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The Virtual Kibbutz: Stories from a Changing Society

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This is a provocative exploration of the gains and losses sustained by the kibbutz movement in relation to Israel's tumultuous history and fragmented culture. The author, who has experienced years of communal life as both a kibbutz member and now a moshavnik, has a great deal to say about ideology, continuity, and the fragile dream of the Zionist communal movement. A well-written and exciting collection of stories.

"The Virtual Kibbutz Stories from a Changing Society" by Ellis Shuman i Universe Inc. 209 pp.

For many years, the kibbutz was the model institution of Israeli society. It represented the world's most successful example of socialist communal living, a near utopia of democracy and egalitarianism. In Israel itself, hard-working kibbutz members were seen as the 'new Jew,' freed of complexes of the Diaspora. They cultivated the land, were physically strong and independent, and engaged in productive labor. Kibbutz sons took on more than their share of command positions in the Israeli Defense Forces, where their dedication and sacrifice were an example for the society as a whole.

In recent years, however, the kibbutz has, like the socialist and in some cases communist ideology on which much of its principles were based, suffered a great decline. As Israel became a more capitalistic and free-market society, kibbutz ideology seemed outdated and less relevant. The kibbutzim themselves became, in many cases, non-profitable and had to be subsidized by huge government grants. Many of the young people, stultified by their small, closed world, left the kibbutz. A new political leadership arose in the country that no longer saw the importance of the kibbutz; settlement priorities were elsewhere. And the kibbutzim themselves evolved, with many of them adopting capitalism and becoming nothing more than bedroom communities.

As Israel changed, the general conception that developed was that the kibbutzim have had their day, and no longer have a real place or role in Israeli society.

Against this background of kibbutz in crisis and decline, a new light is shed in "The Virtual Kibbutz" (iUniverse, April 2003), by Ellis Shuman, a native of Sioux City, Iowa, who immigrated to Israel in 1972. Shuman, who served in the IDF, was a founding member of Kibbutz Yahel, and is now Editor-in-Chief of the online daily newmagazine Israel Insider has written a remarkable group of stories centering on encounters in the kibbutz. These stories not only give us much insight into the internal struggles and conflicts of the kibbutz, but they also provide a strong sense of hope and faith that the kibbutz and its members still have a great deal to contribute to Israeli society.

In one of the best stories of the collection, "The Clown and the Dancer," Shuman relates the story of two seemingly opposite figures - the graceful, happy, long-legged dancer Reli, and the short, awkward clown Itzik. Reli, who works as a hospital nurse, takes special care of a seven-year-old boy who was orphaned in a terrorist bombing. After inducing Itzik to come and try and break the shell of grief and silence that has enveloped the boy, Reli and Itzik draw closer, becoming a couple and planning to marry. But in the wake of the terrible suicide bombing in Netanya, during the Pesach Seder, Itzik is called to duty with his army unit to search out terrorists.

With quiet, emotional precision, Shuman tells the painful and tragic outcome of the story. In doing so, he also gives a restrained and yet moving account of the difficult life of Israelis in a time of constant terror and daily tragedies. Anyone who wishes to sense not only what life was like in the kibbutz during this time, but in Israel in general, will do well to read this story.

In another outstanding story, "The Fence," we learn of a friendship of many years between kibbutznik Giora, who works his citrus orchard, and his Arab neighbor Ibrahim, who tends his nearby olive grove. The story relates how this unusual friendship is tragically disrupted by the events of the past three years. Shuman again tells the story with a masterful restraint which nonetheless shows great human sympathy.

In other stories like the opening "Searching for Seinfeld" and "A Cow's Tale" (about a kibbutnik who develops strong emotional connection with one particular cow in the kibbutz dairy farm), Shuman shows a light and humorous side. In other stories, he describes kibbutzniks trying to adjust to their changed circumstances - a younger generation looking to adapt with the times and an older disheartened by the betrayal of its socialist ideals.

This central theme is explored in the long story "Requiem for a Dream," but is most powerfully developed in one of the best, and shortest stories of the collection. In "The Receding Shoreline," a kibbutz pioneer writes to his brother the story of his disappointment after fifty- three years on the kibbutz. "My dear brother, I cannot begin to describe the humiliation I feel. Once, when you were here with me, I was accepted as a pioneer, a founder of the kibbutz. Now I am considered nothing more than a burden, someone whose opinions, ideology and feelings no longer account for anything. I stood up against the change that was being forced upon my community and me; I swear I fought with all my might. I stood nearly all alone in the battle watching my dreams collapse around me."

But the mood of disappointment in this story is countered in the closing story, "A Balanced Picture," where a journalist tries to balance the gloomy, one-sided picture of kibbutz decline her television boss wishes to present sensationally to her audience. In meeting with a group called Equality Initiative, the journalist learns of an effort to introduce positive changes in the kibbutz without breaking its socialist framework. "Not every change comes at the expense of breaking the partnership of the cooperative community... Realistically speaking, there will be some kibbutzim that will cross the red line and change into communities that will no longer be defined as kibbutzim. In Israel, there are many types of communal settlements - kibbutz and moshav are but two examples. But while some kibbutzim may evolve into a different type of community, others will institute changes without crossing these lines."

This story leaves the reader with the feeling that the kibbutz will continue to play a positive role in the Israeli landscape.

Aside from the general depiction of the situation of the kibbutz now against its historical background, Shuman furnishes us with vital portraits of idealistic people, of struggling human beings who have a strong element of decency and desire to help their fellow human beings.

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