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together with their parents. Later the age of the kibbutz, there was a real
kids began eating together with their feeling of vitality, a strong radical
friends from the kids houses. Many ideology, and life was generally fun.
families ate together in the dining hall, Festivals were attended by most people,
some families ate supper at home. What with the kids often playing a central
the kibbutz gave was the opportunity to role by presenting some song or play or
choose, to be either with your friends other show. Celebrations helped to
or your family, a safety valve that cement the community together, and
probably helped many families get often ended with big, long and loud rock
through those periods when one member parties, where the drink flowed freely.
needs a little more space, a little
privacy. On the kibbutz, when we joined, we did
not have the freedom to add on to our
When we became members of Kibbutz houses. If you felt you needed extra
Gezer in 1986, the community was space, a room for your kids, for
growing rapidly, just topping 100 full example, the issue had to go through
members, not counting those in the members and building committees
process, volunteers and children. There before anything was done. Larger
were over 200 people actually living families were given extra space, but it
there in total. I remember being told was a long procedure. Gradually there
that it was one of the most rapidly developed a feeling that this was all a
growing kibbutz communities in the bit old fashioned, and that people
country. There were really no limits to should be able to do things themselves.
growth, we were applying for loans to I walled in our back porch, which was
build a new dining hall, and were planning OK as long as there were big gaps open
for a 400 to 600 seating capacity. A to the world. During the winter,
new neighbourhood had just been built, however, the rain might blow in, or it
another one was being planned, and got too cold to sit outside comfortably.
additional income generating I put in some simple doors and windows,
enterprises were being contemplated. and got a lot of criticism. My defence
was that all the work had been done in
Candidates for membership were not my spare time, using largely found
just individuals and young families, materials, and any purchases I made
groups also came. They were organised came out of my pocket money. The
through the kibbutz movement, some counter argument ran as follows: I was
came from abroad, others were young using my skill to enhance my standard of
Israelis. Their initial application was as living above that of other members.
a group, but each person had to go Another member, lacking the handyman
through the candidacy and membership skill that I had, would be forced to hire
process as an individual. Not everyone a builder to do the same as I had done,
stayed. A group of Brazilians came just and that, we all agreed, was stepping
before we arrived, several of them over the line of acceptability.
became members, but within a decade
there was not a single one of them left The times were changing on the kibbutz
on Gezer. while this argument ran, and soon
afterwards a more open policy was
I look back to this time as the golden accepted. It was interesting to see how
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