Moana Kuewa

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		2009.08.03 ISRAEL Kibbutz Yad Mordekhay Location: ISRAEL: Kibbutz Yad Mordekhay Chris’ new friends, Yochai & Yael Palzur from Haifa Marina (see Haifa Marina 2009.06.16) & Nadine & Daniel Smith and David Bonner, EMYR friends visited MOANA KUEWA for a delightful lunch on 2009.08.01. A discussion ensued regarding what we have seen in Israel and what we’d still like to see. One thing Nadine & Chris felt they missed was a visit to a Kibbutz. Yael said, “no problem”, picked-up her cell, and called her younger sister, Ayellet, who has lived in Kibbutz Yad Mordekay for 22 years with her husband & three sons!! It is one of the oldest Kabbutz in Israel founded in the 1920s by Polish immigrants (most people looked just like Chris’ uncles & aunts), is one kilometer from the Gaza border, and was the first Israeli location attacked by the Egyptians in the 1948 war. The guiding ideals behind Israel’s kibbutzim are self-sufficiency and equality, with everyone working for the common good. Rural farming communities that are highly productive hold their own plenary meetings to decide on community matters. The lands were held on a communal basis, all the homes built were owned by the Kabbutz, and in many locations the communities lived together in one large building or network of building structures. All worked together and ate together. The children were placed in a “common nursery” where they visited their parents occasionally, however the bulk of the child raising was the responsibility of the Kibbutz staff. Kabbutz life varies Kabbutz to Kabbutz…each is self-governing. Also, a Kibbutz is ECONOMIC not RELIGIOUS! Ayellet explained there are many changes to the Kibbutz concept due to modern-day pressures. For example, in her Kibbutz each working individual now gets paid a wage based upon the skills required. The titles for the land and the homes built upon that land are being passed to the Kabbutz families living on the premises. The Kibbutz members pay a nominal fee to eat at the common dining facility and the children now live in the homes with the parents. Schools are normal schools that follow the teaching curriculum required by the Israeli State. Kabbutz sometime share a school if they are in close proximity. In Kibbutz Yad Mordekhay, each classroom is a bomb shelter and in every home one room must be a bomb shelter. Ayellet explained that they have a 15 second warning of an incoming missile. It put the real treat to the Israeli families in perspective. Luckily, there has not been a missile attack on Kibbutz Yad Mordekhay for ???? What a wonderful tour Ayellet gave our merry band of inquisitive Americans! She told us about her Kibbutz history; brought us into her home; treated us to a delicious lunch at the Kibbutz dining facility; had the curator open the Holocaust to Revival Museum and gave us a personal tour (her husband’s father was in one of the 1948 black & white pictures and died fighting for Israel against the Egyptians); walked us to the Mordechai Anilewicz Statue - Warsaw War Hero that overlooks the Gaza walls and the Gaza Erez Crossing Point; showed us the “Honey Museum” one of their main industries; cow and chicken farms, and the sculptures. It was a day we will never forget and Daniel (2-years old) will always be “in-love” with Ayellet. Traveling Individuals Names: Ayellet, Nadine & Daniel Smith, David Bonner, & Chris Bauman