A kibbutz is an Israeli collective community. Although other countries
have had communal enterprises, in no other country have voluntary
collective communities played as important a role as kibbutzim have
played in Israel, indeed, kibbutzim played an essential role in the
creation of Israel. Combining Socialism and Zionism in a form of
practical Labor Zionism, kibbutzim are a unique Israeli experiment,
and part of the largest secular communal movement in history.
Kibbutzim were founded in a time when independent farming was not
practical. Forced by necessity into communal life, and inspired by
their own socialist ideology, kibbutz members developed a pure
communal mode of living that attracted interest from the entire world.
While kibbutzim lasted for several generations as utopian communities,
today kibbutzim are scarcely different from the capitalist enterprises
and regular towns to which kibbutzim were originally supposed to be
alternatives. The kibbutz movement, though it never accounted for more
than 7 percent of the Israeli population, did more to shape the image
Israelis have of their country, and the image of foreigners have of
Israel, than any other Israeli institution.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibbutz
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1792:
The New York Stock Exchange was formed.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Stock_Exchange)
1846:
Adolphe Sax patented the saxophone.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/saxophone)
1902:
The Antikythera mechanism, the oldest known surviving geared
mechanism, was discovered in a shipwreck off the Greek island of
Antikythera.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism)
1943:
World War II: RAF Dam Busters successfully deployed bouncing bombs in
Operation Chastise.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._617_Squadron_RAF)
1995:
After 18 years as Mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac was inaugurated as
President of the French Republic.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Chirac)
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Wikiquote of the day:
"I had a stick of Carefree gum, but it didn't work. I felt pretty good
while I was blowing that bubble, but as soon as the gum lost its
flavor, I was back to pondering my mortality." -- Mitch Hedberg
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mitch_Hedberg)