From Iri to Ohanna
Days 7 & 8 Thursday & Friday, 3/17 & 3/18/05 (Part 2)
We arrived at Iri’s home in Kibbutz Netzarim, a little west of Be’er Sheva, in the early evening. There I said hello to his wife, Saralee, and his younger daughter. I met his wife when I met Iri in 2002. She is originally from Jacksonville, Florida but has been in Israel 30 years or so. His daughter is headed to Vancouver as a shiliach next week. We a light snack before leaving for dinner at the kibbutz dining hall. Netzarim is the traditional style kibbutz, seemingly a dying breed, where most members dine in a common room and serve themselves cafeteria style. Everyone shares responsibilities for the work of the kibbutz including working in the kitchen on a scheduled basis. At one point someone approached Iri to remind him that he had guard duty coming up.
Following dinner Iri took me for a tour of the kibbutz’s factory where drip irrigation systems are produced. The kibbutz is a world-wide leader and an early developer of these systems. The factory has sales of over $350 million annually; it ships around the world and runs 24 hours a day. It really is quite an operation.
After the tour we returned to Iri’s home, a comfortable condo-like unit with 3 bedrooms and a open dining, kitchen and living room area. We talked of this an that and I retired for the night.
The following morning we had breakfast at the dining hall and then I received the grand tour. First Iri stopped at the kibbutz business office to make a cash withdrawal from the account maintained for him (his salary and other earnings go into the general funds of the kibbutz). He also mentioned to me that he had already reserved a care for his use…the kibbutz owns a fleet of cars and kibbutz members reserve a car for their use when they need one. Unless you get a car from a job outside of the kibbutz you do not own your own. We then walked near the kibbutz dairy farm. We passed the farm and went to the kibbutz grocery and then the common laundry (you drop off laundry and members wash and iron). The kibbutz has its own kindergarten and grade school. Upper level classes take place outside the kibbutz.
We also visited the kibbutz synagogue which I found interesting on several levels. The synagogue is a pre-fab unit that is put in place by a crane. It was given to the kibbutz by the Ministry of Religion before the ministry was disbanded during the Sinui/Likkud coalition. Apparently they had ordered these units that are like mobile homes and needed to get rid of them. It was offered to the local regional government which did not want it and offered it to the kibbutz which was glad to have it.
Typically secular kibbutzim are seen as almost violently secular but Nitzarem is different.
There has been a reasonably long tradition (not from the start but for quite awhile) to hold a kabbalat Shabbat service. It would not be recognized as a typical religious service but it has the basic elements supplemented by the kibbutz’s own printed sidur booklet. Thus tradition is kept alive on the kibbutz.
We walked part of the perimeter of the kibbutz where Iri pointed out the fence that he believes Bedouin cut through to steal his office provided car. Crime by the Bedouin community appears to be a growing problem. On the one hand Iri feels these Arabs need to move out of their hovels and into approved Bedouin cities. On the other, the cities tend to lead the Bedouins to give up their nomad way of life, they don’t find other work and crime increases. Also, these cities have become hotbeds of radical Islam. Both ways the situation is not good and the Israeli government is slow to address it.
Along the perimeter road one of the kibbutz elders kept busy cultivating an extensive cactus garden and using castaway items to create a fantasy land.
We got in Iri's car for my ride to my next host family. Just a few yards outside the kibbutz Iri made a little detour to show me a hidden treasure. A local women had pestered the local government and the JNF to provide fields to create a sculpture park. We drove along a dirt road and with each turn discovered large works along the way.
Iri drove me to my next stop, the Ohanna family in Mabboim, about 20 minutes away in the Merchavim/Ofakim area of the Negev. When I was here in May with my family and some friends my wife, Susan and daughters, Sage and Dana, stayed with the Ohannas.
We contacted them before this trip and they invited me to stay.
There are five Ohannas plus one puppy named Slash. Yakov, the father, is a truck driver and his family came from Morocco. Raya, the mother, is a beautician with a shop in her home. Her family came from Iraq. The boys are Meni, Oz and Adiel. Meni is 18 the oldest and speaks very good English. Oz, the middle son looks to be about 14 or 15 and Adiel is in grade school. Oz understands English and speaks a little as does Raya. Yakov and Adiel speak only Hebrew (but we made due).
When I arrived on Friday about mid-day I was expecting to have to jump in a car and be taken to this site or that. Fortunately, the first thing Meni said was that on Friday (the start of the weekend) he usually “chills”. So after the enormous lunch Raya prepared we sat around for awhile and then I took my first real nap of the stay.
