the collective kibbutzim- are no longer
intentional communities. In the beginning, the intention of the kibbutzim was to
pioneer a community based value-world which, in micro, would point the way and lead

to the value world of future Israeli society in macro. The kibbutzim drew ideological
inspiration both from the prophetic tradition of social justice in the Jewish heritage
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as well as from various streams of socialism current at the beginning of the 20
century. True, the kibbutzim were also the willing handmaidens of the Zionist
establishment in creating an agricultural and military infrastructure for the nascent
state. This was critically important for Israel's establishment to which the kibbutzim
saw themselves as full partners. However, it was not the ultimate purpose of the
kibbutzim.

The state of Israel exists. The spirit of the times in the Western world (very much
including Israel) is post-modern, neo-liberal and focuses on individual self-fulfillment
rather than the collective good. Yes, there is a back-lash. The evidence is the
emergence of city kibbutzim and communes in Israel which see themselves as
intentional communities impacting on the social and geographic periphery of Israeli
society.

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On November 17 – 18 , the collective stream of the kibbutz movement met in
Israel's far South where kibbutzim constitute a bastion of the collective spirit and
ideology. The motto chosen for the convention was "The Next Hundred Years of
Collective Cooperation". The collective stream declared itself to be an "autonomous
union" within the kibbutz movement. Will the crack lead to a split?

Stay tuned. The jury of history is still out on the verdict of "now what and for what"
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will the kibbutz be in the 21 Century!

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