Jewish National Fund (JNF)

 

This non-governmental organisation is controlled by the World Zionist Organisation. It was founded in 1901 in order to purchase lands in Palestine and turn them into the property of the Jewish people that would never be sold but only leased. Forestation is one of JNF’s main concerns, especially as a practice of retaining hold of untended land, by the actual planting of forests, their maintenance and inspection, and by turning them into recreation areas.

Judaisation of the land

 

“The case of Israel well illustrates the making of an ethnocratic regime. It has evolved around the central Zionist (and uni-ethnic) project of Judaising Israel/Palestine. This strategy was implemented by land, settlement, immigration and military policies, and created a stratified and segregated political geography. The ‘momentum’ of the Judaisation project, and especially its prevailing land and settlement practices, led to the rupturing of the state’s borders, to the continuing involvement of world Jewry in the governing of the state, and to the subsequent undermining of equal citizenship, popular sovereignty and democratic rule.  Most notably, the Judaisation project has caused the pervasive dispossession of Palestinian-Arabs, but it has also reshaped relations between Jewish ethno-classes, mainly along the Ashkenazi-Mizrahi and orthodox-secular cleavages.” Oren Yiftachel

Kibbutz

A kind of communal settlement, the first kibbutz to be established in Israel was Degonia, near the Sea of Galilee, in 1909. Others followed during the 1920s. The early kibbutzim were agricultural co-operatives protected by armed settlers. Their motto was “Work and Believe”. Today, there are about 230 kibbutzim in Israel.

Life on a kibbutz varies somewhat according to the main focus of each particular group. Most are mainly agricultural, while others make toys, shoes, blow glass, or a number of other things. Some kibbutzim operate tourist facilities or arrange for young people from other countries to spend time living at the kibbutz and sharing in the work and other aspects of life there.

Committees are what govern kibbutz life. The various parts of community life are dealt with by specialised committees. There are committees for finance, education, and care of children – to name but a few. They have a special meeting once a year where they elect officers, take care of policies, and regulate other aspects of kibbutzim life.

In a kibbutz, all property is shared equally by everyone living in a certain village. There is equality of opportunity and responsibility. Residents do not receive salaries but they are given housing and other necessities, including medical services and education.

Women work as the men do, and everyone eats at a common table. Some kibbutzim have modern kitchens, swimming pools, and gymnasiums. There are art galleries, concert halls, and cultural centres. Kibbutz hotels are popular vacation spots.

Originally the children on a kibbutz lived in a separate house apart from their parents. Their parents were working all day. They could visit in the afternoons and on weekends, but the children slept in special quarters and not with their parents. Today, in an effort for more family stability and closeness, the children spend their days with other children but sleep in their parents’ quarters at night.

Members from one kibbutz can transfer to another or move to independent farms or other jobs.

Less than 4% of the people of Israel live in kibbutzim.

Land (Acquisition for Public Purposes) Ordinance (1943)

This ruling authorises the government to confiscate land for public purposes with minimal compensation. 40% of the owner’s land can be confiscated without compensation. Public purposes are usually Jewish: From 1200 dunams confiscated in Nazareth for public purposes, 80 dunams were used for public buildings and the rest was used to build Jewish housing [1 acre = 4 dunams].