Ditching socialist roots, kibbutz makes a comeback

By Brenda Gazzar

KIBBUTZ KRAMIM, Israel (Reuters) - With its socialist doctrine of shared possessions -- down to your underwear -- and love of the land, the kibbutz for years symbolized Israel's earthy Zionist ideals.

But Israelis abandoned the collective farms in droves as socialism fell from favor in the 1980s, urban centers flourished and many kibbutzim sank into debt as they struggled to weather hyperinflation and soaring interest rates.

Now the kibbutz is staging a tentative comeback by embracing reform and eco-friendly practices to attract young families looking for an alternative to the daily grind.

"It's no longer a commune," said Udi Nathan, who moved his family to Kibbutz Kramim in Israel's Negev desert in 2006 after a decade of living in the country's secular metropolis Tel Aviv.

"It has its socialist aspects ... but we don't share our wallets with people, which I think is good and is in tune with what's going on today."

Traditionally, the kibbutz was an agricultural settlement founded on Zionist-socialist principles, where everyone worked the land and shared income and possessions. The first collective farm was founded in 1909.

Besides initially being a practical venture in group living, the kibbutz played a central role in Zionist settlement of the land before and after the founding of the Jewish state.

Despite its idealistic image among many Israelis, others see the kibbutz -- some of which were founded on deserted Arab villages after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War -- as part of what they call the Zionist "land grab" of the last century.