The Israeli kibbutz, the twentieth century’s most interesting social experiment, is in the throes of change. Instrumental in establishing the State of Israel, defending its borders, creating its agriculture and industry, and setting its social norms, the kibbutz is the only commune in history to have played a central role in a nation’s life. Over the years, however, Israel has developed from an idealistic pioneering community into a materialistic free market society. Consequently, the kibbutz has been marginalized and is undergoing a radical transformation. The egalitarian ethic expressed in the phrase “From each according to ability, to each according to need” is being replaced by the concept of reward for effort. Cooperative management is increasingly giving way to business administration. “The kibbutz movement produced a miracle. Yet even miracles cannot ignore changing times. Having had the privilege of being a kibbutz member for many years, I know that the savor of the experience never fades. Daniel Gavron has written an amazing story about a living wonder.” — Shimon Peres “An important historical study, a book that will be read and reread for years to come. I know of no book that equals it as a study of the kibbutz movement. No student of Israel should be without this book. It is inspiring and quite wonderful.” — Howard Fast Daniel Gavron THE KIBBUTZ Awakening from Utopia Digital edition: C. Carretero Spread: Confederación Sindical Solidaridad Obrera http://www.solidaridadobrera.org/ateneo_nacho /biblioteca.html For the kibbutznik, of whom too much was always expected. CONTENTS FOREWORD ACKNOWLEDGMENTS CHRONOLOGY GLOSSARY INTRODUCTION: UNCERTAIN FUTURE PART I - WHAT HAPPENED? I. DEGANIA: STARTING OUT II. GIVAT BRENNER: LAGSHIP IN STORMY SEAS III. HASOLELIM: REPAIRS IN MIDFLIGHT IV. NEVE YAM: SURVIVING COLLAPSE V. HATZERIM: PROVING IT CAN WORK PART II - WHAT WENT WRONG? VI. THE COLLAPSE OF 1985 VII. THE LIMITS OF EDUCATION PART III - FACES OF THE FUTURE VIII. MAAGAN MICHAEL: DIVORCE SETTLEMENT IX. KFAR RUPPIN: CAPITALIST KIBBUTZ X. EIN TZURIM: NO IMMUNITY XI. TAMUZ: URBAN COMMUNE XII. SAMAR: TOUCHING UTOPIA CONCLUSION SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ABOUT THE AUTHOR FOREWORD I read Daniel Gavron’s book with great pleasure—and always with the feeling that I was reading an important historical study of my time, a book that will be read and reread for years to come. I know of no book that equals it as a study of the kibbutz movement. I spent a month in Israel some years ago, part of the time at Kibbutz Kinneret; reading Gavron’s book focused my memories. Thus, I can make some observations of my own about the kibbutz movement— at least sufficient to whet your mind for what follows. Of all the sociological experiments of the twentieth century, I consider the kibbutz movement in Israel the most important and believe that some day it will become the way of life for a goodly part of the human race. At this moment of outrageous consumption and greed in the wealthiest sections of the earth, and hunger, misery, and poverty in the poorer sections, the kibbutz way of life appears as a dream; and I’m afraid that it will remain a dream for many years to come. Gavron sets before us the coincidental set of circumstances that brought it into being, the Zionist passion, the cruel anti— Semitism of nineteenth— and twentieth—century Europe, the two world wars, and of course the Holocaust. That, together with the tribal sense of Judaism and the desperation, wit, and inventiveness of the Jews, combined at an instant in history to create the boldest experiment in communal and collective living and creativity that the world had seen. This must never be underestimated. There had been many attempts at such efforts before, but never with the scope, ideological commitment, and success that marked the kibbutz movement. Gavron’s analysis of this movement and his intimate investigation of selected kibbutzim is a worthy journalistic and historical achievement. He does not idealize or spare the failures or lessen the difficulties. The kibbuttzim are part of the world, islands in the ruthless capitalistic culture—in Israel as elsewhere. Gavron shows how the very economic success of Israel created a technology that undermined the kibbutz and describes the desperate struggle of the kibbutz to exist within that world of superior technology. He raises the question of whether the kibbutz can continue in the new society that is modern Israel, and he delves into the problems that the kibbutzim face. As I write this, in December of 1999, I live in a world where the worship of greed and money has reached heights I never knew in eighty—five years of living. Gavron’s history of the kibbutz movement over the past century comes as a breath of clean fresh air, a hope and dream for the future of mankind. No student of Israel should be without this book. It is inspiring and quite wonderful. Howard Fast ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the more than a hundred kibbutz members, former members, scholars, consultants, and others who generously gave me their confidence, time, and expertise. Most of them are