Monday, November 28, 2005


The Kibbutz

The previous weekend, we visited our friends
who live in a kibbutz, a beautiful place called Hazore (Hebrew word for - to seed) located near Haifa (north Israel).

The kibbutz - Hebrew word for "communal settlement" is a rural community; a socioeconomic system based on the principle of joint ownership of property, equality and cooperation of production, consumption and education.

The first kibbutz was established in 1909 by a group of pioneers on land acquired by the Jewish National Fund. The first kibbutz was called Degania from the Hebrew “dagan,” meaning grain. Their founders were young Jewish pioneers, mainly from Eastern Europe, who came not only to reclaim the soil of their ancient homeland, but also to forge a new way of life. Their path was not easy: a hostile environment, inexperience with physical labor, a lack of agricultural know­how, desolate land neglected for centuries, scarcity of water and a shortage of funds were among the difficulties confronting them. Overcoming many hardships, they succeeded in developing thriving communities which have played a dominant role in the establishment and building of Israel.

Today some 270 kibbutzim, with memberships ranging from 40 to more than 1,000, are scattered throughout the country.

Thursday, November 24, 2005

Here is a link to a nice review from a traveler to Tel Aviv. He stayed in Tel Aviv for a month and wrote his impressions from the city. interesting...
http://phillips.blogs.com/goc/2005/11/tel_aviv_for_a_.html