Cherry-picking a piece of history at Ramat Rachel
The kibbutz, which once protected Jerusalem’s south from Jordanian troops, is now letting in locals to glean its organic fruit
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
KIBBUTZ RAMAT RACHEL — The rolling hills of netting-covered cherry trees extend for several kilometers beyond the houses and hotel of Kibbutz Ramat Rachel. The 60 acres of black-barked trees sprout 17 different types of organic cherries, from darkly sweet, nearly black fruit to the bright crimson cultivar, tasting of warm sun and air.
The orchards butt up against the borders of the nearby Arnona neighborhood of Jerusalem, reaching the stone walls surrounding the US Consulate complex and the fields around the neighboring Arab village of Tsur Baher.
These groves are a final remnant of the kibbutz aesthetic, said Ron Dotan, the kibbutz member who first planted the cherry trees 14 years ago and headed the “cherry desk” of Israel’s Growers Cooperative. Now he’s running the kibbutz hotel.
“A kibbutz without agriculture isn’t a kibbutz,” said Dotan, a bearded and ponytailed bear of a man who moves slowly. “We’re still a kibbutz. We even serve three meals a day” in the kibbutz dining room where many of the 450 kibbutz residents still eat, unlike most other surviving kibbutz communities. “We have a capitalist approach and a socialist mindset. You have to; socialism costs a lot of money.”
After being overheard by the former chairman of the kibbutz, who sitting nearby in the cafe of the hotel, Dotan was mildly reprimanded for speaking so freely, and reminded that the kibbutz pays dearly for every business and service it provides.
“Just talk about the cherries,” advised Dotan’s colleague.
But it isn’t that simple. So Dotan continued with his history lesson.
The kibbutz, which was established in the farthest southern reaches of the city in the 1920s, overlooking Bethlehem, has always taken its kibbutz status seriously.
It was cut off from the rest of the city during the 1948 war and protected Jerusalem from the invading Jordanian troops by holding the city’s border.
Even today, a meeting room with windows around its perimeter was built on top of the kibbutz’s 165-room hotel to show guests the kibbutz’s location, overlooking Bethlehem and what used to be Jordanian territory surrounding the community.
“We protected the city from the invading troops,” said Dotan, pointing out what was formerly Jordanian territory and is now the Israeli neighborhoods of Har Homa and Gilo.
In time, the kibbutz succeeded, retaining its cooperative status, while eventually building the hotel, the connecting pool club where many Jerusalemites pay membership, and selling off lands once used for orange and apple orchards and now developed as high-rise neighborhoods and a gas station complex.
Ramat Rachel, locals like to say, is one of the country’s richest kibbutz communities.
Dotan shrugged when asked about the kibbutz’s income.
“We may have income, but we still live like kibbutznikim,” he said, pointing at his sandals.
The cherries, however, remain, with 3,000 to 4,000 tons grown each year on the nearby hills. They are picked during May and June and sold abroad to Singapore, Holland, Belgium, Russia, South America and even to Britain’s Marks & Spencer.
“I had a vision that we would build an empire of cherries,” he said. “The biggest organic cherry orchards in the country.”
It’s an expensive fruit to grow, said Dotan, given the painstaking picking process and the organic status, which is protected by the netting stretched overhead, as well as cultivated bees and tiny ladybugs that provide natural fertilization.
It also requires cold air, which is why most Israeli cherries are grown in the Golan Heights and Galilee, as well as in Gush Etzion and the southern Hebron Hills, where cold snaps can be relied upon.
For the first time, however, the kibbutz is willing to share some of its Royalton varietal cherries, and will open the orchards to locals who want to pick a bushel and bake some pita this Friday.
“We want Jerusalemites to be connected to the kibbutz,” said Dotan.
Friday, June 3, 12 p.m. – 4 p.m., for anyone from age 3 and up, NIS 25 per adult or child, and an additional NIS 20 per kilo and a half picked in the orchards.
