Kibbutz

European Parliament President Josep Borrell gives a farewell speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, on January 15, 2007. (AFP PHOTO / Frederick FLORIN/File)

June 6, 2018, 11:25 pm

Spain’s new foreign minister met his first wife on an Israeli kibbutz

Josep Borrell, 71, is a staunch critic of Catalan independence; was European parliament president in 2004-2007

By AFP and TOI staff

Israel used carrier pigeons to ferry messages from the battlefield to Israeli military headquarters during the 1948 war. (Courtesy)

From the WebApril 17, 2018, 10:16 pm

Kibbutz celebrates carrier pigeons’ role in 1948 victory

A newly restored dovecot at Givat Brenner educates on some of the War of Independence’s lesser known heroes, Reuters reports

Camels rest at the night camp after grazing in the open all day near Kibbutz Kalya, in the West Bank, February 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

March 18, 2018, 2:47 pm

Bedouin revert to nomadic lifestyle for camel birthing season

Men leave modern life behind and bring sons and hundreds of camels to area near Kibbutz Kalya by the Dead Sea to continue ancient traditions

By Oded Balilty

February 11, 2018, 2:42 pm

Bill Slott

40 years of Elvis in the Judean Hills

What a little diner paying tribute to the King says about Israel’s place in the global arena

Youth Aliya members from Germany dancing the hora at Kibbutz Ein Harod, 1936 (Kluger Zoltan/GPO)

December 31, 2017, 11:55 am

Claiming to be Israel’s first startup ventures, kibbutzim jump on tech bandwagon

Cooperatives are investing in startups, providing them test beds for their technologies, and setting up their own ventures

By Shoshanna Solomon

October 21, 2017, 6:12 am

Acclaimed Canadian author explores dark side of pioneers’ Zionist utopia

On first Israel visit, Alison Pick delves into human drama of early 1920s kibbutz life to write her compelling new novel, ‘Strangers with the Same Dream’

By Renee Ghert-Zand

Somjit, a Buddhist Thai worker at kibbutz Tirat Tzvi, harvests lulavs ahead of Sukkot, September 27, 2017. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)

October 4, 2017, 8:34 am

Largest lulav-harvesting kibbutz has fronds in high places

Tirat Zvi has perfected the art of the palm frond, part of the lucrative Four Species industry that flourishes for one week out of the year, during the festival of Sukkot

By Melanie Lidman and Video by Luke Tress

Workers sitting on tractor on Kibbutz Ruhama, Israel, October 2016. (Courtesy of Ran Ferdman)

August 16, 2017, 4:46 am

Can medical marijuana revive Israel’s kibbutz movement?

After decades of stagnation, the communities are betting big on the herb

By Andrew Tobin

A man looks at a sign for the 50th anniversary celebrations of Kfar Etzion at the entrance to Kfar Etzion, in the West Bank on January 30, 2017. (Gershon Elinson/Flash90)

June 3, 2017, 8:31 am

Residents of historic Israeli settlement say they have returned home

After the Six Day War, former residents of Kfar Etzion seized the opportunity to resettle the West Bank kibbutz

By Michael Blum

May 23, 2017, 3:58 pm

Peter Geffen

June 4, 1967

What happens when you heed Ben-Gurion’s call to fight for Israel — and why winning takes longer than six days

A wind farm near Kibbutz Ein Zivan on the Golan Heights (Flash90)

March 25, 2017, 7:30 am

Kibbutz movement to celebrate 50 years of settlements in Golan

Left-wing members protest event, saying ‘celebrating occupation’ is wrong

By JTA

Yael Neeman grew up as part of an extreme communal 'experiment' on Kibbutz Yehiam. (Courtesy)

November 13, 2016, 6:45 am

In the kibbutz children’s house, we grew up speaking in plural, writes memoirist

Newly released in English, Israeli Yael Neeman’s portrait of her 1960s Socialist childhood is ripe to resonate with US Millennials exploring communal living

By Jen Maidenberg

At the ordination ceremony for the first cohort of the Beit Midrash for Israeli Rabbis, Rabba Noga Brenner Samia accepts her certificate from Rabbi Donniel Hartman of the Shalom Hartman Center and Dr. Moti Zeira, CEO of HaMidrasha at Oranim on September 20, 2016. (Netanel Tobias)

September 23, 2016, 3:12 pm

Jerusalem ordination of secular Jews seeks to ‘redeem’ the word ‘rabbi’

Egalitarian and pluralistic, the first cohort of the Beit Midrash for Israeli Rabbis is set to lead Israelis in the promised land on their own terms

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

Kibbutz secretary Jossef (Joha) Engel near ruins dating back to the 8th century BCE at Kibbutz Ramat Rachel. (Shmuel Bar-Am)

September 17, 2016, 8:52 am

The kibbutz outside Jerusalem built atop an ancient palace

Ramat Rachel’s Archaeological Gardens tell the story of the Roman legionnaires, Judean kings and Assyrian conquerors, and others who lived and built there

By Aviva and Shmuel Bar-Am

Roni Dotan and his cherries, carefully cultivated over the last 14 years at Kibbutz Ramat Rachel (Jessica Steinberg/Times of Israel)

June 1, 2016, 1:37 pm

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

By Jessica Steinberg