Word: kibbutzim
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...kibbutzniks (commune members) lost a powerful source of motivation when the State of Israel was founded in 1948; they had long regarded their settlements and way of life as essential to the establishment of the new nation. Ever since that goal was reached, the kibbutzim have had trouble recruiting members willing to make the sacrifice that communal living demands...
...more subtle threat has recently appeared. Nearly two-thirds of the nation's 231 kibbutzim now operate factories, and their residents are undergoing psychological crises as a result of rapid industrialization. Many of the factories have been so successful that it has been necessary to hire outsiders to supplement kibbutz manpower. That practice is considered socially destructive by some kibbutzniks because it sets salaried workers apart from members, who are given the necessities of life without being paid in money. "Something happens when we become managers and employ workers," admits David Tal, economic administrator of Kibbutz Givat Brenner. "With...
...minority; most kibbutz members are yielding to the temptations of materialism. On Kibbutz Givat Haim (Hill of Life), every adult couple has a 21-room apartment or cottage, two radios, a refrigerator and a hot-water supply, and gets a trip to Europe every five years. Other kibbutzim are beginning to permit TV sets, not just in the dining hall for group viewing but in members' private quarters. Says David Tal: "Attendance at our Saturday night meeting is way down now because Ironside comes on at 9 o'clock, when the meeting begins...
...kibbutzim have produced few major artists, writers or musicians. One explanation is offered by Psychiatrist Stanley Greenspan of the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Md. He has interviewed many young kibbutzniks and found that they suffer from feelings of guilt and shame when their personal aspirations conflict with their loyalty to the kibbutz. Those who resolve the conflict sufficiently to ask for permission to study outside may run into resistance. "If a girl's heart's desire to become a ballerina is not just a whim, and if she is talented, then she will get ballet...
...have few serious sexual difficulties. Even when older boys and girls share the same dormitories, there is little sexual activity or even dating among roommates, apparently because a kind of incest taboo develops. There is no known homosexuality on the collectives, and practically no illegitimacy. Divorce is infrequent. Kibbutzim have their share of neurotics, but no more than cities have, and for those who want it, psychiatric help is readily available...