"We thought we were living in a society of the future, showing how
people can live together in a way that the human being is not a
product of society where you have to put somebody down so that you
are up. . . . Suddenly we find] that people want to be more like
outside, and we are disappointed.""When people say to me, 'We're so
sorry to see what's going on in the kibbutzim because we are losing
the most important thing that happened to the State of Israel, ' I
say to them, 'Listen . . . .' The government lost interest in the
kibbutz movement, and we had to find another way. The State of
Israel slowly but surely became a normal state, and the pioneers
finished their job. We are living in a new era. We have to make the
adjustment." from Our Hearts Invented a PlaceOne of the grand
social experiments of modern time, the Israeli kibbutz is today in
a state of flux. Created initially to advance Zionism, support
national security, and forge a new socialist, communal model, the
kibbutzim no longer serve a clear purpose and are struggling
financially. In Our Hearts Invented a Place, Jo-Ann Mort and Gary
Brenner describe how life on the kibbutz is changing as members
seek to adapt to contemporary realities and prepare themselves for
the future. Throughout, the authors allow the members'
often-impassioned voices some disillusioned, some optimistic, some
pragmatic to be heard."The founders of the kibbutz] had a dream,"
an Israeli told the authors in one of many interviews they
conducted between 2000 and 2002, " which] they fulfilled . . . a
hundred times." The current generation, he explains, must alter
that dream in order for it to survive. After tracing the formidable
challenges facing the kibbutzim today, Mort and Brenner compare
three distinct models of change as exemplified by three different
communities. The first, Gesher Haziv, decided to pursue
privatization. The second, Hatzor, is diversifying its economy
while creating an extensive social safety net and a system of
private wages with progressive taxation. In the third instance, Gan
Shmuel is attempting to hold on to the traditional kibbutz model.In
closing, the authors address the new-style urban kibbutz. Their
book will provide readers with a deeper understanding of the
kibbutz and of Israel itself during an era of dramatic social,
economic, and political change."
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