Christian And Messianic Jews’ Communes In Israel: Past .
Social Sciences DirectoryVol. 2, No. 4, 26-44, October 2013thProceedings of the 11 conference of the International Communal Studies AssociationChristian and Messianic Jews’ communes in Israel:Past, present and future1Rami Degani *Kibbutz Nir David, IsraelRuth Kark *The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, IsraelVideo of conference presentation: http://youtu.be/V74FDX39pwcAbstractThe life style of the first Christian community of Jesus' disciples in Jerusalem, led by Jacob,the first Bishop of Jerusalem, became a model for Christians across the globe. Based on theNew Testament and Christian tradition, this community, as well as others outside the HolyLand, lived as communes.From the beginning of the twentieth century onward various types of Jewish communes andcooperatives were established by the Zionist movement in Palestine/Israel, as Kibbutzim,Moshavim and other unique modes of settlement. The Holy Land, home of the first Christiancommune, saw a renewal of Christian communal settlement, only after close to twomillennia, the first being the two Jaffa American Colonies and the American-Swedish Colonyin Jerusalem from the mid-nineteenth century. The establishment of the State of Israelbrought about both successful and failed attempts to build new Christian communes.Our paper, based on the analysis of primary sources of the communes, fieldwork andinterviews, focuses on several of the new Christian settlements in Israel that evolved fromthe model of communal life of the first Christians. We discuss each commune individuallyand also compare between them, taking account of their leaders' initial vision andmotivation, their past history, present demographic and economic condition, longevity ofthe commune, and the future long-term prospects of communes that persisted. Among thesettlements considered are: Kibbutz Tel Gamliel, Moshav Nes Amim, Kibbutz Ir Ovot, MoshavYad-Hashmona, the Beth-El commune in Zichron Yaakov and the Community of theBeatitudes in Emmaus.1This paper was originally published in: Ben-Rafael E., Y. Oved Y. and Topel M. (eds.), The Communal Idea in the 21stCentury, Brill, Leiden, 2012. We thank the editors and the Publisher for their permission to re-publish it in the ICSAproceedings (in a slightly modified form).*Email: rdegany@yahoo.com; ruthkark@huji.ac.ilISSN 2049-6869http://dx.doi.org/10.7563/SSD 02 04 04
Communes in Israel 27Introduction: Historical Background and SourcesThe lifestyle of the first century Christian community of Jesus' disciples in Jerusalem, underJacob, the first Bishop of Jerusalem (Acts 2,444-47; 4, 32-37), became a life model forsucceeding generations of Christians throughout the globe. According to the New Testamentand Christian tradition, the earliest Christian community, as well as others outside the HolyLand, lived communally. (Degani, 2007; Oved, 1988).From the beginning of the twentieth century onward various types of Jewish communes andcooperatives were established by the Zionist movement in Palestine/ Israel, as Kibbutzim,Moshavim and other unique modes of settlement. While the Jewish communes were notcreated with any connection to a Christian tradition their model and nomenclature wassometimes adopted by Christians who moved to the Holy Land and wished to livecommunally.The Holy Land, home of the first Christian commune in the first century AD, saw renewal ofChristian communal settlement after close to two millennia. The first examples of these newattempts at Christian communal living consist of two very short-lived Jaffa AmericanColonies and the long-lived American-Swedish Colony in Jerusalem founded in the midnineteenth century. (Kark, 1984; Kark, fieldwork; Ariel and Kark, 1996). Of these, three weremillenarian in their beliefs but only the Spaffords’ American colony practiced true communalownership of property and celibacy. The Adams colony and Clorinda Minor’s activities inJaffa were abject failures and they should be viewed in that light as well. Only the AmericanSwedish colony in Jerusalem had staying power. This was partly due to the charismaticnature of its leaders, improved health prevalent at the time of foundation, overseas contactsand contributions, and productivity of the American colony in Jerusalem. In addition thiscolony grew at a slower rate, beginning with a small group of individuals and attractingmembers and increasing in size over time. (Frantzman and Kark, 2008), but after fifty years,in the 1930s – during the age of the third generation – the colony comes to an end.The process of settlement of small Christian groups in Palestine/Israel continued during thetwentieth century. There are numerous