The Kibbutz and Israeli Society A Critical Assessment

The article addresses the two inherent tensions marking the history of the kibbutz and the vast research that deals with it: whether the origin of the kibbutz and its development should be viewed as products of ideological conceptions or rather as the result of historical circumstances; and should the kibbutz be viewed as a communal way of life, whose very existence is its goal, or rather as a means toward achieving national and social aims. Its main contentions are: the kibbutz emerged and developed because of circumstances as opposed to ideological principles; it reached the pinnacle of the national ethos because it served as a means for achieving national aims during periods of national emergency, and lost much of its prestige once the difficult times were over; the kibbutz posed an obstacle to the Zionist left. Finally, the article refers to these issues in light of 7 October 2023.