Succot (Tabernacles) - THE GREAT DEBATE

Succot: Well The traditional booths for the Tabernacles Festival shot up like mushrooms around the kibbutz following Yom Kippur. However, these days a lot of families can’t be bothered collecting planks and cloth anymore – today ready-made do-it-yourself versions are now available at Israeli DIY outlets. Afterwards they can be dismantled and used again in the future. As usual, a central Succah was erected outside the moadon and events are taking place during the festival period (creativity stalls for children, massage booth, cosmetics, food stalls, etc.).

Olive Picking: This year the olive harvest from the numerous olive trees on the kibbutz were picked by the teenagers of Matzuva with the proceeds being utilized for projects for the youngsters. Parents prepared meals and sustenance during the picking for very hungry mouths. The olives were finally taken to an olive press at a nearby Arab village where a quantity of olive oil was also made available as part of the deal.

Ex-Ulpanists will remember that they planted the grove of olive trees lining the approach road to the kibbutz about 20 years ago.

The Great Debate: Maybe I’m overdoing the description but the debate that took place at the moadon last Thursday was significant. It was the first general meeting of members for some time and the moadon was jam-packed with members of Matzuva both old and new. The meeting was called by Danny Ivri, the kibbutz trustee, and Noam, the auditor and members of the kibbutz committee. There were two issues to be decided upon – the future of Stage C of the community village (Nofey Matzuva) and secondly the legal short-term renting procedures for apartments (up to 5 years).

In essence it had been decided originally that there would be 3 stages of the village (A,B,C) but a section of the kibbutz membership led by the absorption committee lobbied for a delay in the marketing of Stage C. The original plan was to market this stage within 2 years with the first houses being built 5 years hence. The central argument was that with Stages C a demographic imbalance would be created between the kibbutz and the community village in municipal and community matters such as a shortage of educational and other services on the kibbutz to cope with the swell in the population of Matzuva. There was a fear that the kibbutz society would be overwhelmed numerically and in influencing the quality of life of the community. As mentioned in earlier updates other elements in the expansion programme are the Israel Land Administration (ILA) and the Ministry of Housing. Considerable budgets had been set aside by these bodies for infrastructures that would only be available for immediate use in developing Stage C. During the sometimes heated discussions other members spoke of the importance of settlement in Galilee, the northern periphery of Israel, and the financial ramifications of delaying the project for the community including the kibbutz. A vote by a show of hands was taken with the majority voting for a delay in the development of Stage C. It was encouraging to see the large turnout at this meeting and augurs well for the future. The discussions took up most of the evening and it was decided to convene a further meeting to debate the renting procedures issue.

That’s all for the moment – more to follow!

Keep posted.

Regards

Baruch