History                               

KIBBUTZ YIZREEL
In the summer of 1948, as the War of Independence battles raged on, the Palmach military headquarters decided to send several preparatory groups of young men and women to settle strategic border outposts.  Fifty-five members were chosen to man the outpost of Zarin – Yizreel.  On August 20th, 1948, the settlement was officially proclaimed.  In the beginning the young settlers lived in primitive conditions in the abandoned huts of the Arab village, Zarin.  Their first task was defensive; to guard the settlement, day and night, against the repeated incursions of the Iraqi army stationed only a few meters south of the outpost.

In June, 1950, the settlers moved to the adjacent hilltop, where they began building a permanent communal settlement.   As the years passed new youth movement graduates and other young Israelis joined the founding members.  The harsh, demanding living conditions in the fledging kibbutz caused many people to abandon the idea of communal living, and they left.  In fact, during the first eight years of existence, so many people left the kibbutz, that in 1956 its chance of survival was questioned.

In that year, the turning point occurred when a group of Habonim Youth Movement graduates from South Africa and Australia joined the kibbutz.  Ever since then, Yizreel has absorbed new people from youth movements, together with individuals and families from Israel and overseas.  The result is a multi-cultured population, in which the Anglo-Saxon element is one of its dominant features even today.
On September 6th, 1969, the General Meeting of Kibbutz Yizreel passed a revolutionary decision which was criticized throughout the Israeli Kibbutz Movement.  The members decided to abandon the traditional system whereby the children slept at night in the communal children's houses and allow them to sleep at home with their parents.  In order to implement this decision, new larger houses including a children's bedroom had to be built, as well as new day-care units.  This step attracted many families from other kibbutzim, who applied to join Yizreel.  Today there is not a single kibbutz where the children sleep at night in the communal children's houses.
Kibbutz Yizreel members soon realized that they would not be able to survive with an economy based on agriculture alone.  In July, 1968, it was decided to establish our first industry, in the old  communal dining room; a factory which assembled electronic equipment.  Subsequently problems in the electronics factory, including the collapse of the stock market, and the David Ballas embezzlement affair combined to cause a huge crisis in the mid 1980's.  Over fifty members, including many leading figures, left the kibbutz.  However, the long and winding road led to the growth of a prosperous industry, which is one of the main factors presently enabling the kibbutz to reach an annual income of millions of shekels, and allowing it to invest in the future of the community and its population.
The kibbutz today, is in essence, a rural Jewish community, originally based on socialist ideology and expressing the Judaism of its members in a unique way.  It

is an open question whether the first settlements were set up as communes because of ideological conviction or rather because of physical necessity, stemming from the harsh living conditions.  Since its inauguration, the kibbutz has evolved and become less uniform, each kibbutz deciding for itself its particular ‘flavour’ and character.  The uniqueness of the Israeli kibbutz is its democratic base.  No members are forced to join, and all members are free to leave.  The kibbutz idea celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2010.
In general terms the kibbutz co-operative is based on collective ownership of all the means of production and of all the public and private physical structures and amenities.

Join ownership means that all members have equal rights, both physical and economic.  Mutual assistance is also one of the mainstays of the society.  No-one receives a wage or salary.  Everyone receives a budgeted monthly allowance according to the number of people in the family, their ages and any specific needs they may have.  The size of the allowance for each category of family members is set according to the economic plan of the kibbutz, decided at the beginning of each year.

Kibbutz Yizreel currently (2010) has 260 members and another 45 candidates for membership – mostly sons and daughters of members.  In addition there are 170 children, including 25 serving in the IDF (Israel Defence Corps), 18 parents of members and 40 temporary residents, including volunteers, soldiers from overseas etc.  The total population is around 540 people.  The kibbutz is an entire community, and therefore must cater for all the community’s needs: pre-school and school education, higher education, food, culture, health etc.  Our members come from a wide variety of backgrounds; about two thirds of the kibbutz members today are Israeli born.  Others come from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.  At the same time Israeli groups also connected with youth movements arrived and settled.  In recent years Yizreel has absorbed five families from the Soviet Union bloc.

Our kibbutz is one of eight kibbutzim belonging to the Gilboa Regional Council, which also includes moshavim, Arab villages and new community housing projects.  We are also very much involved with Partnership 2000.

