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Return of the Kibbutzim

[Jerusalem Post] Amnon Rubinstein - After years of crisis and departing members, kibbutzim have experienced a noticeable turnaround. The kibbutz product has risen from NIS 20 billion in 1997 to NIS 27 billion in 2006. In the same period, the kibbutzim have gone from a collective debt of NIS 700 million to a NIS 1.2 billion profit, accounting for 12% of all Israeli exports. While 52,000 members left the kibbutzim between 1988 and 2005, in the past two years thousands have joined the kibbutzim, and children of members are returning. Economics has been the main driving factor in this revolution. The kibbutz's egalitarian regime prevented them from maximizing the potential of their talented work force. Today's revolution does not discard this traditional ideology, but it differentiates between economics and management on the one hand, and the community on the other. Today's kibbutzim still care for the weak, elderly and those members unable to earn high wages. Culture, education and health care are also still provided for by the kibbutz. However, business enterprises operate according to market-driven parameters, differential pay was introduced, and management has become increasingly professionalized.
2007-07-13 01:00:00
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