published reports on those settlement phenomenain the Holy Land/Palestine in the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century.However, it is difficult to find reference in the research literature to Christian settlement andcommunes during the period of British Mandatory rule in Palestine (1918–1948) or that ofthe State of Israel (1948 onwards) (Schmidgal and Kark, 2008). For this reason the topic hasbeen generally neglected by scholars.The establishment of the State of Israel brought about attempts to build new communalsettlements, based on Christian faith. Most of them failed, but some of the initiatives toestablish kibbutz style cooperative Moshav communes in the State of Israel were successfuland persist to this day.Our paper is based on the analysis of primary sources of the communes, fieldwork andinterviews. It focuses on six of the new Christian and Messianic Jews’ settlements in Israel,which evolved from the model of communal life of the first Christians. We include thefollowing communes: "Kibbutz" Tel Gamliel, Moshav Nes Ammim, "Kibbutz" Ir Ovot, MoshavYad-Hashmona, the Bethel commune in Zichron Yaakov, and The Community of the
28 R. Degani & R. KarkBeatitudes in Emmaus. (See Figure 1). We discuss each commune individually and alsocompare between them, taking account of their origin, leaders' initial vision and theologyand their motivation, their past history, present demographic and economic condition,longevity of the commune, and the future long term prospects of communes that persisted.The paper will not discuss monastic life or families who live communal lives in urban"communes", belonging to Christian, usually monastic, orders and organizations like CheminNeuf, Opus Dei & Jesus Brotherhood.Christian and Messianic Jew's Communes in Israel"Kibbutz" Tel GamlielOriginTel Gamliel Kibbutz was established in the Judean Hills, south of the Salesian Monastery ofBeit Jimal, in 1975. It was named after Gamliel the Elder (Rabban Gamliel), who according toChristian tradition had embraced the Christian faith.Leaders' initial vision and motivationThe founder and leader was Father Isaac (Henry) Jacob, a Benedictine monk born in 1929 inPittsburg, in the US, to a Jewish father and Catholic mother. He did a Ph.D. in theology andChurch law, and studied Hebrew law as well. When he first came to Israel he spent sometime in Kibbutz Sh’aar. Afterword he worked with the nascent Hebrew-Catholic communityfrom 1970 to 1975. He developed the idea of cooperation between Christians and Jews withspecial focus on the Regula (rule book) of St. Benedict, the founder of Western Christianmonastic tradition, as a bridge between the two religions. Father Jacob intiated a translationof the Regula into Hebrew in 1980 (Grossman, 1994; Isaac, 1993). In a paper he published in1974 on "A Christian Visitor to Israel and Ecumenism", he held, Lavra (Laura) Netofa ahermitage near Dier Hanna in the Galilee in which a few monks (today sisters) lived in theeastern Christian commune style, as an exemplary model for Christian life.Past historyIn 1975 Father Jacob managed to get 200 dunams (1 dunam 1000 square meters) from thelands of the Beit Jimal monastery, from the Salesian order, to establish a Christian Kibbutz,based on his ideology, and the ancient laura model. This Kibbutz was initially intended topromote contacts between Christians and Jews. Four ruined buildings were renovated andcaravans were installed for the volunteers who came to work in the commune. The attemptto assimilate certain aspects of Israeli society included the use of Hebrew biblical texts, suchas Pslams, in the commune's prayers, and in their meals and weekly discussions. (Isaac,1990).
Communes in Israel 29Father Jacob also established in Tel Gamliel "The Gamliel research Institute intoMonotheistic Law” in which research was done on Jewish Halacha and Church Law. He alsofocused on comparing important Jewish and Christian texts, such as those by Maimonides(Rabbi Moses Ben-Maimon) and Gratian (Johannes Geratious) and other studies andpublications.Past and Present demographic and economic conditionDuring most of the period between 1975-1995, there was a high degree of turnover, as mostof the people were volunteers. The longest period of stay for any one member was aboutthree years. The total membership ranged from 5-20. For example in March 1993, tenmembers, whose ages ranged from 21 to 48 were registered in the local member's register(four from Ireland, three from the USA, one from France, one from Australia, one from TheNetherlands). They were employed in maintenance, developing and preserving the place,and agriculture (beehive and growing grapes for wine). Livelihood was an