Case Study:  Kibbutz Lotan – Eco-Zionism And Kibbutz

Updated information on ecological developments can be found on the Kibbutz Lotan website:
www.kibbutzlotan.com

Dr. Michael Livni

International Communal Studies Association
Eighth International Conference
Amana, Iowa
June 28-30, 2004

Revised and updated – January 2008 

Dr. Michael Livni
Kibbutz Lotan
D.N. Chevel Eilot
ISRAEL  88855
ml-lotan@zahav.net.il
ml@lotan.ardom.co.il
Abstract
	Kibbutz Lotan is located 55 km north of Eilat in Israel’s Southern Arava desert. It was founded by graduates of the Reform Youth Movement of America and Israel in 1983. Currently (2008) the kibbutz numbers 60 adults, half from Israel and half from abroad. The average age of  the adult members is 40. There are 60 children. In addition, there are 30 of residents as well as youth groups and volunteers. 
	Kibbutz Lotan’s affiliations indicate its special identity. The kibbutz is affiliated with the Cooperative Stream of the Kibbutz Movement, the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism (Reform) and the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN). From the beginning, Lotan has seen its intentional communal commitment linked to Jewish cultural pioneering.
	The outstanding ideological development during Lotan’s 25 years of existence has been the crystallization of a vision statement that includes a religious approach to integrating ecology within a Jewish-Zionist rationale. This has been the unique response of the Lotan community to a crisis of purpose and meaning.
	The current Eco-Zionist bent of Kibbutz Lotan is part of the vision statement and part of the search for meaningful identity. “Ecology: We strive to fulfill the Biblical ideal, ‘to till the earth and preserve it’ (Genesis 2:15) in our home, our region, our country and the world. We are working to create ways to live in harmony with our desert environment”.
	The collective and liberal-religious identity of Lotan were instrumental factors in responding to the crisis and integrating ecology into the Lotan vision. However, Lotan’s continued viability still faces serious challenges both economically and socially.

CASE STUDY:  KIBBUTZ LOTAN – ECO-ZIONISM AND KIBBUTZ

Background
Kibbutz Lotan is located 55 km north of Eilat in Israel’s southern Arava desert.  The kibbutz was founded in 1983 by settlement groups of Israelis and North Americans, most of whom were graduates of the Reform Jewish youth movements.  There are 60 adult members, average age 40, half from Israel and half from abroad.  They have 60 children. In addition, 30 residents (adults and children) live on Lotan and  pay rent.  There is a fluid populationof ecological trainees, and volunteers.  The cultural atmosphere in Lotan is Israeli, but English is widely spoken. Gender equality is fully practiced.
The Lotan Economy
Currently, Lotan's economy is based on a dairy barn (270 head), a date plantation (80 acres) and eco-tourism. There is a massage clinic and a  popular heated Watsu (water shiatzu) pool. Many members are employed outside the kibbutz in a variety of professions.  A goat diary is a recent addition. Four kibbutzim in the area have pooled their fields and Kibbutz Lotan is a partner in this arrangement. Similarly, five kibbutzim including Lotan are partners in a fish farm in the Gulf of Eilat.
Organizational Ties
The organizational ties of Kibbutz Lotan reflect its unique status. Kibbutz Lotan is one of 70 kibbutzim, formally affiliated with the cooperative sector (Mate Shitufi) within the kibbutz movement. Hence, Lotan is a “classic” kibbutz with no privatization. In addition, it is one of only two kibbutzim belonging to the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism (Reform). Finally, and most recently, Kibbutz Lotan is a member of the Global Eco-village Network (GEN).  In 2006, Kibbutz Lotan was recognized as eco-village of the year by the European GEN region. 
The Context of Ecological Development on Kibbutz Lotan
Although Lotan was founded in 1983, it was a crisis of purpose and identity within the kibbutz that led to the beginning of its ecological development. During the years 1995 and 1996, a third of the kibbutz members left. The crisis had to do with the “coming of age” of the founding members. Having come to Lotan as singles in their early twenties, they now faced the question as newly married in their early thirties, “Do we really want to stay so far from the center of the country? Do we really want to raise our families here?” Their confidence wavered for they were unsure of the kibbutz’s ability to survive, and/or provide security over a long period of time. They were unsure that the life they had led as singles was what they wished to continue as families with their children. Other kibbutzim in the area went through a similar crisis at this stage in their development, but in Lotan the crisis was particularly severe. The siren call of more established kibbutzim and of normative western society was too strong.
The response of the kibbutz was a two-year long off and on process of redefinition. The product of this process was the Kibbutz Lotan mission statement, formally signed by a majority (not all) of the members in October 1997 (see Appendix A). A small group of enthusiasts pushed for the inclusion of a plank dealing with environmental activism in this mission statement. The kibbutz was to become an expression of ecologically oriented Zionism. Lotan’s commitment to Jewish creativity and location in a fragile desert ecosystem led to a religious rationale for the support of a sustainable environment. An educational Center for Creative Ecology was established to demonstrate this commitment. This ecological concern had its roots in the biblical injunction to Adam when he was placed in the Garden of Eden to be a steward of the earth, “to guard and to till” (Genesis 2:15). Lotan has achieved a considerable reputation in Israel for its ecological initiatives. For example, Kibbutz Lotan was featured on the cover of El-Al’s in flight magazine. Furthermore, Kibbutz Lotan was awarded a special plaque by the Ministry of the Environment in the year 2000 in recognition of its ecological pioneering. 
In Lotan, ecological activity covers several areas: 
1)	Recycling (composting) organic waste.
2)	Solid wastes for reuse in Lotan and for recycling in the north of Israel.
3)	Reusing solid waste, in particular for alternative building.
4)	Introduction of straw bale building plastered with clay mud.  In particular, a carbon neutral natural building neighborhood has been built for ecological trainees (the ten week  hands-on “Green Apprenticeship” program) as well as for ecological volunteers.
5)	Two circular walks and one circular scramble in the kibbutz that demonstrate the unique natural history of the southern Arava.
6)	Bird watching sites on and near the kibbutz. Kibbutz Lotan is located on the global flyway of migratory birds between Europe and Africa.  The observation hides for the birders have been built utilizing natural building methods.
Kibbutz Lotan maintains a website <www.kibbutzlotan.com> which presents a somewhat idealized version of the community as well as detailing ecological programs.. 

