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

Description

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. Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Introduction to the Paperback Edition Preface The Rise, Fall, and Unexpected Revitalization of the Kibbutz Introduction The Kibbutz at One Hundred: A Century of Crises and Reinvention Part I: The Unfolding History of the Contemporary Kibbutz Introduction to Part I 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 2. From “We” to “Me”: The Ideological Roots of the Privatization of the Kibbutz 3. The Changing Composition of Kibbutz Elites 4. Crisis, Social Capital, and Community Resilience 5. Co-optation and Change: The Women’s Sections of the Kibbutz 6. The Meaning of Aging among Mature Kibbutz Members 7. Varying Spousal Relations in the Kibbutz and the Moshav 8. Kibbutz 2008: A Way, a Place, or a Home? Part II: Representations of Kibbutz Change Introduction to Part II 9. The Kibbutz and the Disenchanted: Representations in Contemporary Israeli Narratives 10. Agitated Orders: Early Kibbutz Literature as a Site of Turmoil 11. From Sabra to Children of the Sun: Kibbutz Films from the 1930s to the 2000s 12. Freedom of Expression in an Ideological Society: The Case of Kibbutz Literature 13. Values and Sites, Attitudes, and Development—The Status of Cultural “Built Heritage” in the Kibbutz Part III: Reinventing the Kibbutz Introduction to Part III 14. The International Association of Kibbutzim and Communes 15. Redefining the Kibbutz 16. Reinventing the Kibbutz: The “Community Expansion” Project 17. Kibbutz Neighborhoods and New Communities: The Development of a Sense of Belonging among the Residents of New Community Neighborhoods on Kibbutzim 18. The Thai Revolution: The Changes in Agriculture in the Kibbutzim and Moshavim of the Arava in the 1990s 19. Ecology, Eco-Zionism, and the Kibbutz 20. The New Communal Groups in Israel: Urban Kibbutzim and Groups of Youth Movement Graduates Contributors Index