Privatization of awareness The Kibbutz in the 21

Privatization of awareness? The Kibbutz in the 21 th century An Alternative Project of Historical Development Ori ophir- the Kibbutzim movment

Even though you can find many Kibbutz members saying they are living in privatized Kibbutz the true is that from more than 270 Kibbutzim (plural for Kibbutz) in Israel, not even one was actually privatized.

The Kibbutz was and still is a multigenerational society which maintains a very high level of mutual responsibility.

The Kibbutz mission • For the group - To build a new society to replace the modern nuclear family with a broader society. The main characteristics a radical pioneering group built of a single generation. • For the larger society- to lead the Zionist project – to build villages, to “return to the land” and work in agriculture, to maintain security and settle the border areas.

More then 100 years ago the first Kibbutz (from the Hebrew root: K. B. T. Z. meaning join together), was established. . Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of Socialism and Zionism. It was a revolutionary idea of a voluntary society in which people live in accordance with a specific social contract, based on egalitarian and communal principles in a social and economic framework.

Give what you can and get what you need The main characteristics of Kibbutz life were established in adherence to collectivism in property alongside a communal character in the spheres of education, culture and social life. With this came the understanding that the Kibbutz member is part of a unit that is to replace his own family with a larger, communal, family.

The Kibbutz operates under the premise that all income generated by the Kibbutz and its members goes into a common pool. This income is used to run the Kibbutz, make investments, and guarantee mutual and reciprocal aid and responsibility between members. Kibbutz members receive the same budget (according to family size), regardless of their job or position. In terms of education, all children start equally and are given equal opportunity. The Kibbutz is governed by a system of direct participatory democracy, where the individual can directly influence issues and events in the community. Through this direct participatory process, the resources are allocated by a system called “normative distribution of wealth”. In this mostly self-sufficient community, the collective as well as the work ethic play a major role.

New family Children Gender equality

From crisis to turning point

From collective to cooperative

What does it look like today?

"It's brought a spirit of renewal to the kibbutz. I'm happy that what my grandparents began here will go on. "

"My kids won't grow up to be mere consumers, " he said. "They'll understand the value of work that money doesn't grow on trees - community values, mutual help. "

And in the future • The next step of the Kibbutzim Movement it to define new deal with the Israeli society. After the turning point that bring people to choose the kibbutz as alternative way of life know we can find unique value to the Israeli society. • In the kibbutz today, based on the cooperative values, the individual and the family are the base for the society. • Even after the changes the Kibbutz continue to guarantee mutual and reciprocal aid and responsibility between members is governed by a system of direct participatory democracy, where the individual can directly influence issues and events in the community.

• Another historical Development that developed from the crisis was the new idea of Urban Kibbutz. An Urban Kibbutz is a form of kibbutz located within an existing city. There are currently just over 100 in Israel, totalling around 2, 000 members. Although there were attempts to form urban kibbutzim in the early 20 th century, their success was limited and most failed.

One interesting attempt was starting an Urban Kibbutz in Brooklyn N. Y. by the Hasomer-Hatziar youth movement graduates.

Children • From the 1920 s until the 1970 s, most kibbutzim had a system whereby the children would sleep in communal children's homes, called 'Beit Yeladim' , instead of in their parents' apartments. Although the children were not raised directly by their parents, they knew who their parents were and formed close bonds with them. Throughout the morning, parents looked forward to the end of the work day when they could go to the children's house and pick up the children to play with them and dote on them. • Children's societies were one of the features of kibbutz life that most interested outsiders. In the heyday of children's societies, parents would only spend two hours a day, typically in the afternoon, with their children. The children, in an age appropriate way, ran their own “little kibbutz” of peers, with educational opportunities to learn relevant skills by keeping a children’s zoo.

Gender equality Women performed many of the same tasks as men. Both men and women worked in the fields, performed guard duty, and heavy labor. However, mostly women filled the traditional female roles, such as cooking, sewing, and cleaning. The communal dining and laundry were already a part of the kibbutz from the start. Of course they were implemented for reasons of living communally, but also to emancipate women from these duties so they were free to work in other sectors. With the arrival of the children, it was decided that they would be raised communally and sleep communally to free women to work in other fields. The desire to liberate women from traditional maternal duties was an ideological underpinning of the children's society system. Women were "emancipated from the yoke of domestic service" in that their children were taken care of, and the laundry and cooking was done communally. There was no traditional marriage in the kibbutz. If a man and woman wanted to get married, they went to the housing office and requested a room together. Not having traditional marriage was seen as a way to dissolve the patriarchy and give women their own standing without depending on a man (economically or socially) and was also viewed as a positive thing for the community as a whole, as communal life was the main aspect of the kibbutz.

