Religious Kibbutz Movement
Encyclopedia
The Religious Kibbutz Movement is an organizational framework
for Orthodox
kibbutz
im in Israel
. Its membership includes 19 communities, 16 of them traditional kibbutzim, and two others in the category of moshav shitufi (communal settlements
), meaning that they have no communal dining hall or children's house but maintain a shared economy. The Religious Kibbutz Movement has about 10,000 members.
. From the outset, the policy of this movement was settlement in clusters, due to the need for religious schooling. Another consideration was the desire to counteract the influences of a secular environment: A single religious kibbutz in a non-religious environment would find it difficult to defend its religious and social principles. Bloc settlement also created the possibility for mutual assistance, with veteran settlements sharing their experience with those that came later.
mountains south of Bethlehem
(known as Gush Etzion
), and the third was in the western Negev
. Another kibbutz, Yavne, was founded in the center of the country as the core of a fourth bloc which only came into being after the establishment of the state.
, similar to the trend in non-religious kibbutzim. The movement operates a number of educational institutions, including Yeshivat Ein Tzurim
, Yeshivat Ma'ale Gilboa
, Ein HaNatziv
Women's Seminary, the Yaacov Herzog Institute for Jewish Studies, a school for post-military Jewish studies for women on Massuot Yitzhak, and a Field School at Kfar Etzion
. Three kibbutzim, Beerot Yitzhak, Sde Eliyahu
and Yavneh, also offer 5-month ulpan (Hebrew language study) programs for participants from abroad.
Mount Gilboa
Beit She'an Valley
Center
Gush Etzion
Shafir Region
Western Negev
Settlement movement (Israel)
Settlement movement is a term used in Israel to describe national umbrella organisations for kibbutzim, moshavim, moshavim shitufiim, and communal settlements...
for Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
im in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Its membership includes 19 communities, 16 of them traditional kibbutzim, and two others in the category of moshav shitufi (communal settlements
Communal settlement (Israel)
A community settlement is a type of town in Israel. While in an ordinary town anyone may buy property, in a community settlement the town's residents, who are organized in a cooperative, can veto a sale of a house or a business to an undesirable buyer....
), meaning that they have no communal dining hall or children's house but maintain a shared economy. The Religious Kibbutz Movement has about 10,000 members.
History
The Religious Kibbutz Movement was founded in 1935 by groups of Jewish pioneers who immigrated to Palestine from Europe. It was the fourth kibbutz movement established in Palestine, after Hever Hakvutzot, HaKibbutz HaMeuhad and Hashomer HatzairHashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair is a Socialist–Zionist youth movement founded in 1913 in Galicia, Austria-Hungary, and was also the name of the group's political party in the Yishuv in the pre-1948 British Mandate of Palestine...
. From the outset, the policy of this movement was settlement in clusters, due to the need for religious schooling. Another consideration was the desire to counteract the influences of a secular environment: A single religious kibbutz in a non-religious environment would find it difficult to defend its religious and social principles. Bloc settlement also created the possibility for mutual assistance, with veteran settlements sharing their experience with those that came later.
Settlement blocs
In 1937-1948, the Religious Kibbutz Movement established three settlement blocs of three kibbutzim each. The first was in the Beit Shean Valley, the second was in the HebronHebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
mountains south of Bethlehem
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
(known as Gush Etzion
Gush Etzion
Gush Etzion is a cluster of Israeli settlements located in the Judaean Mountains directly south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank, Palestinian territories. The core group includes four agricultural villages that were founded in 1940-1947 on property purchased in the 1920s and 1930s, and ...
), and the third was in the western Negev
Negev
The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
. Another kibbutz, Yavne, was founded in the center of the country as the core of a fourth bloc which only came into being after the establishment of the state.
Current trends
Many kibbutzim of the Religious Kibbutz Movement are in the midst of privatizationPrivatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
, similar to the trend in non-religious kibbutzim. The movement operates a number of educational institutions, including Yeshivat Ein Tzurim
Ein Tzurim
Ein Tzurim is a religious kibbutz in southern Israel. Located south of Kiryat Malakhi, it falls under the jurisdiction of Shafir Regional Council, and is a member of the Religious Kibbutz Movement. In 2007 it had a population of 1,100.-Original kibbutz:...
, Yeshivat Ma'ale Gilboa
Ma'ale Gilboa
Ma'ale Gilboa is a religious kibbutz located on the summit of Mount Gilboa, on the northeast end of the ridge of the Samarian hills in Israel. Located about 5 km west of Beit She'an, it falls under the jurisdiction of Beit She'an Valley Regional Council...
, Ein HaNatziv
Ein HaNatziv
Ein HaNatziv is a kibbutz in the Bet She'an Valley in Israel. Located about three kilometers south of the ancient city of Beit She'an, it is 130 meters below sea level. The kibbutz, a member of the Religious Kibbutz Movement, has a population of 700...