The democratic nature of the kibbutz is protected through the organizational hierarchy of the society.  The General Meeting is the highest body for decision making.  Here every kibbutz member has an equal vote, providing that he/she chooses to exercise that right.  Beneath the General Meeting there are executive bodies as well as a number of committees, which take most of the responsibility for the running of the kibbutz.  In all, there are over 40 committees which meet either weekly or fortnightly, depending on their agendas.

Kibbutz life is not without its problems.  For the individual, there can be the pressure of having to put the community before oneself (sometimes) and compromises have to be made to co-exist amicably.

The Kibbutz Movement is renowned for its education system.  Today, all children up to the age of 16 sleep in their parent’s homes.  When babies reach the age of three months, they are placed in a crèche, between the hours of 7.00 and 16.00, which allows the mother to return to work.  The children grow up in a framework designed to cater to their specific needs, according to their age.

  They are cared for by trained personnel until they complete kindergarten, and upon reaching school age, they travel daily to a school in the area for their formal primary and secondary education.
The kibbutz economy is based on a variety of production branches, both in industry and agriculture.  Many members work outside the kibbutz in a variety of professions, and their salaries are paid directly to the kibbutz.

Members work in teaching (primary, high-school and at several of our universities and colleges), the various departments of our local hospital, social workers, and in hi-tech positions in industry and commercial enterprises.
Kibbutz agriculture is amongst the most advanced in the world, and although the Kibbutz Movement is only 3% of the Israeli population, the contribution is of a much higher percentage with regard to participation in the national economy, the defence forces and playing a part in
the political scene.

Kibbutz Yizreel owns three factories, all situated on the kibbutz.
Maytronics: The manufacture of the leading “Dolphin” robot swimming pool cleaner exported to over 34 countries world wide.  The development, assembly, electronics, marketing etc. are all done here at the kibbutz factory.  Recently Maytronics has opened two additional divisions: pool safety (including pool alarms, and automatic pool covers) and pool water treatment - the new oxineo system which treats pool water without chemicals.
Tamuz:  A subcontractor for hi-tech companies, consisting of three divisions:
1. A sheet metalwork department mainly for the communications industry.
2. A cable assembly department specializing in semi-rigid cables.
3. The assembly of large medical and other hi-tech equipment.
I.D.L.:  Manufactures and markets under-floor electrical heating systems.
Agriculture: includes dairy, poultry, field crops, and a large almond orchard.
Dairy:  A herd of approximately 300 Israeli Holstein cows, produces over three and a half million liters of milk yearly.  We also breed calves for meat.
Poultry:  Four separate climate controlled buildings, each receiving six intakes per year of one day old chicks, for a total meat production of 1000 tons per annum.

Field Crops:  2,500 dunam (4 dunam = 1 acre) of irrigated summer crops - mainly cotton, industrial tomatoes and sweet corn, and 2,500 dunam of winter crops – mainly wheat.  We also grow root vegetables, amaryllis bulbs for export, and organic herbs.
Almond Orchard:  Over 800 dunam (20,000) trees, producing 90 tons of nuts each year, one of the biggest almond orchards in Israel.  Recently we have planted a 150 dunam olive orchard for producing oil.
Gilboa Area:
Our kibbutz is very proud of our contribution to the Gilboa area:
Factories and branches of the kibbutz offer work to many area residents.
The Music Centre teaches nearly 250 students, adults and children, most of whom come from the surrounding settlements.
Our Language Centre teaches English, French, Hebrew, Arabic and German.
We have a very successful library, open to all.
We employ youth from a nearby drug rehabilitation village .
We sponsor and organize a cycling club at that village.
We organize a yearly summer camp for Downs Syndrome children.
We sponsor the swimming team of ILAN, Haifa (Israeli Foundation for the Handicapped)

Values and Beliefs

Kibbutz Yizre'el belongs to the communal stream of the Kibbutz Movement. In a public opinion poll held in the year 2004, over 80% of Kibbutz Yizre'el members rejected the idea of converting to a differential salary system, and preferred to uphold the principles of equality, cooperation and mutual assistance which characterize the traditional kibbutz.

