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Kibbutzim in the Age of Israeli Capitalism: A Move Away from Collectivism
Introduction
When the first kibbutz, Dengania, was founded on the shores of Lake Galilee in 1910, there were only around 60,000 Jews in Palestine, as compared to a population of Arabs numbering around half a million. Kibbutzim, a word in Hebrew that means gatherings, were communal collective farming settlements that provided security from Arab attacks and a way for practical Zionists to return to self-reliance through working the land. Additionally, many socialist Jews took the founding of the kibbutzim as an opportunity to apply the principles in Marxism in practice, which was practically impossible in Europe.
Through the days of the British mandate and early independence, the kibbutz served an important role in the establishment of a strong Israeli state. Establishment of kibbutz in the Negev and in the northern highlands secured those regions for the Israeli state and shielded the more populous coastal regions from Arab attack. Kibbutz were also vital in the establishment of agriculture and industry, helping Jewish communities to achieve a level of independence from their Arab neighbors. During the 1948 War of Independence and the subsequent establishment of the Israeli Defense Forces, the Kibbutz Movement contributed an outsized number of men to elite army units such as the Palmach.
