An E-mail from Israel. For us!

On Thursday, the class generated a list of questions for David Factor, a member of Kibbutz Ketura who e-mailed us after stumbling on the blog (you can see his comment on the last post.) Here are the questions and his answers:

Answers to your Questions

Do people have shared last names or their own family names?

Although sharing is an important part of our everyday life on our Kibbutz, people have their own last names, passed on to them from their parents. Some people on the kibbutz have hebraicized their last names (changed them to Hebrew). For example, my friend Shimon changed his name last name from Roth to Ben Yosef. This can make people feel more connected to living in Israel, and it’s an old custom. For example, do you know these names: David Green, Simon Persky or Golda Mabovitz? Meet David Ben Gurion, Shimon Peres and Golda Meir.

What happens if somebody is born on kibbutz and decides s/he doesn't like living on kibbutz and wants to leave, or wants to go to a different school?

A member of the kibbutz (an adult who is “voted in” as a member by a two thirds vote of the other members of the kibbutz after living here as a candidate for a year and a half) who chooses to leave the kibbutz is entitled to “d’mei azeivah” (literally: leaving fees) , the amount of which depends on how long s/he has been a member. We don’t force people to stay. Some of the children who have grown up here no longer live here – maybe some of them will come back when they settle down and start having kids themselves. Some of our kids have attended different elementary or high schools in the area because of their special needs or interests or because of personal reasons. This is viewed as an exception, but it definitely doesn’t mean that the child or the child’s family would have to leave the kibbutz. One of our kids is attending a boarding school near Haifa, and several of our kids have studied in America for a year or a semester, either with or without their families.

If a member joins the kibbutz as an adult, and then leaves, do they get their money back?

First of all, all members who join a kibbutz are adults – you can’t become a member of Ketura or any other kibbutz until you are at least 18. On Ketura, new members do not have to hand over all of their worldly goods to the kibbutz, but they are asked to commit to not spending any of it in a way which would create a lack of equality within the kibbutz.

This is an example of how kibbutz is a society which is based on trust.

If you steal from the kibbutz or commit any crime, do you go to jail on the kibbutz?

Kibbutzim are part of Israel and are subject to the laws of the State. We don’t have a jail or a police force on Ketura. Crime is pretty rare here, but any instance of it would be handled by the Israeli police.

One more note about crime and punishment: no one can really make anyone do anything here – the society is built on the assumption that people care about the community and what people think about them, want to contribute to it, are willing to work hard and are ready to compromise in order to find solutions to problems which arise. This might sound a little idealistic, but kibbutz is a pretty idealistic place. This also might explain why not a lot of people choose to live on kibbutz- only 1.8% of Israel’s current population lives on a kibbutz!

Do you get to choose your own job?

Basically yes. We know that work is very important, and that it would be hard to keep someone happy here if they didn’t like what they did every day. But members must also be ready to consider the needs of the kibbutz. When a new member comes to our kibbutz, s/he has the chance to experiment and “window shop” before choosing a work branch, and members are free to change their jobs, although the tendency now is to adopt one steady job as a profession after a while.

Can you do one day on one job, and one day on a different job?

No society would be able to function this way. We wake up in the morning and go to our regular jobs, just like your parents. But each kibbutz member has more than one job- we all perform various community chores in addition to our regular work hours, for example: guard duty, driving people back and forth to different events and activities in the late afternoon and evening (sort of like being a taxi driver for a week), serving dinner in our dining room, milk the cows at night or early in the morning, etc. So work on kibbutz definitely gives one some variety.

Is there a University on the kibbutz?

There is no university on the kibbutz. The nearest one is in Beer Sheva (Ben Gurion U.), a 2 ½ hour drive away, and a college recently opened up in Eilat. Our kids are entitled to study for a first and second degree at the expense of the kibbutz. They study in schools and universities all over the country.

We do, however, have a university-level educational program on the kibbutz: the Arava Institute of Environmental Studies, or AIES, ( http://www.arava.org/new/ ) which offers studies on the BA or MA level. There are 40 students this semester – Israeli Arabs and Jews, Jordanians, Palestinians and Jews and non-Jews from abroad. So we have a little island of peace and co-existance here on Ketura.

Are there kibbutz laws? If you don't follow the laws, what happens?