Women's Seminary, the Yaacov Herzog Institute for Jewish Studies, a school for post-military Jewish studies for women on Massuot Yitzhak, and a Field School at Kfar Etzion
Kfar Etzion
Kfar Etzion is a religious Israeli settlement and kibbutz located in the Judean Hills between Jerusalem and Hebron in the southern West Bank. It has a population of 400 and falls under the jurisdiction of Gush Etzion Regional Council...
. Three kibbutzim, Beerot Yitzhak, Sde Eliyahu
Sde Eliyahu
Sde Eliyahu is a religious kibbutz in northern Israel. Located 5 km south of Beit She'an, it falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs Regional Council.-History:...
and Yavneh, also offer 5-month ulpan (Hebrew language study) programs for participants from abroad.
List of member kibbutzim
Lower GalileeGalilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
- Beit RimonBeit RimonBeit Rimon is a religious kibbutz in Israel. It is named after the Biblical Rimon in the Tribe of Zebulun . Located in the Lower Galilee on a ridge of mount Toraan at a height of 400 meters above sea level, it falls under the jurisdiction of Lower Galilee Regional Council...
- Lavi
- Nir EtzionNir EtzionNir Etzion is a religious moshav shitufi in northern Israel. Located between Ein Hod and Ein Hawd near Atlit, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council...
(Moshav Shitufi)
Mount Gilboa
Gilboa (ridge)
Mount Gilboa is a ridge above the Jezreel Valley in northern Israel. The formation extends from southeast to northwest, bordering the highlands of the West Bank and the Beit She'an valley. The Green Line between Israel and the West Bank runs south and west of the ridge...
- Ma'ale GilboaMa'ale GilboaMa'ale Gilboa is a religious kibbutz located on the summit of Mount Gilboa, on the northeast end of the ridge of the Samarian hills in Israel. Located about 5 km west of Beit She'an, it falls under the jurisdiction of Beit She'an Valley Regional Council...
- MeiravMeiravMeirav or Merav is a religious kibbutz located on the downward slopes of Mount Gilboa in Israel. Located about ten kilometres southwest of Beit She'an and less than 500 metres from the Green Line, it falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs Regional Council , known until 2008 as the Beit...
Beit She'an Valley
- Ein HaNatzivEin HaNatzivEin HaNatziv is a kibbutz in the Bet She'an Valley in Israel. Located about three kilometers south of the ancient city of Beit She'an, it is 130 meters below sea level. The kibbutz, a member of the Religious Kibbutz Movement, has a population of 700...
- Sde EliyahuSde EliyahuSde Eliyahu is a religious kibbutz in northern Israel. Located 5 km south of Beit She'an, it falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs Regional Council.-History:...
- ShluhotShluhotShluhot is an Orthodox kibbutz in the Beit She'an Valley in northern Israel. Located about three kilometres south of the city of Beit She'an, it falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs Regional Council.- History :...
- Tirat ZviTirat ZviTirat Zvi is a religious kibbutz in the Beit She'an Valley, ten kilometers south of the city of Beit She'an, Israel, just west of the Jordan River and the Israel-Jordan border. It falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs Regional Council. In 2006, the kibbutz had a population of...
Center
- Be'erot YitzhakBe'erot YitzhakBe'erot Yitzhak is a religious kibbutz in central Israel. Located near Yehud, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Modi'in Regional Council...
- Kvutzat Yavne
- Bnei DaromBnei DaromBnei Darom is a religious moshav shitufi in central Israel. Located near the Mediterranean coast, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Yavne Regional Council...
(moshav shitufi)
Gush Etzion
Gush Etzion
Gush Etzion is a cluster of Israeli settlements located in the Judaean Mountains directly south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank, Palestinian territories. The core group includes four agricultural villages that were founded in 1940-1947 on property purchased in the 1920s and 1930s, and ...
- Kfar EtzionKfar EtzionKfar Etzion is a religious Israeli settlement and kibbutz located in the Judean Hills between Jerusalem and Hebron in the southern West Bank. It has a population of 400 and falls under the jurisdiction of Gush Etzion Regional Council...
- Migdal OzMigdal OzStella K. Abraham Beit Midrash for Women, commonly known as Migdal Oz , is an Orthodox Jewish institution of higher Torah study for women located in the Israeli settlement and Kibbutz Migdal Oz in Gush Etzion in the West Bank.-Overview:...
- Rosh TzurimRosh TzurimRosh Tzurim is a religious Israeli settlement and kibbutz in the West Bank. A member of the Religious Kibbutz Movement, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gush Etzion Regional Council. In 2008 it had a population of around 130 families...
Shafir Region
- Ein TzurimEin TzurimEin Tzurim is a religious kibbutz in southern Israel. Located south of Kiryat Malakhi, it falls under the jurisdiction of Shafir Regional Council, and is a member of the Religious Kibbutz Movement. In 2007 it had a population of 1,100.-Original kibbutz:...
- Massuot Yitzhak (noshav shitufi)
Western Negev
Negev
The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
- AlumimAlumimAlumim is a kibbutz located in the north-western Negev desert in southern Israel. Located close to the Gaza Strip, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sdot Negev Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 382.-History:...
- Sa'ad