Kibbutz Yizre'el has always been a liberal kibbutz and has shown an independent spirit regarding developments and changes in our life-style. When the kibbutz members felt the need to be flexible, the General Meeting reflected this attitude. Never-the-less we have not blindly followed the fashion of total privatization that took over the kibbutz movement during the 1990s.

Kibbutz Yizre'el does not rest upon its laurels but attempts to adjust itslife-style according to its needs and to the changing environment, while relating to the members' desires, and adhering to an accountable democratic process.

On one hand:
In the process of forming a corporation, we separated the businesses from the community for more efficient management, in order to to protect the community.
A professional auditor who is not a kibbutz member reviews the financial and managerial procedures and reports his findings to the General Meeting.
The businesses are overseen by a number of Boards of Directors. A majority of the members of the board are professional people who are not members of Kibbutz Yizre'el.
Approximately 20% of the kibbutz members work in their professions outside of the kibbutz and their salaries go directly into the kibbutz.
Shares from our factory, Maytronics have been floated on the TASE, Tel Aviv stock market.
We have invested in a pension fund for each one of the kibbutz members, in order to ensure his or her future.
Kibbutz members are permitted to own private cars.
On the other hand:
The communal dining room has not been privatized. We serve three meals a day, seven days a week. The place is bustling with activity, particularly on Friday night, Shabbat meals and on the festivals.
The kibbutz members participate in a roster duty system where-by they serve each other.
Our kibbutz members and their families celebrate the Jewish festivals together in community events.
The fields of health, education, culture and housing have not been privatized at all.
In order to ensure demographic growth, we have begun a perennial campaign to encourage an intake of new potential members.
Mutual assistance has remained the pivotal point of our society.
We believe that the above steps will guarantee our continual existence and will ensure our future.

Partnership 2000
between the Gilboa/Afula region of the country and Connecticut, USA is a continuing, dynamic and exciting dialogue.  Amongst the many facilities offered in the area is an opportunity to stay in guest rooms on Kibbutz Yizreel in a beautiful pastoral area of the country, overlooking the magnificent Jezreel Valley.  (Emek Yizreel)

Four rooms are available in Partnership House, two of which offer twin beds and facilities, TV, and a small kitchen.  Two additional rooms have provision for four on two levels with twin beds on the upper level and a convertible sofa for two on the lower level.  Breakfast is included but any other meals taken on the kibbutz are charged at a nominal rate.  Partnership House is fully air conditioned – essential in our hot summer months.

Partnership House is free of charge to all members of SNEC, depending on availability of rooms.

Partnership House is managed by Rahel Piekarski, who can be contacted by
e-mail: rahel.p@yizrael.org.il   

For reservations - please do so as early as possible in order to avoid disappointment.

Partnership House is situated on Kibbutz Yizreel, approximately 7 km. from the town of Afula, route 60 south.

Kibbutz Yizreel:
Kibbutz Yizreel was established in 1948, at the end of the War of Independence and the original founders were all Israelis. Our members come from a wide variety of backgrounds.  In the late 1950’s young people from overseas, many of them products of Zionist youth movements, arrived on the kibbutz, a trend that continued until the early 1980’s.  Most of them came from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.  At the same time Israeli groups also connected with youth movements arrived and settled.  In recent years Yizreel has absorbed five families from the Soviet Union bloc.  In total, about two thirds of the kibbutz members today are Israeli born.

Kibbutz Yizreel has some 260 members.  In addition there are 115 children, 16 parents of members and another 60/70 temporary residents (students, post-army, volunteers etc.)
Our branches include:
Maytronics – a factory manufacturing the well known Dolphin swimming pool cleaner.  We export to over 34 countries world wide.  The development, assembly, electronics, marketing etc. are all done here in the kibbutz factory.

Tamuz – a subcontractor for hi-tech companies, consisting of three departments:
A sheet metal work department, mainly for the communications industry.
A cables assembly department specializing in semi-rigid cables.
The assembly of large medical and other hi-tech equipment.

The kibbutz also includes agricultural branches: dairy, poultry sheds, ornamental and edible fish, field crops, cotton and an almond orchard.

Gilboa Area:

- Our kibbutz is very proud of our contribution to the Gilboa area:

- Our factories and branches of the kibbutz offer work to many residents of the area.