issue. The Kibbutzattempted to raise income from donations from individuals, including Jews, in the US via theFriends of Tel Gamliel NGO, but the success was limited. (Degani Field work, 1992-3, 2011).Longevity of the communeThe Kibbutz was deserted after the death of father Jacob in 1995. In the year 2000 the placewas repopulated by monks from the order: Famille monastique de Bethléem, del’Assomption de la Vierge et de Saint Bruno, joining nuns from this Order who settled next tothe Beit Jimal Monastery. The fifteen monks who live there today in a laura style, preservedthe name Tel Gamliel, and developed the place immensely.Moshav Nes AmmimOriginsMoshav Nes Ammim is a cooperative Moshav (village) in the western Galilee. The wasestablished in 1963, by a group of Christians headed by Dr. Johan Pilon a Dutch physician(1917-1975) and his wife Stijn Pilon.The name of the settlement is based on the Biblical verse: "And in that day there shall be aroot of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people (Nes Ammim, i.e. a sign to thenations); to it shall the nations seek: and his rest shall be glorious." (Isaiah, XI, 10). Theemblem of the settlement combines a fish and an ear of corn, the fish being a symbol ofChrist, and the wheat symbolizing bread and agriculture.Leader's initial vision and motivationThe founders were led by the ideology that it is the duty of the Christian Europeans whocaused suffering to the Jewish people throughout history, have to replace it with good
30 R. Degani & R. Karkdeeds, and renew and strengthen the connection with the Jewish nation. The Holocaust andthe establishment of the State of Israel were the two events that led to a change of attitudeamong thinkers in the Christians world. Instead of replacement theology & the New Israel inwhich Christianity is the true replacement of Israel, a new theology suggested replacing thatmission with dialogue.Dr. Pilon, who worked in the Scottish Hospital in Tiberias beginning in 1950, thought of theidea of establishing a Christian settlement in Israel. He partnered with Shlomo Bazak, also ofDutch origin, from Kibbutz Ayelet Ha-Shahar, the Swiss born Dr. Barnard, from the ScottishHospital in Nazareth, and Stijn Pilon, his wife (who died on Holocaust Memorial Day in 2002).By building this settlement near Jewish communities they aimed to promote solidarity anddialogue between the two religions and cultures, and to contribute to Israel's economy.Volunteers came to Nes Ammim then and now mostly from the Netherlands, Germany, USAand Switzerland. (Degani, Field work and interviews).Past HistoryIn 1960-61 the Nes Ammim Association, consisted of four equal parts of four Associations inThe Netherland's, Switzerland, Germany and the US was registered in Israel after submittinga memorandum to the Government of Israel, and purchasing 1,180 dunams of land fromAbdalla Hir, a Druze from the village Abu Snein. The settlement is run by the InternationalAssociation. New friend's associations were established during the years in Canada, Britainand Sweden. (Nes Ammim, 1970).Opposition to the settlement rose from numerous sectors at the beginning, from Jewishreligious organizations and parties who were afraid of missionary activity, and from thesurrounding settlements who feared competition over water and land quotas. Thishappened in spite of the fact that each volunteer signed an affidavit that he or she wouldnot be involved in missionary activity. The controversy went all the way to the Knessetwhere Levi Eshkol, Finance Minister and later PM, supported its establishment. A youngSwiss couple the Vetterli and after a month the Swiss Robert family were the first to settle inan old bus (which later became a museum) in Nes Ammim in April 1963, and the Knessetauthorized the settlement in 1964.At first the settlers lived in temporary wood houses. In 1965 a master plan was authorizedand a road built. Other houses were added and funded by support from the WorldAssociation and from churches in Germany and the Netherlands. A central community housewas built in 1975, and a conference center in 1990. The church was constructed on themodel of the Byzantine remains of the Tabgha church with an atrium. It has no crosses orChristian symbols, but contains a menorah, mezuzah, hamsa, and an art exhibition on theHolocaust.The people of Nes Ammim make a big effort to cooperate with other settlements in theirregion. The children study in the kindergardens and schools of the cooperative MoshavRegba and Kibbutz Cabri. They celebrate the Jewish and Israeli holidays together with Regba,hold common seminars on the holocaust with Kibbutz Lohamei Hagetaot, and contribute totheir neighboring Arab village Mazraa.
