On Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 6 p.m. Elon Hillel and the Jewish Studies program will host Liat Srur, N.C. Hillel's Israel Fellow, for a conversation about the kibbutz movement in Israel and an exploration of the Green Kibbutz Group's focus on sustainability.
The first kibbutzim were created around 1909 as utopian communities that combined socialism and Zionism. These collective communities in Israel were traditionally based on agriculture but have grown to include other economic branches, such as industry and technology. There are around 270 kibbutzim existing today .
Srur will be leading a discussion on the kibbutz movement, from its beginnings as a major component in forming Israel’s values to the threat that privatization poses in building communal kibbutz communities today. The session will also explore the green living movement within kibbutzim, and how they are utilizing sustainability in their communities.
Srur was born and raised on Kibbutz Snir in Israel’s Upper Galilee. For two years, she worked in the Division of Public Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she was also a student for her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Latin American Studies. Liat also interned in Israel’s Ministry of the Interior in the Office of the Vice Director General. This is her second year as N.C. Hillel’s Israel Fellow.
The program will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 16 from 5 to 6 p.m. in the McBride Gathering Space in the Numen Lumen Pavilion. If you have any questions, please contact Ginny Vellani.