Table Of ContentThe Renewal of the Kibbutz
The Renewal of
the Kibbutz
From Reform to Transformation
RAYMOND RUSSELL,
ROBERT HANNEMAN,
AND SHLOMO GETZ
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY PRESS
NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY, AND LONDON
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-I N-P UBLICATION DATA
Russell, Raymond.
The renewal of the kibbutz : from reform to transformation / Raymond Russell,
Robert Hanneman, Shlomo Getz.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978– 0– 8135– 6076– 2 (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 978– 0– 8135– 6077– 9
(e- book)/
1. Kibbutzim. I. Hanneman, Robert. II. Getz, Shlomo. III. Title.
HX742.2.A3R87 2013
307.77’6—d c23 2012033356
A British Cataloging-i n-P ublication record for this book is available
from the British Library.
Copyright © 2013 by Raymond Russell, Robert Hanneman, and Shlomo Getz
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system, with-
out written permission from the publisher. Please contact Rutgers University Press,
106 Somerset Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901. The only exception to this prohibi-
tion is “fair use” as defined by U.S. copyright law.
Visit our website: http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu
Manufactured in the United States of America
To Menachem Rosner, for contributing so much to kibbutz
research, and for inviting us to join him in the study of the kibbutz
CONTENTS
List of Tables ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: Perspectives on Change in the Kibbutzim 1
1
Development of the Kibbutzim 12
2
From Crisis to Reform, 1985–2 001 39
3
Consideration and Adoption of Innovations, 1990– 2001 69
4
Transformation of the Kibbutzim, 1995–2 011 82
5
From Transformation to Renewal 96
Appendix: Data Sources and Statistical Analytics 125
References 167
Index 175
vii
TABLES
1.1. Number of Kibbutzim and Total Population of Kibbutzim, 1910–2 010 22
2.1. Kibbutzim Responding to Surveys, 1990–2 001 44
2.2. Rationalization of Management and Decision Making 46
2.3 Involvement of Nonmembers in Production and Services 50
2.4. New Rights and Entitlements for Members and Kibbutz-B orn
Adults 56
2.5. Privatization of Services 60
2.6. Material Rewards and Incentives 64
3.1. Frequencies of Responses to Questions about Innovations 71
4.1. Transitions among Types of Budget, 1995–2 011 87
4.2. Organizational Titles in Traditional and Differential Kibbutzim 91
5.1. Kibbutzim by Type, 1995– 2011 99
5.2. Kibbutz Population by Status, 1998–2 010 101
5.3. Members’ Perceptions of the Economic Condition of Their
Kibbutz, 1989– 2011 105
A.1. Probabilities of Transitions from Responses in Earlier Year to
Responses in Later Year 132
A.2. Descriptive Statistics for Covariates of Innovations, 1990–2 001 150
A.3. Effects on the Probability of Moving toward the Use of Innovations 152
A.4. Effects on the Probability of Moving Away from the Use of
Innovations 155
A.5. Descriptive Statistics for Covariates of Transformations, 1995–2 004 158
A.6. Correlations among Covariates of Transformations, 1995–2 004 160
A.7. Effects on the Probabilities of Transitions to Mixed and
Safety-N et Budgets 163
ix
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This volume is the result of more than two decades of research. In the
course of assembling the information presented here, we have accumu-
lated debts to a large number of people.
Our greatest debt is to Menachem Rosner. As a researcher, Rosner has
been extraordinarily original and productive. He was one of the earliest
scholars to write about many of the issues and changes addressed in this
work. When Getz and Russell first showed interest in kibbutz research, Ros-
ner served as a mentor to them both, tutoring each as needed on litera-
tures and controversies affecting the kibbutzim. Later, it was Rosner who
introduced Getz and Russell to each other, in 1995, and suggested that they
explore the possibility of working together.
We also have many debts to other current and former colleagues at the
Institute for Research of the Kibbutz at the University of Haifa. Michal Palgi
has provided help and encouragement at every stage of this project. We are
especially grateful to Michal Palgi and to Shaul Sharir and Elliette Orchan
for access to the results of their annual polls of kibbutz members. Other
colleagues at the Institute who have provided helpful advice or informa-
tion during the years of this study include Gila Adar, Chanah Goldenberg,
Uri Leviatan, Avraham Pavin, and Dani Rosolio.
We would also like to thank a number of other specialists study-
ing or advising kibbutzim or other communes, who shared with us their
knowledge and insights about these institutions. These expert informants
include Shulamit Arbel, Eli Avrahami, Eliezer Ben- Rafael, Gary Brenner,
Shlomo Cohen, Yechezkel Dar, James Grant-R osenhead, Tal Israeli, Baruch
Kanari, Michael Livni, Anton Marks, Henry Near, Yaacov Oved, Israel Oz,
xi
xii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Alon Pauker, Menachem Topel, Israel Tsufim, Muki Tsur, Tal Simons, and
Eppie Yaar.
Hundreds of kibbutz general secretaries or other office holders
responded to the Institute’s annual surveys of changes on kibbutzim from
1990 to 2001. Many other kibbutz members provided interviews or made
presentations about changes taking place on their own kibbutz. We would
like to thank all of these kibbutz members for being so generous with their
time and information. This research could not have been completed with-
out their cooperation.
Ever since we first contacted Marlie Wasserman of Rutgers University
Press about this manuscript, she has treated it with the highest profession-
alism and efficiency. We are also grateful to Margo Crouppen and several
anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on earlier drafts.
Finally, we would like to thank our wives, Judy Lehr, Patricia Hanneman,
and Eva Getz. A project of this size cannot be completed without causing
numerous absences and distractions in the lives of everyone in the house-
holds involved. When the project stretches over multiple decades, the fam-
ilies affected are called upon to show extraordinary levels of forbearance.
We are grateful to our wives for their patience and cooperation. We also
owe special thanks to Judy Lehr for help with tables, editing, and the index.
The Renewal of the Kibbutz
xiii
