Tuesday, August 11, 2009
During the high season (Rosh Hashanah) you can book a tourist room at Kibbutz Manara in the Upper Galilee for around $160.00 a night, a pretty steep price for Israel. Founded in 1943, Kibbutz Manara (named for the Muslim "minaret") was not always so profit-oriented. Its original German and Polish pioneers were part of Habonim Dror, a "Progressive Zionist (socialist) Youth Movement" one of whose credos was to see "in the Jewish tradition a source of inspiration and influence, not a source of authority." Then, the kibbutz members sported uniforms consisting of a blue shirt (to symbolize the working class) with red lacing (to symbolize the triumph of socialism).
And we wonder why Consul Tamir is in so much trouble.