directly quoted, but those who are not mentioned also contributed to the writing of this book. Three good friends deserve my particular gratitude for reading my manuscript, correcting my mistakes, and making valuable comments. They must not be blamed for any remaining errors, nor must they be in any way associated with my opinions or conclusions: Yaacov Oved of Kibbutz Palmahim, professor of history at Tel Aviv University and Yad Tabenkin and author of Two Hundred Years of American Communes and many other studies of communal life, who supported and encouraged me throughout the project; Zeev Hirsh, formerly a member of Kibbutz Maagan Michael, later professor of International Business at Tel Aviv University, and currently head of the MBA program at the Rishon Lezion College of Management, who gave me the benefit of his considerable knowledge, particularly (but not exclusively) with regard to economic matters; and Colin Primost, general manager of Kibbutz Kfar Hanassi, who is directly involved in carrying out the current process of change in his community and whose friendship, wisdom, and insight have been important to me for nearly half a century. The core of the book is based on interviews with kibbutz members and others, conducted in the years 1998—1999 in kibbutz homes, gardens, dining halls, and offices. Except in those few cases in which the interviewees were native English speakers, the interviews were in Hebrew and later transcribed by me into English. All the interviews took the form of informal, unstructured conversations, starting with the interviewees’ personal history, moving on to their experiences at the kibbutz, the general history of their kibbutzim, and finally their attitudes to the current changes and the role they were playing (or not playing) in the process. Although these conversations are the main source for what I have written here, brief membership of a kibbutz, followed by forty years of close contact with kibbutz members all over Israel, have also made their contribution. At the same time, dozens of books, journals, and other documents (many of them from kibbutz archives) have contributed to my understanding of the subject. Specifically, I would like to thank the archivists of Degania, Givat Brenner, Hasolelim, Neve Yam, Hatzerim, Kfar Ruppin, and Yad Tabenkin for their assistance. CHRONOLOGY 1870 Establishment of Mikveh Yisrael, first Jewish Agricultural School in Palestine. 1880 Start of huge Jewish migration from Russia and Eastern Europe, mostly to the United States. 1882 Start of first aliya (immigration) of Jews to Palestine. First three modern Jewish villages established in coastal plan and Galilee. 1896 The Jewish State published by Theodor Herzl. 1897 Herzl convenes first Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland; establishes Zionist Organization. 1898 Herzl meets Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany in Jerusalem. 1904 Start of second aliya (immigration) of Jewish pioneers to Palestine. 1909 Establishment of Hashomer, Jewish guards for new settlements, organized in mobile communes. 1910 Degania, first kvutza (permanent commune) established. 1914 World War I starts. 1917 Bolsheviks seize power in Russia. Balfour Declaration issued by Britain. British Army conquers Palestine from Ottoman Turks. 1918 World War I ends. 1920 League of Nations founded in Paris. Labor Battalion established. Start of Third Aliya (immigration) of pioneering socialist Jews. First severe Arab attacks against Jews in Jerusalem. Histadrut Labor Federation established. Hagana Jewish defense force established. 1921 Britain awarded mandate for Palestine by League of Nations. Ein Harod, first large kibbutz, established. 1923 Members of Our Community establish Beit Alpha. 1926 Kibbutz Artzi, federation of left—wing kibbutzim, established. 1927 Kibbutz Meuhad, federation of large kibbutzim, established. 1928 Givat Brenner established. 1929 Arab attacks on Jews throughout Palestine. 1933 Adolf Hitler becomes German chancellor. First Nazi concentration camps established in Germany. Increased Jewish immigration from Germany and Eastern Europe. Hever Hakvutzot, federation of small kibbutzim, established. 1934 Kibbutz Dati, federation of religious kibbutzim, founded. 1936 Arab general strike. British Royal Commission, headed by Lord Peel, visits Palestine. 1937 Arab revolt against the British administration and the Zionist enterprise. Peel Commission recommends partition of Palestine between Jews and Arabs. Jewish field squads mobilized to counter Arab attacks. 1938 Kfar Ruppin established. Kristallnacht anti—Jewish pogrom in Germany. 1939 Start of World War II. Germany invades Poland: anti—Jewish persecution escalates. British White Paper limits Jewish immigration to Palestine. Jews (many of them kibbutz members) organize “illegal” immigration. Neve Yam established. 1940 Jews of countries occupied by German Forces sent to concentration camps. 1941 Establishment of Palmah striking force of Hagana, based in the kibbutzim. 1942 Wannsee Conference in Germany discusses “Final Solution” of Jewish problem, 1943 First reports of Holocaust, mass murder of European Jews, reach the West.