Co-existence:The Kibbutz and Village Revisited

 
I returned to the Kibbutz Metzer by car with Dov Avital, the community's former general secretary, marking four years since I last visited there and promptly wrote the article on the co-existence between the Kibbutz and neighboring village of Maiser. As we passed through the electronic gate and through the entrance, there are on the left, is a large, open-air building that houses 300 milking cows. You know already that this is a unique place.

For those who haven't followed the blog over the last 4 years, you must know that the Kibbutz was founded by 100 Argentinian emigres in 1953. The young socialists parked their Kibbutz on land right next to the village of Maiser, an Arab agricultural village and offered cooperation to their neighbors. They said to the Arabs, " We have little skills in farming but lots of energy and youth, and you are wiser more experienced with the land in this harsh conditions. The village elders agreed, and told their people “We know Arabs and Jews are suppose to fight, but let's see what we can do together, and if it doesn’t work then we can fight!"

The first task the Kibbutz encountered was to find a viable source of water. The Arab leaders offered "We have a small well, you are invited to use it".  The government also dug a larger well in the kibbutz, both sources of water were and are still interconnected. The kibbutz insisted that all other infrastructure developments brought to them by the government would be also enjoyed by Maiser. From there, a long history of co-existence began and continues to this day.

On this trip, I wanted to see more of the Kibbutz and its life there than I had on the first trip, nearly four years ago when I wrote an article for Christian Century Magazine on the story there. I wanted to know in what way Dov Avital, the then general secretary, had seen changes since he had been there and also what if any thing, had occurred since my visit. I wanted to know what keeps him there and what were his plans for the Kibbutz in the future. He thoughtfully responded to these questions by taking me on a tour of the cooperative and mentioned he was leaving his post at the Kibbutz to run for Mayor of the region where he could effectively deal with larger issues. He had my attention.

As you look out on the property from its highest point, you can see the Arab village of Maiser, just a few hundred yards away. In architecture, it differs greatly from most very plain Arab structures found on the West Bank, and looks more like the red tiled roof, and light yellow homes of Israeli settlements. What a contrast, I thought! 

You can also see the borders of the Country from one side to the other, as it is one of the narrowest pieces of the land of Israel. To the west are the coal fired furnaces that supply electricity to the region on the coast where coal is imported. East of there is the "green line" of the '67 borders. About a half of kilometer, further to the east, is the "fence" that separates the kibbutz from other neighboring Arab villages. Some of these villagers are also separated from their farm land. There is a slight possibility  as proposed by the Israeli Foreign Minister Liberman of a land swap where this land would be ceded to Palestine, and in exchange for some portions of the larger settlements such as Ariel. Dov doesn't feel that this would be possible as the Palestinians with Israeli citizenship would never accept such a deal, and as citizens they have a voice, even in Israel. There is also a large city being planned which the Kibbutz opposes and which would eventually subsume every entity around it.

In many ways, the socialist bound Kibbutz is a real democracy. All issues are discussed in small neighborhood forums, and major decisions are made as a community. There are joint decisions but people also have choices. All are promised a job, but not everyone has to work. Those who choose not, still share in the profits and receive basic services such as health and education but do not enjoy the subsidies the kibbutz grants to working and retired members . Kibbutzniks also can elect to work off the kibbutz, but donate their pay check to the community. Dov's wife is chief nurse in the nearby psychiatric hospital, and travels there each day.

Metzer also owns and operates together with its partners its own high school, There are 150 children in the Kibbutz and the younger ones attend school there, and go to the high school when they are of age. The high school, according to Dov, is one of the finest in Israel, and is cooperatively owned by three other Kibbutzim. Families outside the Kibbutz can also attend the school, but must pay for the tuition. The children of Arab citizens in the area could attend the high school if they wished, but generally they prefer to offer their language and cultural background in their own schools.

Homes are provided in simple form for members, while land ownership is kept by the kibbutz. If they decide to renovate or expand their homes, they can do so at their expense. When occupants eventually die, the home to go back to the Kibbutz, and the equity earned from the expansion efforts are passed on to the heirs. So, as you look around the tree-laden, scrub and flower covered community- irrigated by potable water from their own reservoir- you see both the simple buildings and the two storied modern structures spread through out. In short there is place for individuality and community.

The expansion of land area beyond present borders is no longer possible for the Kibbutz , but there are vacant lands within the 1200 acres that are undeveloped. There is a long waiting list of potential members, and plans are to begin building on these lands in the near future to accommodate new residents.

The Kibbutz has several sources of income. There is the dairy farm which produces high quality,low fat milk, and finds a ready market in Israel. There is also organic farming too that is nourished by gray water conversion on the Kibbutz. As you may know Israel is a master of sustainable water projects, and the Kibbutz has a factory which produces emitter inserts for plastic tubes which "clean" water for agricultural use. Though their operation is small in comparison with the larger producers in China and Germany, the Kibbutz is apparently the most sophisticated producer because of their design patents and high standards of quality control. As Dov said, "we are small so we have to be smarter". I watched some machinery, which the Kibbutz also sells, reject certain cylinders because of irregularities and shuts down the operation when the system discovers a problem. The whole department is completely run by robots and employs seven workers on two shifts. The factory employs about 140 workers, 40 of them kibbutz members and most of the others coming from nearby Arab communities.

There is a beautiful "football" field on the Kibbutz which is the practice field for the neighboring Arab children’s team, and also their home team space which they share with the Kibbutz. A restaurant located outside Metzer is a place where Arabs and Jews often bring their family and friends and dine together. Dov's intention is find new ways to improve and increase the co-existence with Arab neighbors which has flourished for more than 60 years. He feels this is the future for the two societies, but thinks first that the Palestinians must be freed from the occupation and put on their own before the land becomes a truly shared one. He also feels that Hamas is problematic.

There is also a community building which serves as the center for the Kibbutz and has a cafeteria and meeting space. Dov feels that the center is underused at the moment and new ways need to be found to heighten its use.

When I wrote about the Kibbutz much earlier in my five year journey, I told the story of long history of collaboration with its neighbors and about the incident in which a young woman and her two young children,were killed by a young Arab from the area of Tulkarem, and not from the local area. Two older members, one of them the then General secretary of the kibbutz. were also killed. The story received world wide attention. I also reported that Arabs from all the villages around attended "shiva" or days of mourning where by tradition, friends can offer condolences to the families who have lost love ones. The co-existence, though tested was not broken as seen when driving through the gates and seeing the village on the left beyond the Jersey cows. A memorial park for the deceased stands underneath several trees. It is constructed on the natural rock which lays a few inches beneath the grass surface, and water washes down from a small pond built there. Naturally water from occasional storm will pour down and disappears through the cracks produced from the persistence of water. The rocks represents the land which may change form but persists, and water keeps coming and flowing over it, which is the persistence of life. Their memories live on.

I left the Kibbutz after four hours thinking if I lived in the region, I might consider joining and teaching in the high school, and working in the restaurant as a folksinger and blues harpist. I also thought that my next trip might be to the Arab village for their story. I wonder what they might say? Would they have me ? Dov says, “Most definitely. I will arrange it.”
BP