From crisis to turning point • The individual member: A Kibbutz member identified himself, with great pride, as such. So the collapse of the system created an identity void and a fundamental shaking of self-esteem. You can see that the same kibbutz member, after he regained his self-esteem and that of his family, along with a new self-determination, started to look for “something more”. • After long process, the young leadership in the individual kibbutzim and the Kibbutz Movement, focused on this need, and developed varied approached and methodologies which tried to give answers to the kibbutz members needs for self-determination. • The main course is to be part of the cooperative world, to adopt similar values and to see the Kibbutz today as a part of alternative way of life. The ability of the movement and the leadership in the Kibbutzim to say "We have something to offer ourselves, our children and Israeli society”

From crisis to turning point • The financial crisis uncovered ideological schisms within the system that had been smoothed over with resources, so the Kibbutzim entered a period ideological bewilderment and embarrassment which created an internal social crisis and a tremendous loss of prestige within the larger Israeli society. • Within the kibbutz movement it looked like the kibbutz life is over and the main task is too help and find solutions for the kibbutz members how survive without work and even without bank accounts. • You heard people in the kibbutz saying "we want to be like the city nearby". You heard parents said to them children "don't do our mistake, you have nothing to find here" (in the kibbutz). • The chapter of collectivism was over but developing from this crisis you can find new interesting creations.

The co-operative principles are guidelines by which co-operatives put their values into practice. 1. Voluntary and Open Membership-Co-operatives are voluntary organisations, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political or religious discrimination. 2. Democratic Member Control-Co-operatives are democratic organisations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting their policies and making decisions. Men and women serving as elected representatives are accountable to the membership. In primary co-operatives members have equal voting rights (one member, one vote) and co-operatives at other levels are also organised in a democratic manner. 3. Member Economic Participation-Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their co-operative. At least part of that capital is usually the common property of the co-operative. Members usually receive limited compensation, if any, on capital subscribed as a condition of membership. Members allocate surpluses for any or all of the following purposes: developing their cooperative, possibly by setting up reserves, part of which at least would be indivisible; benefiting members in proportion to their transactions with the co-operative; and supporting other activities approved by the membership. 4. Autonomy and Independence -Co-operatives are autonomous, self-help organisations controlled by their members. If they enter into agreements with other organisations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and maintain their co-operative autonomy. 5. Education, Training and Information-Co-operatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers, and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their co-operatives. They inform the general public - particularly young people and opinion leaders - about the nature and benefits of co-operation. 6. Co-operation among Co-operatives-Co-operatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the co-operative movement by working together through local, national, regional and international structures. 7. Concern for Community-Co-operatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies approved by their members. Co-operative Principles

What does it look like today? • A testimony of the resurgence of the Kibbutz is Degania Alef, Israel's first kibbutz, founded in 1910 on the shores of the Sea of Galilee just celebrated the birth of 11 children, its largest “crop” of babies in a quarter century. • But the last few years have seen a surprising turnaround, with young families seeking to escape the high cost of living and alienation they find in cities for a cheaper, rural lifestyle in a closely knit community.

Nir Ortal, 43, whose surname happens to be the same as the kibbutz, was sent in 2004 to New York by his hi-tech company. He and his wife chose to move and raise their two children in Ortal, where he works at a nearby start-up company. "My kids won't grow up to be mere consumers, " he said. "They'll understand the value of work - that money doesn't grow on trees community values, mutual help. "

The beginning of the renewal began as a form of criticism by kibbutz children who matured analyzed their parents kibbutz. They look how to combine the kibbutz values in the Israeli society and not in separated settlements.

The Kibbutz Movement, from its inception, was based on recruiting new members from the various Israeli youth movements. For decades graduates of the youth movements came in the thousands to kibbutzim, and since it fit the general Zionist ethos, was encouraged by the Labor governments. During the crisis, the Kibbutz lost its appeal and ability to absorb the graduates and they sought an alternative that was ideologically based. The youth movements search brought them to the Urban Kibbutz alternative.

Most of the urban kibbutzim keep them self as an intimate group with 10 -20 members and choose not to be part of the Kibbutz Movement.

Today after almost 40 years we can see orientation to build the connection between the kibbutzim movement and part of the urban kibbutzim.

THE ISRAELI URBAN KIBBUTZ MODEL, NOW IN BROOKLYN. תמונה של הכתבה