Page 21 - C.A.L.L. #44 - Fall 2018

their city or town’s social welfare and education,” Zion says. “Most don’t have a sharing
economy like classic kibbutzim but they often work and live together.”

Zion frequently hosts foreign visitors, reporters and university students wishing to understand

the phenomenon. She starts with her own story as a third-generation kibbutznik.

“Israel is full of people looking for vision, for a life of meaning. Mission-driven communities
give them a way to do that.”

“I was raised on social values of equality, but nearby there was a development town of North
African immigrants we never met. I wanted to break down the metaphorical wall,” Zion says. “I
wanted to bring the kibbutz into the city and share my life with people of different

backgrounds, and try to build relationships not based on patronizing anyone.”

Six young pioneers followed Zion to Sderot in 1987. At that time, many children of the town’s
original Moroccan immigrants were growing up and taking leadership roles to improve life in

Sderot.

“There were exciting changes happening and we wanted to be part of that,” says Zion. “When
we started we got no support from the Kibbutz Movement or the government. But we wanted

to create a new kind of communal model in Israel.”

Kibbutz Migvan members lived in public housing for 14 years before buying land and building
their own houses and

community center.

They established the
first high-tech company

in Sderot. The owners
from the kibbutz and
the workers from town

earned equal salaries
and made management
decisions
democratically.

Members of Kibbutz Migvan built their own neighborhood in the city of Sderot. In 1994, they founded
the Gvanim
Association to provide equal employment and education opportunities for Israelis with special
needs. In 2008, they built houses for about 20 people with physical disabilities to live among

them.

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