- The Music Centre teaches nearly 200 students, adults and children, most of whom come from the surrounding settlements.

- Our Language Centre teaches English, French, Hebrew, Arabic and German.

- We have a very successful library, open to all.

Members of the kibbutz work “outside” the perimeters of the kibbutz in teaching, (primary, high school and several of our universities and colleges) the various departments of our local hospital, social workers, and in hi-tech positions in industry and commercial enterprises.

We welcome all members of SNEC to come to Yizreel and stay in Partnership House.

THE AGRICULTURAL CORPORATION

The agricultural corporation is completely owned by Kibbutz Yizre'el. It utilizes the land and the water and meets the production quotas of kibbutz. The main agricultural branches are: dairy, field crops, poultry,  and almonds. Approximately 6,000 dunams of agricultural land is cultivated, of which 950 dunams are almond orchards and the remaining land is used for field crops.

In 2001 the management and the finances of the agricultural branches became a separate entity. In 2004 a corporation was officially registered and a directorate established. The corporation employs 27 kibbutz members and 7 salaried employees. The corporation pays the kibbutz an annual wage for each one of the kibbutz workers and 50% of its profits.

Farming as a means of livelihood aims at increasing its contribution to the community for the betterment of the members and their families. However, agriculture also constitutes part of the peoples' connection with the land and their home. The landscape, the fields, the orchards, the animals, and the special rural life-style are an integral part of Kibbutz Yizre'el creating the rural atmosphere which characterizes our kibbutz.

ALMONDS
We presently have 950 dunams of almond orchards, and are planning to plant another 180 dunams at the end of 2006. Although the almond orchard has existed for many years on Kibbutz Yizre'el, it underwent a process of replanting on a 677 root-stock in the mid 90s. This process, which entailed a large financial investment resulting in several years of deficit, has proven itself financially over the last few years since a large part of the orchard is bearing fruit and yielding a good crop. A veteran team of  experienced almond growers operate this branch.

WATER
The agricultural water supply comes from various sources: the Kishon Complex, the wells of the Water Association, and from our own sources (flood water, treated waste water and spring water). The water reservoir in the valley absorbs approximately 150 – 200 thousand cubes of flood water annually, and the reservoir at the entrance to the kibbutz serves as a back-up water supply and a fish-breeding pond. Effective management of the water supply results in considerable savings in costs, both for the field crops and the orchards.

POULTRY
Yizre'el produces approximately 1,400 tons of chickens for meat annually, in 7000 square meters of chicken runs using climate-controlled environments and a central automatic system. The two man team has a high success rate; however, chicken-breeding has suffered from exposure to different diseases over the past few years, which has caused direct damage, and fluctuation in supply and demand. The above problems affect the market price.

DAIRY FARMING
Yizre'el's dairy has about 300 milking cows which produce approximately 3.5 million liters of milk a year. In addition we breed about 250 calves, and another 150 calves are raised for meat. The dairy is based upon a team of experienced of kibbutz members, producing satisfactory professional and economic results. From 2004 to 2006, we began rebuilding the dairy, as part of the national dairy farm reform, according to the demands of Ministry of the Environment. We built 11,000 square meters of new open-sided shelters costing 4 million shekels (before grants). The project upgraded and modernized the dairy with improved micro-climatic conditions for the cows and a better work environment for the workers. This led to improved professional and financial results.

THE FIELD CROPS
The field crops branch of Yizre'el cultivates about 5000 dunams, half of which are irrigated. The main crops are: cotton, tomatoes, wheat for silage, sunflowers, clover, corn and chick-peas. In 2006 we built a hothouse for growing amaryllis for export, as part of a plan to expand into intensive hothouse crops, and concentrate on traditional field crops only. A combination of an experienced veteran staff together with young dedicated workers has produced good professional results and high yields.
The new hothouse cost one million shekels to build. It is a modern automated facility with centrally controlled irrigation, climatic environment and fertilization systems.

Yizre'el is a pioneer in amaryllis growing and developed expertise in this field some years ago; however it became clear that this crop is not suitable to be grown in an open field, and requires a closed hothouse environment. We grew amaryllis for three years in a rented hothouse at Moshav Ram- On, until our new hothouse was completed.