An urban kibbutz ( he, קיבוץ עירוני, ''Kibbutz Ironi'') is a form of
kibbutz
A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...
located within an existing
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
. There are currently just over 100 in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, totalling around 2,000 members.
Although there were attempts to form urban kibbutzim in the early 20th century, their success was limited and most failed. The idea was revived in the 1970s when they were established as co-operative communities by former kibbutz members and
Nahal
Nahal ( he, נח"ל) (acronym of ''Noar Halutzi Lohem'', lit. Fighting Pioneer Youth) is a program that combines military service with mostly social welfare and informal education projects such as youth movement activities, as well as training ...
graduates. They were created as a way of retaining the kibbutz lifestyle whilst moving into mainstream society,
[ but more recently have been seen as a way of combatting social problems; in ]Haifa
Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
the city council asked members of the HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed youth group to form an urban kibbutz in the Hadar neighbourhood in order to work with at-risk children.
Some standard kibbutzim such as Mesilot
Messilot ( he, מְסִלּוֹת, מסילות, ''lit.'' Tracks) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Beit She'an Valley near the city of Beit She'an, it falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs Regional Council. In it had a ...
began as urban kibbutzim. The urban kibbutz in Gedera
Gedera, or less commonly known as Gdera ( he, גְּדֵרָה), is a town in the southern part of the Shfela region in the Central District of Israel founded in 1884. It is south of Rehovot.
In , it had a population of .
History
Gedera ...
was the first Ethiopian
Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...
kibbutz in the country.
List of urban kibbutzim
*Beit Yisrael in Gilo
Gilo ( he, גִּלֹה) is an Israeli settlement in south-western East Jerusalem, with a population of 30,000, mostly Jewish inhabitants. Although it is located within the Jerusalem Municipality, it is widely considered a settlement, because a ...
, Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
Sderot
Sderot ( he, שְׂדֵרוֹת, , lit. ''Boulevards'', ar, سديروت) is a western Negev city and former development town in the Southern District of Israel. In it had a population of .
Sderot is located less than a mile from Gaza (the ...
*Reshit in Ir Ganim, Jerusalem
*Horesh in Kiryat Yovel, Jerusalem
*Shomrei HaShalom, a Black Hebrew
Black Hebrew Israelites (also called Hebrew Israelites, Black Hebrews, Black Israelites, and African Hebrew Israelites) are groups of African Americans who believe that they are the descendants of the ancient Israelites. Some sub-groups believ ...
kibbutz in Dimona
*Tamuz in Beit Shemesh
Beit Shemesh ( he, בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ ) is a city located approximately west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District, with a population of in .
History Tel Beit Shemesh
The small archaeological tell northeast of the modern city w ...
*Mish'ol in Nof HaGalil
Nof HaGalil ( he, נוֹף הַגָּלִיל, lit. ''View of Galilee''; ar, نوف هچليل) is a city in the Northern District of Israel with a population of .
Nof HaGalil was founded in 1957 as Nazareth Illit ( he, נָצְרַת עִלִ ...
References
{{Israeli administrative jurisdictions
External links
Beit Yisrael Official Website
Urban culture
Types of populated places