Leaving the Kibbutzim; The Honeymoon is Over! By Gene W. Edwards. Posted 11/2/2023.

Israel, on October 7, 2023, was invaded from its Palestinian territory of Gaza. Many kibbutzim (the plural of kibbutz) took the major hit, kibbutzim just inside the border of Israel itself. Here’s what a kibbutz is: from Wikipedia:

“A kibbutz (Hebrew:קִבּוּץ/קיבוץ, lit. ‘gathering, clustering’; PL: kibbutzimקִבּוּצִים/קיבוצים) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism. In recent decades, some kibbutzim have been privatized and changes have been made in the communal lifestyle . . . .“

In 2010, there were 270 kibbutzim in Israel with a total population of 126,000.” [That’s about 1/8th of Israel’s entire population!]

One of my favorite people, Ari Melber, who has an Emmy-winning winning TV show on MSNBC, was born on a kibbutz. The kibbutzimites on the Gaza border may feel they have to relocate. As for the main body of Israel, which surrounded by its three Palestinian territories, does anyone in his right mind now feel anyone in Israel is safe? I wonder what Ari thinks of it all? Ari has one of the world’s most brilliant legal, well-balanced-minds, and a level of character to match!