Kibbutzim offer a unique experience
By Jolayne Houtz
Of the Emerald
T
interested in working outdoors this sum
mer — on the Mediterranean?
Israel’s kibbutz program is a com
munalistic living arrangement in which
members provide labor for the commune and
receive room and board in return, although
members are not paid outright for their work,
says Paul Zadoff, director of the Jewish Stu
dent Union.
Kibbutz members can pick oranges, cot
ton, bananas or other crops, or they can work
in one of the factories that have been built on
the kibbutzim (plural of kibbutz) within the
last 15 years, Zadoff says.
Members can also work with the children
of members who live permanently on the kib
butz, or they can cook or do laundry for the
rest of the kibbutz.
“The understanding on kibbutzim is that
everyone needs to pull their own weight,”
Zadoff says.
In return, members receive dormitory
housing and food as well as work clothes, a sti
pend for personal expenses, the use of com
munal areas for recreation, and an invitation to
attend various social activities and trips.
All kibbutzim have shops which provide
small “necessities” such as writing paper,
shoelaces and cookies. In some kibbutzim.
‘The understanding on kib
butzim is that everyone needs
to pull their own weight*
— Paid Zadoff
members are given necessities, but there is a
limit on the range of goods supplied; others
allow ' freedom of choice up to a. certain '
monetary limit within a wide range of goods. .
. . Most of the. produce and goods made by.
kibbutz members go back into the commune to
feed and benefit its. members. Zadoff says.
The remaining output of the kibbutzim,
makes up about 40 percent of Israel’s.,
agriculture, which is produced by .only three
percent of the nation’s population, says Ken- .
neth Bob, director of the Kibbutz Aliya Desk in ' <
; New York, the American representative for all'
kibbutzim movements in Israel.
The KAD organizes summer and long
term programs on kibbutzim and sponsors a
variety of academic study programs for.
students. Bob says.. .
.‘‘It’s a fulfilling way of life — it’s for the.
good of Israel and the good of the people who
, live there,’’.says Bob, who calls the kibbutzim
a form of Utopian society. • ..
Wf hile the kibbutzim are partially self
sufficient, about 65 percent of the money to
support the kibbutzim comes from American
and European Jewish groups, which subsidize
many of the volunteer programs, Zadoff says.
About 250 kibbutzim are spread
throughout Israel, and about 90 percent of the
members are Israelis who live on the commune
throughout their lives, Zadoff says.
The remaining 10 percent is composed of
students and Jewish groups who spend vary
ing amounts of time on the kibbutzim.
Bob estimates about 3,000 people are sent
to the kibbutzim each year from the United
States to work on the communes or to par
ticipate in a variety of work-study programs
available to students.
About 1,000 of these people are sent to
Israel through the Kibbutz Ulpan program.
Bob says, a six-month program of working and
intensive study of the Hebrew language and
culture of the kibbutz.
About 25 percent of the people who par
ticipate in the Kibbutz Ulpan program stay on
the kibbutz after the program ends, Bob says.
Other programs include a semester of
study at Haifa University and two months on a
kibbutz, and a variety of summer study pro
grams, including the short Ulpan program for
10 weeks, during which students can earn
eight credits, or a month at Jerusalem Univer
sity and a month on a kibbutz. Students could
earn five to seven credits through this pro
gram, Bob says.
i I1IVW1V* pi WglUlO 1V1 1111W1 UUIVU 111
working temporarily on a kibbutz obligates the
student for a month of work, which gives
students a “starting point” for traveling
through Israel, Bob says.
The KAD makes all travel arrangements,
although students must pay for their own air
fare, which Bob estimates will be about $700
round-trip out of New York this summer.
It is possible for students to obtain finan
cial aid when they are involved in programs
through Haifa or Jerusalem universities, Bob
says... ’
• Bob Gitelson, a University student,
recently returned from a Kibbutz Ulpan pro
gram. He calls the kibbutzim a combination of
-'capitalism and socialism.
“They, supply housing, furniture, food in
the dining halls to everyone, but they sell pro
duce on -the capitalistic market,” Gitelson
.says’. *
■.Many of the fruits and.vegetables produc
ed by kibbutzim are exported to Europe, he
says.
'. “You could almost callva kibbutz a com
. .mune except it has a base of Zionism,” he
says.. . ; •
Giteison says he studied..Hebrew about 20
hours and worked “about 2.0 hours each week.
He also traveled to Tel Aviy, Jerusalem, the
Golan Heights and Haifa as part of the
program.