More later…
Gary A
We arrived at Iri’s home in Kibbutz Netzarim, a little west of Be’er Sheva, in the early evening. There I said hello to his wife, Saralee, and his younger daughter. I met his wife when I met Iri in 2002. She is originally from Jacksonville, Florida but has been in Israel 30 years or so. His daughter is headed to Vancouver as a shiliach next week. We a light snack before leaving for dinner at the kibbutz dining hall. Netzarim is the traditional style kibbutz, seemingly a dying breed, where most members dine in a common room and serve themselves cafeteria style. Everyone shares responsibilities for the work of the kibbutz including working in the kitchen on a scheduled basis. At one point someone approached Iri to remind him that he had guard duty coming up.
Following dinner Iri took me for a tour of the kibbutz’s factory where drip irrigation systems are produced. The kibbutz is a world-wide leader and an early developer of these systems. The factory has sales of over $350 million annually; it ships around the world and runs 24 hours a day. It really is quite an operation.
After the tour we returned to Iri’s home, a comfortable condo-like unit with 3 bedrooms and a open dining, kitchen and living room area. We talked of this an that and I retired for the night.
The following morning we had breakfast at the dining hall and then I received the grand tour. First Iri stopped at the kibbutz business office to make a cash withdrawal from the account maintained for him (his salary and other earnings go into the general funds of the kibbutz). He also mentioned to me that he had already reserved a care for his use…the kibbutz owns a fleet of cars and kibbutz members reserve a car for their use when they need one. Unless you get a car from a job outside of the kibbutz you do not own your own. We then walked near the kibbutz dairy farm. We passed the farm and went to the kibbutz grocery and then the common laundry (you drop off laundry and members wash and iron). The kibbutz has its own kindergarten and grade school. Upper level classes take place outside the kibbutz.
We also visited the kibbutz synagogue which I found interesting on several levels. The synagogue is a pre-fab unit that is put in place by a crane. It was given to the kibbutz by the Ministry of Religion before the ministry was disbanded during the Sinui/Likkud coalition. Apparently they had ordered these units that are like mobile homes and needed to get rid of them. It was offered to the local regional government which did not want it and offered it to the kibbutz which was glad to have it.
Typically secular kibbutzim are seen as almost violently secular but Nitzarem is different.
There has been a reasonably long tradition (not from the start but for quite awhile) to hold a kabbalat Shabbat service. It would not be recognized as a typical religious service but it has the basic elements supplemented by the kibbutz’s own printed sidur booklet. Thus tradition is kept alive on the kibbutz.
We walked part of the perimeter of the kibbutz where Iri pointed out the fence that he believes Bedouin cut through to steal his office provided car. Crime by the Bedouin community appears to be a growing problem. On the one hand Iri feels these Arabs need to move out of their hovels and into approved Bedouin cities. On the other, the cities tend to lead the Bedouins to give up their nomad way of life, they don’t find other work and crime increases. Also, these cities have become hotbeds of radical Islam. Both ways the situation is not good and the Israeli government is slow to address it.
Along the perimeter road one of the kibbutz elders kept busy cultivating an extensive cactus garden and using castaway items to create a fantasy land.
We got in Iri's car for my ride to my next host family. Just a few yards outside the kibbutz Iri made a little detour to show me a hidden treasure. A local women had pestered the local government and the JNF to provide fields to create a sculpture park. We drove along a dirt road and with each turn discovered large works along the way.
Iri drove me to my next stop, the Ohanna family in Mabboim, about 20 minutes away in the Merchavim/Ofakim area of the Negev. When I was here in May with my family and some friends my wife, Susan and daughters, Sage and Dana, stayed with the Ohannas.
We contacted them before this trip and they invited me to stay.
There are five Ohannas plus one puppy named Slash. Yakov, the father, is a truck driver and his family came from Morocco. Raya, the mother, is a beautician with a shop in her home. Her family came from Iraq. The boys are Meni, Oz and Adiel. Meni is 18 the oldest and speaks very good English. Oz, the middle son looks to be about 14 or 15 and Adiel is in grade school. Oz understands English and speaks a little as does Raya. Yakov and Adiel speak only Hebrew (but we made due).
When I arrived on Friday about mid-day I was expecting to have to jump in a car and be taken to this site or that. Fortunately, the first thing Meni said was that on Friday (the start of the weekend) he usually “chills”. So after the enormous lunch Raya prepared we sat around for awhile and then I took my first real nap of the stay.
More later…
Gary A
posted by Gary A at 3:57 AM
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