LIFE IN ISRAEL
, t0s,
Kibbutz Hanaton Brings
Conservatism to Galilee
416
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CARL ALPERT
Special to The Jewish News
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1.11
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hAARr.1,1 11 1QRA
I
aifa — It was not so
long ago that Israel's
settlement
authorities decided on a
master plan which called for
the establishment of 60 set-
tlements in the Galilee over
a ten-year period. One by one
they are coming into ex-
istence. One of the more in-
teresting, and certainly uni-
que in its approach, is Kib-
butz Hanaton.
The cynics and the
pessimists, who believe that
idealism has vanished from
Israel, and that the bright
dream of an ideal society in
the kibbutz is no more than a
fading memory of the distant
past, would do well to visit
this three-year-old settlement
in the lower Galilee.
Hanaton is a small kibbutz,
composed of families, and
single adults, most of them in
their 20s and 30s, plus some
children. About half the
members are native Israelis,
and the remainder new im-
migrants, largely from the
U.S., but also with a sprinkl-
ing from Canada, England,
South Africa, Holland, Chile
and Sweden.
etroit can be proud of its
representative on the kib-
butz, Avi Davidson, who is a
real farmer, working at the
field crops.
The major innovation is the
decision to adhere to Jewish
religious tradition. Yet this is
not an Orthodox kibbutz.
Motivated by religious feel-
ings, they face up to the
challenge which makes it ap-
pear that religion in Israel
must be Orthodoxy or
nothing. They felt that they
had another answer, and
their affiliation with the Con-
servative movement il-
luminates their stand.
The members are personal-
ly observant of kashrut and
Shabbat, yet they believe in
the pluralistic nature of
Judaism. They accept the
Halachah (Jewish law), but
even as they maintain tradi-
tion, they recognize that
change according to condi-
tions has always taken place
in Jewish religious history.
The attractive red-tile roof-
ed buildings of Hanaton are
set astride a ridge overlook-
ing a man-made lake, the Bet
Natofa reservoir. Their
nearest neighbors are from
the Arab village of Kafr Man-
da, and the relations between
the two are more than mere-
Construction in the Galilee where Kibbutz Hanaton is located.
ly correct. Frequent social
meetings are held with
groups of families from one
side entertaining a group of
families from the other, at
their homes, with reciprocal
gatherings following. By com-
mon consent, politics is the
only subject not discussed,
but warm personal friend-
ships have been set up.
With assistance from the
Jewish Agency, which provid-
ed their buildings and equip-
ment, Hanaton is operating a
successful mixed economy
comprising field crops such as
wheat, oats and hay; 500
head of milk sheep; a factory
for the production of needle-
point and rug-hooking kits;
an educational center for
visiting youth groups; and in-
dividual outside employment
of some of the members.
National politics does not
yet disturb them, and there is
no official view, for example,
on the Greater Israel. They
are preoccupied with
establishing their own new
society and meeting their
own immediate physical and
spiritual needs. Perhaps
when national election day
comes, their local ballot box
will for the first time reflect
their political views.
"What we are looking for,"
said Eli Havivi, "are young
families with children born in
1978 or later, and singles of
both sexes. We can use
educators, medical profes-
sionals, farmers and
agricultural specialists, in-
dividuals with technical or
machinery expertise --
anyone with talents that can
help build Israel's first
Masoreti-Conservative kib-
butz."
World Union Conference
Examines Israeli Unrest
Jerusalem (JTA) — The
24th international conference
of the World Union for Pro-
gressive Judaism, planned as
Reform Judaism's salute to
Israel's 40th anniversary, will
concentrate on the unrest in
the administered territories
during its sessions.
Although other items are
on the agenda, according to
Rabbi Richard Hirsch, ex-
ecutive director and recently
elected chairman of the
Zionist General Council, the
most immediate issue is the
terrorities. He told a news
conference last Sunday that
"For us as Jews, the issue of
the territories is beyond par-
tisan politics. The dilemma of
Jews in Israel is the dilemma
of world Jewry as well."
The week-long conference is
expected to attract about
1,000 people from Israel and
abroad, more than originally
expected.
Awards will be presented in
absentia to soviet refuseniks
at a ceremony expected to be
attended by former refuse-
niks Ida Nudel and Yosef
Begun. About 30 of the dele-
gates will go to the Soviet
Union from Israel on a fact-
finding mission after the con-
ference ends.
The World Union for Pro-