Page 4 - C.A.L.L. #23 - Spring 2004

What’s With the Kibbutz Movement Today?

It’s definitely about time that communards around besides those who work in the various associated cultural-

the world get an up-to-date picture of the kibbutz educational bodies?
R: About 80. This includes some 20 kibbutzniks who work fulltime
movement today. Who better can provide this than in the various youth movements.
Dr. Ran Kochan, who sits daily next to the offices of C: Such a big number? What do they all do?

the joint General Secretaries of the Kibbutz R: In brief, the staff attends to the various problems of the
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Movement ? kibbutzim and works to influence the country as a whole.

C: How is the staff of TKM organised?
CALL: What briefly is your position in The Kibbutz Movement? R: They work in 5 different departments: Economic, Social
Ran: I am a kind of strategic adviser to the 2 Secretaries. In (including health, education, culture, etc), Assignments (special
effect, I have 2 jobs: projector for special projects and chairman activities in Israeli society), Regional Guidance/Leadership and
of the committee for strategic planning. Staff & Manpower.

C: Can you tell us, in a few words, how you got to be a C: About how many kibbutzniks work in the various
kibbutznik? cultural/educational bodies associated with The Kibbutz

R: At the age of 33, I decided to give up my academic career as Movement?
lecturer in international relations and completely change my life R: Several hundred work in these financially independent bodies,
style by joining Kibbutz Tzora. which include: 2 teachers' seminars, 2 research institutes, a
publishing house, a modern dance group, 2
C: How many kibbutzim belong to The Kibbutz orchestras, a theatre, 2 choirs, etc.
Movement today?

R: 260. C: The annual budget of The Kibbutz
Movement doesn’t include the budgets of the
C: How many urban kibbutzim belong to TKM? kibbutzim themselves. How much is it?
How many communal villages (moshavim R: 15.5 million shekel, all of it covered by the
shitufi'im)? kibbutzim themselves by a progressive system
Dr. Ran Kochan
R: There are 4 urban kibbutzim and 4 communal villages of membership fees.

C: What is the total population of TKM today? C: All of our readers have heard that the kibbutz movement is

R: About 115,000, compared with 130,000 in 1990. This in crisis. On our website at http://www.communa.org.il/e-
comprises some 2% of the population of the country. israel.htm is a quite comprehensive article on the subject. Can
you explain in a nutshell what the crisis is?
C: The Kibbutz Movement has quite an extensive
infrastructure. How many kibbutz members work full time in it, R: The crisis was triggered by 2 main factors:
- The change in the political and social climate in Israel
- The financial crisis in most kibbutzim in the eighties, by
galloping inflation and our mismanagement, which eliminated the

1 mutual support funds of the kibbutz movement.
The Kibbutz Movement (TKM) is the name given to the union of
the Takam and the more leftwing Kibbutz Artzi movements. As
such, it includes all the kibbutzim, apart from the 16 of the These led to a significant kibbutz population decline, due to
Religious Kibbutz Movement. The kibbutz movement – without members leaving and the younger generation not joining. For the
the capital letters - refers to kibbutzim in general. first time, it was realized that a kibbutz could reach a state where

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