NEWS
New Dimensions
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•
Young Kibbutz Makes
Israeli Idealism Work
NECHEMIA MEYERS
Special to The Jewish News
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80
FRIDAY, JULY 20, 1990
sraeli idealism is alive
and well and living in a
small kibbutz 25 miles
southeast of Beersheba.
This kibbutz, Har
Amasah, is populated by
some 40 sabras in their early
20s who could be — like so
many of their agemates —
wandering through the
streets of Katmandu, study-
ing law in Jerusalem or driv-
ing a taxi in New York City.
Instead, they have created
an extraordinarily vital set-
tlement in an isolated,
predominantly Arab area
just inside Israel's pre-'67
borders.
The young men and wo-
men at Har Amasah, mostly
offspring of middle-class
families in the Tel Aviv
area, came to the kibbutz
within the framework of
Nahal, an Israel Defense
Forces unit which combines
military and agricultural
training. But unlike the vast
majority of Nahal members,
who leave their kibbutzim
the moment they complete
military service, Har
Amasah people have shed
their khaki uniforms and
remained kibbutzniks. ,
Just over three years old,
the kibbutz already supplies
local housewives with a
number of foodstuffs, in-
cluding some of Israel's first
raspberries. However, the
money that permits Har
Amasah to maintain a bal-
anced budget — a rare feat
in kibbutzim these days —
comes primarily from its gas
station and from the salaries
its members earn as hired
workers at the factories of
veteran settlements.
Ten years from now, if pre-
sent plans work out, most
Har Amasah kibbutzniks
will still be working outside
the settlement itself, but as
doctors, lawyers, teachers,
engineers, etc.
This is not in keeping with
kibbutz movement tradition,
but there is really no alter-
native because the home
background and intellectual
potential of members make
it inevitable that most of
them will eventually want to
have a university education
and a professional career.
So rather than fight the
inevitable, the settlement
has decided that it will be,
for the most part, a commun-
ity of professional people.
This year four members are
already studying at local in-
stitutions of higher learning;
next year that number will
more than double.
Intellectual stimulation is
plentiful even for those
"back on the farm." During
a recent music week, for ex-
ample, there were live per-
formances of Renaissance
music, country and western
music and jazz. Moreover,
several people prepared pro-
grams on their favorite
singers, among them Paul
Simon and Bruce Springs-
teen.
Members have also recent-
ly had the opportunity to
host a leading columnist, a
mountain climber just back
from Alaska, a devotee of
UFO's and most interesting
of all, three young men from
There are few
serious differences
of opinion in the
kibbutz itself,
except on one
question: dogs.
Gaza, who participated in a
stormy discussion on the in-
tifada.
Kibbutzniks interested in
Jewish thought have been
invited to participate in
study circles at Beit Yatir, a
Gush Emunim settlement
which, though only a hilltop
away, is in the "Territories,"
on the other side of Israel's
pre-'67 borders.
Incidentally, differences in
ideology notwithstanding,
Beit Yatir, eight years older
than Har Amasah, has been
very helpful to the kibbutz,
particularly as regards the
development of its vineyard.
There are few serious differ-
ences of opinion in the kib-
butz itself, except on one
question: dogs. Some mem-
bers love and keep them;
others hate them, mainly
because canines — who out-
number people at Har
Amasah — leave their drop-
pings all over the lawns of
the settlement. A modus
vivendi, however, has been
reached: dog owners, and
only dog owners, take turns
cleaning up the lawns.
Other problems will be
more difficult to resolve. For
instance, it is still not clear
whether the kibbutz will be
able to successfully main-
tain viable links with its
students during the three,
four or five years they are
away at university.