Communes in Israel 31Past and Present demographic and economic conditionNes Ammim view themselves as an international Christian ecumenical community and arecognize settlement – a full member in the Regional Council of Matte Asher. The settlementis run as a communal Moshav, with common economic activities. For several years NesAmmim abstained from accepting members and volunteers from Germany. In 1971 theGerman family of Ema and Otte Busse (who is one of the righteous among the nations),settled there and opened the door for other Germans to come.The initial plan was to develop an agricultural and industrial (optics and clocks) settlement.After the industry plan failed they switched to the export of flowers, and other agriculturalcrops. The outcomes were not very successful and they switched to tourism and opened ahostel in 1982.At present there are about seventy people in Nes Ammim. Most of them are temporaryvolunteers who come for two years. This does not contribute to the building of a soundeconomic basis. Therefore every year the Moshav seeks out new volunteers. In many casesthey also have to advertise abroad to fill management positions as well. in 2011 they issueda tender in the Netherlands and Germany for posts of CEO, maintenance director, and chiefgardener for a period of at least two years.Their main activity today is based on the guest house, running seminars on Judaism, Zionism,Holocaust, Israel, Islam, Middle East and especially Jewish-Christians relations. They alsohost a drug addiction treatment center, and have some agricultural activity (mainly growingavocado), a carpentry shop, and a botanical garden.Longevity of the communeThe long term future of the settlement is not certain.The population of the settlement peaked at the beginning of the 1980s when it numbered220 people. However the majority of the residents did not view Nes Ammim as their finalhome. Most of the youngsters came for two years and the families for 5 to 7 years.(Greenberg, 1999). The numbers o of permanent settlers also dwindled due to their sorryeconomic situation.The Arab-Israeli conflict led to a decline in the contribution of funds especially after theoutbreak of the Second Intifada, and in the number of volunteers who come to help run thesettlement. All these problems, as well as the obligation not to accept Israelis to thesettlement, excluded a potential source of manpower which could promise a more stableand permanent population."Kibbutz" Ir OvotOriginsKibbutz Ir Ovot (the town of Ovot) was established in the Arava in Southern Israel in 1967, bya group of Messianic Jews from the US led by Simcha Pearlmutter. It was named after
32 R. Degani & R. KarkBiblical Ovot, one of the Old Testament localities mentioned on the way from Egypt to theLand of Israel (Numbers XXI, 10). Today the site is identified as Biblical Tamar (Kings I, IX, 18).Leader's initial vision and motivationSimcha Pearlmutter was born to a Jewish family in Miami, Florida. At the beginning of the1960s, inspired by some ideas of the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlibach, he created a smallOrthodox community. He and his family and disciples later became Messianic Jews, believingin the near coming if the messiah, and settling in Israel for that reason. He published a book:"Behohalei Ha-Shem" (In the Tents of God), writing about his belief, the role of Jesus in therestoration of Israel, and the End of Days. Over time they started to believe that the Messiahwill arrive first from Mt. Edom which is opposite Ir Ovot.Past HistoryIn 1966, rejected by the Jewish communities in Florida, Perlmutter began negotiations withthe Jewish Agency to settle in Israel. In 1967 he immigrated to Israel with his two wives(Rachel and Yehudit), his three children and three other members. Their first attempts tojoin a Hebrew "ulpan", or a kibbutz, were rejected. At the end of 1968 they settled, with thesupport of General Yashaayahu Gavish, the IDF’s Southern Regional commander, at adeserted army base in the Arava, which they named Ir Ovot. Several years after, theyreceived official recognition from the state for their settlement.Past and Present demographic and economic conditionThe demographic situation of the settlement was fragile from the beginning. Its populationin 1969 reached twenty-five adults, and ten children. In 1982 the population reachedseventeen families and twenty children. In end of 1982 a crisis began when one of the wives(Yehudit) left with her five children, and other families left as well. In the 1990s only tenpeople were left. They lived communal life as a Kibbutz with a common dining room,laundry, children's house and school, and central work planning and institutions. TheSupreme Court approved their Kibbutz status. Rabbi Ami Katz who was evacuated from theSinai Jewish settlement of Yamit moved to Ir Ovot and at that time the original commune hidtheir messianic ideology. Chief Rabbi Goren explored in 1982 the option of the conversion ofeleven members to Judaism. This began the disintegration of the settlement whichworsened as Pearlmutter joined the Satmar Hasidim in order to get economic and politicalsupport, and the commune became ultra-orthodox. Shortly after newspaper articles andrumours as to its being a settlement of messianic Jews led to the Rabbi Katz’s departure aswell as Simha's wife Yehudit, and other members. As a result Pearlmutter renewed thename: Ir Ovot: the community of Jesus the messiah.In 1975 they joined the Ichud Chaklai, the Israeli Agricultural Union, which is a non-politicalsettlement body, a step which helped them get land and water quotas, and developmentloans. This ended in 1986 when the Ichud Chaklai ended its relationship with the commune.The economy that at the first stages was based on agricultural crops such palm trees,tomatoes and eggplants, and Jojoba (a shrub used for oil), suffered due to the limited land
Communes in Israe
Christian and Messianic Jews’ communes in Israel: Past, present and . The life style of the first Christian community of Jesus' disciples in Jerusalem, led by Jacob, . and the future long .
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