The Idea of Eco-Zionism
The relationship between Judaism and nature has been ambivalent. Eilon Schwartz has reviewed this subject. As of yet there is no generally accepted meaning for the term eco-Zionism. It is widely held that there are two distinct ideas behind this term. These ideas have their roots in two separate paths that led to Zionism. 
The first (and better known) path that led to Zionism is that of political Zionism. The political Zionist movement was founded in 1897, initiated by the Viennese journalist, Theodor Herzl, 1860-1904. In the face of the rising tide of anti-Semitism, particularly in the nascent European nation states, Herzl proposed the establishment of a state for the Jews so that they could be “like all the nations”. Within this context, it is clear that “like all the nations” Israel has its particular environmental problems as well as having responsibility for the well being of spaceship earth as part of family of nations  .
In this sense, environmental activists in Israel who see their environmental activity as part of their identity as Zionists would be comparable to the Green parties of Europe and/or the many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) active in the field. They are part of a growing universal concern with the impact of an exploding human population, its consumption, its technology and its waste products on the quality and viability of human life. The rationale for environmentalism is utilitarian. Ultimately, it is in our self-interest to be concerned with the environment as we eventually pay the price for reckless exploitation and depletion of the resources of our planet.
The less well-known path in Zionism is that of cultural Zionism. It is associated with Achad Ha-am, the pen name of Asher Ginsburg, 1856-1927. His thesis was that the impact of modernity threatened the continued relevance and existence of Jewish culture. In order to ensure creative continuity, a Jewish state would be necessary. Only then could Jewish civilization and its values express themselves in fruitful confrontation with all the challenges of the modern day and age. Jewish traditions and values would be revitalized in the process. The Divine Covenant between God and the people of Israel was in fact a triple covenant between God, the people of Israel and the land of Israel. Ensuring the well being of the latter as part of a religious commitment to creation as a whole constitutes the ideological/theological basis of eco-Zionism. Hence, eco-Zionism in the cultural Zionist context means a commitment to the totality of Creation with special responsibility for the Holy Land (Israel). 
In this context, Eco-Zionism with roots in cultural Zionism is one aspect of Zionist Jewish renewal. It is based on absolute values rather than on utilitarian considerations. Of course, in practice, Eco-Zionism can be a mix of both utilitarian and absolute values. Certainly, this is also the case in many environmental movements throughout the world. 
Creation as Divine and as an ultimate value is affirmed by the Midrash (talmudic interpretations of the Bible) inscribed on a sign in Lotan’s Center for Creative Ecology. 
“When the Holy One, Blessed be He created the first man, He took him to all the trees of Paradise, and told him: See my works, how handsome and fine they are, everything I have created was created for you. Make sure not to spoil and destroy my world because what you spoil no one can repair” (Koheleth Rabbah 7: 13).
This is clearly a message for all peoples  -  it depends on each nation finding a way to express a universal idea and ideal through the unique prism of its particular culture. 

