Decline of the kibbutzim

The hipppies gave communes a go in the 60's, but couldn't make them work in the long run. The Jews have made them work since the first commune (kibbutz) was started in southern Galilee in the early 1900's. But they are now on the decline. Like many aspects of our modern lives, they are being privatized. Ramat Ha Shofet, the kibbutz where we are staying, is no longer a true kibbutz. The dining hall is run by a private concern, as are the store, laundry, and swimming pool. The original kibbutzim were truly communal - to the exent that parents didn't even raise their own children! Children were put into a residential nursury at birth, and parents were allowed to see them only a few hours a day. * All members of the kibbutz shared in the various jobs required to keep the kibbutz running. To make money they usually operated a business of some kind - fruit orchards and dairys were popular businesses for this purpose. The members of the kibbutz lived in small, unassuming apartments or dorms. They had few possessions of their own. They did not even own their own clothes. All clothes were kept in a central area near the laundry. When a member needed a shirt or pants, they would go there and get them. When the clothes were dirty they would turn them in for washing. The clothes would be washed and placed in the central room for someone else to pick up and use. (I am not sure about the underwear. Hopefully they did not share those.) Hai, a born and raised Israeli who works in my area, says that the kibbutzum represent the heart of the Israeli culture. He regrets their decline, but is not surprised by it. "People want their own place," he said. "They want their own stuff."