by David E. Kaplan
|
As agriculture became less lucrative and traditional industries could not prove profitable, many kibbutzim and moshavim went through a painful period of adjustment. The change, differently manifest and paced in every community, engendered the growth of an extensive domestic tourism industry and eventual expansion into real estate — building new neighborhoods on what were once agricultural lands. What had kept the rural settlements peripheral became their most treasured commodity - open space, breathtaking views, and a welcome distance from urban tumult.
As the entrepreunerial spirit took hold in the traditional bastions of socialism, boutique wineries and dairies, specialty restaurants, B&Bs, spas and extreme sports facilities became ubiquitous. And now, real estate projects in the partially privatized socialist collectives have ex-kibbutzniks and moshavniks, as well as native urbanites looking longingly towards the Galilee and the Negev for the promise of beautiful landscapes, good education, community lifestyles and an affordable single family home. | |
Ancient Yodfat was a fortified Jewish village in the central Galilee which fell in battle to the Roman legions of Vespasian in 67 AD. If the few surviving children were cruelly sold off into slavery never to return, the modern Moshav Yodfat is a fitting final chapter in the saga of this historic hilltop. The children of the present members of this moshav are returning in their droves.
Seventy-five new homes were recently snapped up, most by young adults who grew up on the moshav, and have returned with their families.
Returning to Roots
Rafi and Irit Kaplan moved into a spacious home in Yodfat less than a year ago. Irit is the daughter of an Israeli Yodfat family, while Rafi is the son of former South Africans from a nearby moshav.
After the army, traveling abroad, degrees at Tel Aviv University, and a stint in the gentrified Tel Aviv neighborhood of Florentine, the couple, then “two young daughters richer,” decided to switch city life for the countryside. “
 |
|
Rafi and Irit with their two daughers. |
In summer, the view from Yodfat has a Biblical look, while during the rest of the year, its cheaper than traveling to Tuscany,” laughs Rafi as he points to the undulating hills replete with orchards and forest.
The evolving story of Yodfat is being played out across the country, as young couples are looking increasingly at rural options — kibbutzim, moshavim and new communities in rural areas.
“Everything changes once you start raising a family. Your thoughts turn from pubs, restaurants and concerts to suitable neighborhoods, parks and schools,” says Irit. Rafi reveals that “all my old classmates have bought into our housing development.
Most of them did their own thing for a couple of years and then, like us, returned here to settle down.” The new generation moving into homes on suburban size lots can give their children the shaded paths and glorious freedoms of growing up next to nature, while being spared the headaches of earlier generations -- trying to make a living from the family farm. Yet there seems to be no resentment. The arrival of these young families has been revitalizing, particularly for the kibbutzim and moshavim with aging populations and failing economies.
The suburbanization, as it were, of the pristine north and south concerns some planners. Skeptics remain, but as long as open spaces are preserved, construction is supervised and existing urban areas are not neglected, the environmental impact can be contained. Israeli Arabs are also often unhappy with the changes, feeling encroached upon, and fettered by a government which does not accommodate their own natural population growth.
Nature Preserves
The new influx is resuscitating strapped rural settlements, as well as breathing fresh life into financially secure kibbutzim and moshavim. Unlike moving into a newly built neighborhood on a partially or fully privatized kibbutz or moshav, potential candidates at “traditional” Kibbutz Maagan Michael take on full kibbutz membership status - free dining room meals, equal salaries for all, communal decisionmaking, etc. “The waiting list for membership continues to grow and this turnabout has led to an acute housing shortage,” explains Herman Musikanth, a veteran member. “We have a 95% return rate amongst the children of our members.”
There is a similar housing crunch at “traditional” Kibbutz Yizreel near Afula, where its factory Meitronics, a public traded company that manufactures robotic pool cleaning equipment, has provided the kibbutz with a solid financial mainstay. Yizreel stands today in the top ten of financially secure kibbutzim; and it is usually the wealthiest of kibbutzim which remain the most socialist.
“We are known as purists in the Jezreel Valley” laughs Arnie Friedman a former South African. “They call us a Shmurat Tevah (Nature Reserve). Our kids put on a show the other night depicting tourists in ten years time visiting Yizreel as if it were a museum.”
Idealistic Urges
While the thrust of suburban expansion has been practical, there are still those moved primarily by ideology; “part of the new Zionism,” says Ofir Fisher, son of the world renowned singer Dudu Fisher. Ofir is the Negev Director for the Or Movement, an organization that works closely with the Jewish Agency and the JNF to promote settlement in the Negev and the Galilee.
 |
|
On the way to Arad in the Eastern Negev. |
The Or Movement was established some six years ago by five childhood friends, none older than twenty-five at the time of its founding.
“During the first Gulf War, we were a bunch of Petach Tikva teenagers sitting in our sealed rooms questioning our personal futures in Israel,” relates Fisher. “Where we were going as individuals? What was the direction of the State? How do we connect the two tracks? The mood was somber and dark and we were looking for ‘Or’, light.” Ideologically charged, they sought a new vision. “The big moment came after our army service, when all five of us climbed into a car and for over a month drove the length and breadth of Israel, meeting people in different communities, asking lots of questions. What stared us in the face was that 80% of the land of Israel was in the Galilee and the Negev and only a small percentage of our population lived in these areas, particularly the Negev.”
The Next Frontier
Pioneers of the new millennium, Ofir and his band of idealists have been busy striving to bring to fruition Ben Gurion’s challenge that “the Negev will be the test of the creative ability and pioneering valor of Israel.” Until recently, the Negev was considered little more than a long drive to Eilat. But for the new visionaries, the action is no longer at the end of the road – Eilat – but everywhere in between.
“It is the last frontier and it’s indisputably ours. Here we can live our ideals and reignite them in others,” concludes Ofir.•