Zionism and the kibbutz

My parents were members of HeChalutz (a Zionist group in the diaspora). In order to come to Palestine in 1935 using only one certificate, they got married. We returned to the U.S. in 1937, when I was one year old.

All of my childhood I lovingly accepted the idea that I would return to Palestine. For me the resettlement of the Jewish people in Palestine and espcially on the kibbutz, was expressed in the slogan - "The Torah will again go forth from Zion".

A couple of weeks before my aliya I met a group of socialists who presented me with a different challenge. They said that instead of going off to some small country in the Middle East that I should stay in the U.S. and work towards socialism there. I did not take into account what the chances of success were with either choice. I felt that if I listened to them it would mean for me an estrangement of my Judaism.

I chose. I chose Judaism (i.e. my kind of Judaism - Humanistic, Socialistic). I, therefore joined Kibbutz Urim that was one of the centers of American Habonim (a Zionist yourh movement). For me, the socialism of the Kibbutz was equal to it's Zionism. The kibbutz, like me, is ALSO not perfect (humans, right?) . I saw it as the most progressive movement at that time and also today.