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Israel's kibbutzim, once a rite of passage for thousands of young people from around the world, are staging a comeback after years of decline.
The world-famous communes, which hosted a generation of volunteers, are to launch their first advertising campaign in a decade.
The campaign, focusing on 140 sites in the north and south of the country, aims to tout the benefits of kibbutz living for a hip, new eco-aware generation. Rebranded for the 21st century, socialist ideals are downgraded in favour of environmental ethics and organic farming replaces conventional agriculture.
Israel believes its new-look kibbutzim can again entice a new wave of Westerners.
The advertising campaign is scheduled to launch this northern summer. One aspect of the campaign will be contacting former high-profile volunteers to endorse the makeover.
As the Zionist ideals of collectivism and egalitarianism fell from favour during the 80s, popularity waned. By the turn of the century, more than half of Israel's 257 collective farms were bankrupt. Now Israel believes the relaunch of kibbutzim can recapture their popularity.
Against a backdrop of continuing violence between Hamas and Israeli forces last week, the Tel Aviv-based Kibbutz Movement said the move to rebrand the communes was vital.
Others describe the development of the new kibbutzim as a confirmation of a changing world. Their reinvention will concentrate mainly on the communes' eco-credentials in an attempt to add ballast to Israel's environmental reputation.
All new construction will be energy-efficient, using solar power and recycling water where possible. Plans to phase out conventional agriculture and replace it with organic farming are advanced, a move welcomed by the Negev Desert kibbutz, which is suffering from the effects of climate change.
Yet controversially, given the kibbutzim's once self-sufficient, bohemian ideals, the main source of income will no longer be agriculture.
Leshem said only 15 per cent of the income would come from farming, with industries such as the production of plastics more prominent.
Meanwhile, 40 per cent of residents now work outside the commune. Such trends have been interpreted as a shift from communal living to individual fulfilment.
The Israeli Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, hopes former residents, including celebrities, will help to publicise the communes to a world audience. Some will view it as a cynical attempt to gloss over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But hopes remain that the fervent rebranding will none the less encourage volunteers and show Israel's attempt to accommodate this decade's wave of change.
- OBSERVER