On the kibbutz, the food consisted of
salads, soup, fruit and sometimes eggs — in
general, the meals were kept kosher, Gitelson
says.
He says the kibbutz members involved in
his program were from countries such as South
Africa, Canada, Holland, Brazil and Denmark.
While most of the people participating in
the program were Jewish, it is not a require
It’s a fulfilling way of life —
it’s for the good of Israel and
for the good of the people who
live there*
— Kenneth Bob
ment, Gitelson says.
It is also not necessary to speak Hebrew
because many kibbutzim members speak
English. Gitelson says learning the Hebrew
language is a slow process, although the study
program was intense.
Kibbutzim were established even before
Israel became a state in 1948 by people escap
ing from Russia and, later, from Nazi
Germany.
The oldest kibbutz, established in the
1890s, began a trend which allowed the first
pioneers to produce agricultural products,
build up the land and assure their own securi
ty, Gitelson says.
“Jews back then were basically middle
people. They wanted to become farmers
because they didn’t want to be known as mid
dle people,” he says.
Now, kibbutzim have become a way for
Israel to present a positive image to the rest of
the world.
"It’s very important as a growing country
to let people see what’s happening there,”
Zadoff says.“It’s a way of bringing people
there to show them its a safe, vital, growing
country.”
The kibbutzim are also a way for people
from other countries to provide support for the
state, he says.
olitically, Zadoff says the non-Israeli
would not be affected at all by an often volatile
Israeli political scene, although “anytime you
wanted you could get into an argument,” he
says.
“It’s a way of building yourself, building
a community and building a state,” says Kim
Danish, a University student who has also liv
ed on a kibbutz.
4.0 GPA not always necessary
Honor societies to compete for members
By B.J. Thomsen
Of the Emerald
Twenty-two campus
organizations will be recogniz
ing Honors Week by inviting
speakers, organizing activities,
holding award presentations,
and setting up tables and
displays in the EMU lobby in an
effort to recruit new members,
says the student director of
University Honor Societies.
“Most students aren’t aware
that they can be involved in
honor societies and that they
don’t necessarily have to be a
4.0 3tudent,’’ says Craig Long.
‘‘Not all have GPA
requirements.’’
Entrance requirements vary
among honor societies, Long
says. Some require a minimum
GPA, while others mandate a
minimum number of hours in a
certain academic area. Still
others have no requirements at
all, he says.
Mortar Board is a senior
honorary that exists ‘‘to provide
leadership and to enhance the
position of women,” says Mary
Hudzikiewicz, Mortar Board’s
coordinator for the Pacific Nor
thwest region. However, Mortar
Board is no longer an honorary
solely for women, she says.
Mortar Board was a women’s
honor society until 1976, when
a new affirmative action law re
quired that it open its doors to
men, merge with a men’s honor
society or disband. Mortar
Board chose to open its doors to
men.
Druids is the honorary for
juniors, while Alpha Lambda
Delta and Phi Eta Sigma are for
freshman.
There are 18 honoraries on
campus open to students who
have a common major or
academic interest. Alpha Kappa
Psi is for those interested in
business, while Phi Delta Kappa
is for those in education. Other
fields with honoraries include
music, law, liberal arts, jour
nalism and others.
Some honoraries, such as Cir
cle K and Alpha Phi Omega, are
geared toward service to the
University and the community
such as helping with the UO
Lane Memorial Blood Drive,
assisting the Student University
Relations Council and working
on the telefund. Because these
organizations are not
academically oriented, they
have no requirements for
membership, Long says.
Most honoraries, however,
exist to promote academic
achievement, areas of study and
jobs in those areas, Long says.
To achieve this goal, many
honoraries bring speakers to the
University, hold awards presen
tations to recognize academic
achievement and grant scholar
ships to University students,
Long says.
Membership selection
methods vary among the dif
ferent organizations.
Phi Beta Kappa the nation’s
oldest honorary, started in
1928. It selects qualified
members by reviewing
students’ records, says Nan
Coppock-Bland, secretary of the
honorary. Membership is by in
vitation only; applications and
nominations are not accepted.
Members look at GPA and
number of credit hours earned,
Coppock-Bland says.
Critics of the honor societies
on campus believe honoraries
have become so numerous that
they have lost their meaning,
but Long doesn’t agree. Asiong
as honoraries are not competing
for membership or duplicating
services, there are not too many
honoraries on campus, he says.
For more information, contact
Long at the Office of Student
Development at 686-3216.