Israel-Hamas war rages as Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises from attacks – CNN

The dozen refugees gathered at a spot just south of the deep blue waters of the Sea of Galilee to build their new community, safe from the rising tide of antisemitism in Europe.

It was an ambitious experiment. The 10 men and two women set out to create an agrarian Jewish utopia in what was then the Ottoman Empire, but none had any experience in agriculture. They had been raised in eastern European ghettos, far from any farms.

They formally founded their settlement sometime in 1909 or 1910 and called it Deganya.

Despite their lack of experience, the group quickly turned the barren but fertile land into a thriving agricultural collective. What started as a cluster of huts grew three decades later into a community of 60 homes and a dozen public buildings. Deganya’s main export was milk, but the community also sent out 20,000 bunches of bananas, 12,000 boxes of oranges and grapefruits and 15,000 boxes of tomatoes a year.

Deganya, which is still inhabited today, is considered Israel’s first kibbutz. Its success prompted imitators, and by 1950 – two years after Israel came into existence – there were 67,550 people living on 214 kibbutzim (the Hebrew plural of kibbutz) across the country, according to the Jewish Virtual Library. While each settlement was different, all were underpinned by the economic and interpersonal ideals of socialism and the spirit of Zionism. Kibbutzim were run democratically, with their profits pooled and shared by members.

In Israel’s early days, the kibbutzim were an important economic driver for Israel and an integral part of the country’s identity. Volunteers from across the world – including US Senator Bernie Sanders – flocked to the kibbutzim to pick fruit during the day and enjoy the community lifestyle at night.

But as Israel transformed from a poor, desert state to a vibrant modern economy, the influence and prominence of the kibbutzim waned.

Read more about the kibbutzim.