There are many regulations in our community. They are passed by the Asefa, the general assembly of the kibbutz, which consists of all the members – each member has one vote. These rules are known to all members and we are expected to follow them, except that, as I mentioned before, we have no law enforcement here, and assume that people will be willing to live according to the rules, either because they agree with them or at least accept them. A violent act or refusing to work for a prolonged period of time without a valid excuse could leave someone liable to having them membership revoked by the Asefa, but this would be a very radical step.

How many adults and kids live on an average kibbutz? What about on Ketura?

Ketura has about 500 residents – 140 members, 190 children and 150 temporary residents (students who come here to study, volunteers, parents of members, candidates for membership, guests, some hired workers and some people who rent their houses from the kibbutz). This considered small to medium size for a kibbutz (out of the 275 kibbutzim in Israel). Ketura is the second-largest kibbutz in this part of the country, but keep in mind that the southern Negev is the least populous part of the country (only 24 people per square mile!).

What do people do for fun on the kibbutz?

On the kibbutz, people play sports (jogging, swimming, horseback riding –we have a stable- bike riding, basketball, soccer, tennis and even baseball), hike, read, watch TV, surf the internet, indulge in hobbies, etc. Eilat is a 35 minute ride away, so people eat out, snorkel, go to plays, concerts and movies. We have a regional cultural center nearby, sort of like a JCC where there are many extracurricular activities for children and adults, in addition to occasional performances and movies. We also travel- either together with our families or with our friends. The kibbutz even takes Kibbutz trips together. Just last month we all went to Istanbul, Turkey together for four days.

Are kibbutzim very hi-tec?

All of our work branches rely on computers, and some (our algae factory, for example) are very sophisticated. The entire kibbutz is wired with fiber optic cable. We all have computers in out homes, and internet access is free. Many of us have DVD players and nearly everyone has a VCR. No TIVO yet, though. We have about 40 TV channels which we get from a cable TV provider.

Do you have cars if you want to leave the kibbutz?

Yes. Cars on our kibbutz are communal property – we own them and use them together. If I want a car I fill out a short form describing when I want to use one, for how long and what sort of car I want. The car coordinator makes up a car schedule and posts it near the kibbutz office. I consult the schedule to see what car I have received, take the key to the car from the car key box and start the car by swiping my kibbutz car card through a swiper which is installed in every kibbutz car. This identifies me to the car and records my mileage and kilometrage. I am charged a small percentage and the kibbutz pays for the rest.

If I want or need to use a car at the last minute I go to the ride board to see if there is a car available or if someone has canceled a trip. Then I call (we all have cell phones) the other people on the list to see if they are still using their cars, or at least to see if I can get a lift with them. There are also busses which either stop inside the kibbutz or out on the road.

Are there sports teams on the kibbutz? Are their kid-teams that compete against each other?

On Ketura we have a big soccer tournament once a year and every kibbutz in the region participates, sending three teams (children, teens and adults) to compete against each other. The school has a basketball team that competes nationwide, and we have just started a soccer league among the kibbutzim. There are also judo and tennis tournaments.

Do people of different religions live on kibbutz?

Kibbutzim are a creation of the Zionist movement and of Israel, the Jewish state, and as such are Jewish communities. Even though many of the kibbutzim are not religious communities and don’t have synagogues, the holidays and life cycle events are all celebrated, some in very beautiful, innovative and exciting ways. So the nearly all kibbutznikim are Jews. Despite this, there are non-Jews living on kibbutzim – people who married members or people who chose to live in a Jewish community even though they themselves are not Jewish. There are kibbutzim who only accept Jewish members and those who are more flexible.

Ketura has a synagogue, keeps kashrut in its public buildings and obeys the Shabbat in public buildings and spaces. It is a mixed community of observant and non-observant Jews living together, something that calls for a lot of patience, understanding and compromises. We don’t have any non Jewish members, but we do have members who are not considered Jewish by orthodox Jewish law.

Has you kibbutz ever been attacked by terrorists?

Never.

Do you have bomb shelters?

Yes, one per neighborhood, except in the newest neighborhood, where each house has a reinforced concrete room. The bomb shelters are used as offices, storage space, a music studio, computer labs, a “gymboree-like” playroom for little kids, etc.