Page 8 - C.A.L.L. #36 - Summer 2013

Israel's kibbutz newcomers reluctant to commit to pure
movement makes a
comeback
After years of decline, more people
are joining kibbutzim than leaving –
with waiting lists growing
By Harriet Sherwood - guardian.co.uk,
23 July 2012
After decades of declining numbers,
bankruptcies and privatisation, Israel's
kibbutz movement is undergoing a
remarkable revival, with rising numbers
wanting to join the unique form of
collective living.
The population of about
143,000 is the highest in
its 102-year history,
after growth of 20%
between 2005 and 2010,
according to the official
Kibbutz Movement. More Amikam Osem, who has lived
people are now joining at Kibbutz Afikim for 50
kibbutzim than leaving – a
reversal of the crisis
years – and the influx of working-age
adults and young children is helping to
redress the balance of an ageing
population.
Most kibbutzim have implemented
reforms to become commercially viable
and stem decline. Liberalisation –
including permitting differential
incomes and home ownership – has
increased their attractiveness to
communal principles.
Only about 60 of Israel's 275
kibbutzim still operate a completely
collective model, in which all members
are paid the same regardless of their
allotted job. Most of the rest have
introduced wage differentials for
people employed by the kibbutz – but,
more importantly, many members now
work outside the kibbutz and contribute
a proportion of their salaries to the
collective.
Other measures have included selling
kibbutz businesses, charging for meals
and services, and recruiting agricultural
labourers from south-east Asia. The
changes, necessary for
survival, have been painful,
particularly for a generation
of kibbutz pioneers wedded
to a socialist-Zionist dream.
Increasing numbers of
families are attracted to
kibbutz living by the quality
of education, environment,
years space and security. But,
according to Amikam Osem, a
member of Kibbutz Afikim near the Sea
of Galilee for 50 years after marrying a
kibbutznik, the most important reason
was a sense of community. "This is the
principle of kibbutz life – mutual help
and responsibility for each other." A
kibbutz, he said, was like an orchestra
with people playing different parts "but
together we create something
meaningful".
In the last two years, Afikim's
membership has increased from 500 to
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