1st Edition

One Hundred Years of Kibbutz Life A Century of Crises and Reinvention

By Michal Palgi Copyright 2011
    366 Pages
    by Routledge

    362 Pages
    by Routledge

    One Hundred Years of Kibbutz Life shows that the kibbutz thrives and describes changes that have occurred within Israel's kibbutz community. The kibbutz population has increased in terms of demography and capital, a point frequently overlooked in debates regarding viability. Like the kibbutz founders who established a society grounded in certain principles and meeting certain goals, kibbutz newcomers seek to build an idealistic society with specific social and economic arrangements.

    The years 1909-2009 marked a century of kibbutz life—one hundred years of achievements, challenges, and creative changes. The impact of kibbutzim on Israeli society has been substantial but is now waning. While kibbutzim have become less relevant in Israeli policy and politics, they are increasingly engaged in questions of environmentalism, education, and profitable industries.

    Contributors discuss the hopes, goals, frustrations, and disappointments of the kibbutz movement. They also examine reform efforts intended to revitalize the institution and reinforce fading kibbutz ideals. Such solutions are not always popular among kibbutz members, but they demonstrate that the kibbutz is an adaptive and flexible social organization. The various studies presented in this book clarify the dynamism of the kibbutz institution and raises questions about the ways in which residential arrangements throughout the world manage change.

    Introduction to the Paperback Edition, Michal Palgi and Shulamit Reinharz
    Preface: The Rise, Fall, and Unexpected Revitalization of the Kibbutz, Michal Palgi and Shulamit Reinharz
    Introduction: The Kibbutz at One Hundred: A Century of Crises and Reinvention, Michal Palgi and Shulamit Reinharz

    Part I: The Unfolding History of the Contemporary Kibbutz
    Introduction to Part I, Michal Palgi and Shulamit Reinharz

    1. The Early Roots of a Later Crisis—The Kibbutz Crisis of the 1980s and Its Roots at the Time of the Establishment of the State of Israel, Alon Pauker
    2. From "We" to "Me": The Ideological Roots of the Privatization of the Kibbutz, Alon Gan
    3. The Changing Composition of Kibbutz Elites, Menachem Topel
    4. Crisis, Social Capital, and Community Resilience, Avraham Pavin
    5. Co-optation and Change: The Women's Sections of the Kibbutz, Sylvie Fogiel-Bijaoui
    6. The Meaning of Aging among Mature Kibbutz Members, Yasmin Asaf and Israel Doron
    7. Varying Spousal Relations in the Kibbutz and the Moshav, Hadas Doron
    8. Kibbutz 2008: A Way, a Place, or a Home?, Amia Lieblich

    Part II: Representations of Kibbutz Change
    Introduction to Part II, Michal Palgi and Shulamit Reinharz

    9. The Kibbutz and the Disenchanted: Representations in Contemporary Israeli Narratives, Ranen Omer-Sherman
    10. Agitated Orders: Early Kibbutz Literature as a Site of Turmoil, Iris Milner
    11. From Sabra to Children of the Sun: Kibbutz Films from the 1930s to the 2000s, Eldad Kedem and Gilad Padva
    12. Freedom of Expression in an Ideological Society: The Case of Kibbutz Literature, Shula Keshet
    13. Values and Sites, Attitudes, and Development—The Status of Cultural "Built Heritage" in the Kibbutz, Irit Amit-Cohen

    Part III: Reinventing the Kibbutz
    Introduction to Part III, Michal Palgi and Shulamit Reinharz

    14. The International Association of Kibbutzim and Communes, Yaacov Oved
    15. Redefining the Kibbutz, Eliezer Ben-Rafael and Menachem Topel
    16. Reinventing the Kibbutz: The "Community Expansion" Project, Igal Charney and Michal Palgi
    17. Kibbutz Neighborhoods and New Communities: The Development of a Sense of Belonging among the Residents of New Community Neighborhoods on Kibbutzim, Zeev Greenberg
    18. The Thai Revolution: The Changes in Agriculture in the Kibbutzim and Moshavim of the Arava in the 1990s, Marjorie Strom
    19. Ecology, Eco-Zionism, and the Kibbutz, Michael Livni
    20. The New Communal Groups in Israel: Urban Kibbutzim and Groups of Youth Movement Graduates,Yuval Dror

    Contributors
    Index

    Biography

    Michal Palgi