Eco-Zionism and Kibbutz
From its inception in 1910, the kibbutz as community was a marriage of convenience between political Zionism’s need to establish a state for the Jews and the need of socialist Zionist pioneers to establish a Jewish state based on prophetic values of social justice. The kibbutz framework suited both. 
	Kibbutz Lotan has made community an instrument for ecological transformation (ecological “Tikkun Olam”). The success is only very partial but the vision is there. In this sense Kibbutz Lotan is rooted in the cultural Zionist rather than the political Zionist tradition.
Theoretically, a kibbutz community constitutes an ideal framework for realizing eco-Zionist ideas and ideals. Practically, environmental consciousness is still far removed from Israeli and kibbutz norms. In fact, it was not until 1989 that the Ministry of the Environment was established in Israel. Thus, within its surroundings, Lotan’s environmental awareness is exceptional. But as it has been described, Lotan is a small unstable community. Can Lotan overcome the challenges it faces?

The Challenges Facing Lotan
After having surveyed something of Lotan’s background and its accomplishments, we must review the shadow side. Kibbutz Lotan is a small community with an uncertain economic base. . It does not have the critical mass of approximately 80 - 100 members in order to function efficiently. For example, the administrative functions such as kibbutz secretary (“mayor”), treasurer, economic manager, food manager, and accounting, need to be filled whether there are 50 or 100 members. The same is true for cultural and educational functions. Currently, Kibbutz Lotan hires members from neighboring Kibbutz Ketura to fulfill a number of these slots. 
This question of numbers is critical for future development. There is a dearth of members who can initiate and carry through development. This is a matter of both quantity and quality. There are not enough young singles. The ratio of dependents to working adults (60 children for 60 members) constitutes a heavy economic burden. It results in many adults having to work in service areas. In addition, hired workers do much of the childcare. 
  Not all members subscribe to all the ideas and ideals as expressed in the appended Lotan mission statement. It would be correct to state that most members subscribe to some of the ideals some of the time. One who visits Lotan’s website and then conducts an in depth visit will be struck by the apparent dissonance between the vision and reality. 
Kibbutz Lotan could not survive outside of the framework of the Eilat region rural council where cooperative  Kibbutzim set the tone and where the principle of mutual help between kibbutzim still exists. 
And yet – Lotan continues to attract young people with some relationship to their Jewish identity who are seeking an alternative to the norms of western society. Many leave, disappointed by the gap between vision and reality. A few stay.
The ultimate question is whether Kibbutz Lotan can attract young permanent settlers who share its ideals and will broaden its demographic base. Will Lotan survive and thrive? The verdict is not yet in. In spite of its day-to-day existential problems, Kibbutz Lotan as a case study bears witness to the wisdom of the ancients who wrote “Where there is no vision, the people become unruly” (Proverbs 29: 18). 
It is this writer’s conviction that the loss of vision is the core reason for the crisis of much of the kibbutz and of the Zionist enterprise in general. Lotan struggles against the stream.

Dr. Michael Livni has been a kibbutz member for forty-five years and has lived on Kibbutz Lotan for over 20 years.

Appendix A
Kibbutz Lotan: Mission Statement
Our Path to the Fulfillment of our Vision

In this place, we, the members of Kibbutz Lotan, have chosen to establish here our home and future. Through our commitment to ‘Am Yisrael*, Torat Yisrael**, and the State of Israel, we are working and learning together to create a community based on Reform Zionist Jewish values:

•	
-	Jewish Renewal: We work towards creating a progressive expression of Jewish religion and culture in our rituals and our day-to-day life, through mitzvot*** in our relationships with one another and with God.
-	Equality: Our belief in equality is expressed through direct democracy, equality in the workplace, gender equality, and mutual responsibility.
-	Economic Cooperation: Together we are responsible for our livelihood and share out resources as an expression of our belief in the strength of communal action.
-	Ecology: We strive to fulfill the Biblical ideal “to till the earth and preserve it,” in our home, our region, the country, and the world. We are working to create ways to live in harmony with our desert environment.
-	“I-Thou”: We aspire to meaningful relationships of openness, communication, and mutual respect with one another.
-	Right Livelihood: We strive for economic independence, and aim to support ourselves in ways that are in keeping with our values.
-	Home and Community: Our commitment to our home and community is expressed through cooperative action and in work, education, culture, health, and day-to-day life.
-	Tikun Olam – Repairing the World: We work towards the betterment of ourselves, our people, and the world. Our home is a community of Shlihut, outreach. Our way of life constitutes a message we wish to impart to those who enter our gates and to the circles of society through which we pass.

This declaration is a living document which requires of us ongoing involvement and action. “The work is not yours to complete, but neither are you free to desist from it”.

Signed by the members of Kibbutz Lotan
Simhat Torah, 5758, 23 October, 1997.

*       Am Israel: the Jewish people.
**     Torat Israel is broadly defined here as Jewish heritage including its Zionist
          increment.
***    Mitzvot: commandments. 
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