Israel
,
The Shelter
by Olga Kravets
The Kibbutzim movement started in the early 20th century with the setting up of collective communities around
the areas along the borders of the State of Israel. They were often romanticised as socialist enclaves with a
strong emphasis on justice, equality and morality. But at the same time, living on the borderline had another
meaning for these people and the state to be - they were the first to defend the border, and thus any member
of these ideological communities had to be ready to fight for the preservation of Israel at any given moment.
Nowadays the Kibbutz code of conduct has changed, almost vanished. The current Kibbutz generation could
well be the last. With the decline of communist ideology, the collective structure fails to work in the same way
as it did originally. Sure, there are newcomers who move to the Kibbutz on the Gaza border in pursuit of a
cheaper place to live, surrounded by beautiful nature, but as a downside, they have to live expecting rockets to
fall on them and are trained to be able to reach the shelter in 15 seconds when the alarm goes off.
Having said that, these communities are far from the ordinary perception of the war-torn/aftermath society
- they have museums and even the zoos in the settlements, and on a peaceful day it's only the kindergartens
covered with layers of concrete that suggest the presence of danger.
While the majority of photographers from all over the world concentrate on covering Palestine and the
Palestinians, or when covering the Israeli side, show only soldiers, I wanted to show civilian life so as to
put forward both sides of the conflict. What is going on in Gaza cannot be fully understood without
understanding also the lives of Israeli civilians just over the border.
A fake window painted on a wall of a private bomb shelter in kibbutz Nahal Oz.
According to the law, every house in kibbutz Nahal Oz as in many others in the
proximity to Gaza have to have bomb shelters.
Concrete Kindergarten.
An open-air museum in kibbutz Nir Oz.
An abandoned water tower outside the kibbutz Beeri. The kibbutz originated here but
later moved further from the Gaza border due to the security threat. The tower
remains.
Poppies growing behind the fence separating kibbutz Nahal Oz from the Gaza strip.
A bedouin man. He lives just outside kibbutz Kissufim since he is employed there.
A Palestinian worker sorts vegetables at the packing factory in kibbitz Alumim.
A synagogue in kibbutz Alumim, one of the few religious kibbutzim. Mostly kibbutzniks
are secular.
A lunch in the communal canteen in kibbutz Alumim.
A Thai worker in the field in kibbutz Nir Oz. Since the construction of the wall around
Gaza, when Palestinians from there could no longer work in the kibbutzim in the area,
kibbutzniks had to switch to a Thai workforce.
Zohar Ronen, the secretary of wannabe kibbutz Kerem Shalom is posing for picture
next to the security fence. Behind him is Egypt, on the right is the Gaza Strip.
An IDF soldier monitoring the border with Gaza Strip from kibbutz Erez.
Young men playing billiards in the afternoon in a pub in kibbutz Nir Oz.
Circumcision party in religious kibbutz Alumim.
Shahar Vahab from kibbutz Nir Oz in his bomb shelter that he turned into a photo lab.
Mati Melker, who moved with her family to kibbutz Alumim from a city in spring 2011,
outside her new house.