Saturday 04/16/2005 7:34:50pm
Name: John (Johnny) Screeton
Email: NEW EMAIL: YONATANSHAKED@LIVE.COM

OR: Johnnyshaked@gmail.com

Location: Bait Shemesh Israel
Message: (Originally posted October, 2002)

I was a volunteer 1967-1970. Today I am known as Yonatan Shaked.

I would like to find friends from 1967-1970. Ulpan teacher was Gershom Fine. Arieh Zinger was our madrich for trips. Pnina our Ulpan mother. My "kibbutz parents" were Mendel and Gesia Nun. I would love to hear from volunteers/members of that time.

Johnny / Yonatan

An interesting Jerusalem Post article on kibbutz volunteers and the state of the kibbutz system. https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/The-spirit-of-the-kibbutz-lives-on-602975

Name: Gail Berg Location: British Columbia, Canada Email: rangechecker@yahoo.ca Message:

These photos are from January to the end of March, 1972 when I was a volunteer at Ein Gev.  I worked in the kitchen, banana and grape plantations as well as weekend stints at the fish restaurant.  I went there with a travelling companion, Martha Jane Ginsburg, who hailed from California.  There was a big contingent from Mexico, plus people from Scotland, USA, Norway, Canada, France and South Africa.  Tsipi (?) Walfstrom(?) was the volunteer coordinator.  A few names I remember: Michael Resnick, Alan Katz, Peppi, Dee and Gail Beigel, Gail Firkser.   I still fondly remember those delicious Jaffa oranges, fresh bananas, the soda water in the cafeteria and all the delicious food.  It was good for me to learn about the Jewish religion and all its customs.

I actually have more photos that are black and white that need to be scanned.  If anyone would like to contact me, feel free to do so.  At age 69, I am still a working biologist specializing in native plants and living in the mountains of British Columbia.  Perhaps I could do another volunteer stint if the Kibbutz accepts “old gals” that still have some energy!  PS, in the photo of the 4 women in Bedouin dresses, I am the one on the far left, the other 3 are South African. 

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPGkGTYio3yFD0ovSoDrCPP4cb1tSSlZFvrEut8-9oAoKyFABm7Fp_QcG91tBcoIg/photo/AF1QipPxPcaH8AWUTvgBcJDxMYFpviOchh0RS_jO8rXO?key=M08zZlVNWC1reW9ZbUdkNTFpY2Ewc0VRbmhFT013

Name: Aaron Levin Location: Baltimore, Maryland USA Email: ancientlight@verizon.net Message:

 
  I was on the ulpan and then a volunteer at Ein Gev from November, 1969 to March, 1971, with three months off in the summer of 1970 to work on an archaeological excavation. I mostly worked in the bananas and dates. I’ve returned to Israel many times over the years since and have always visited Ein Gev. I just spent three weeks in the country and I thought my fellow ex-volunteers might be interested in what the kibbutz is like today. (I’m grateful to Dina Hoffman, who grew up on Ein Gev, for many of the details below.)

The whole kibbutz movement has changed since most of us were there. Many have become totally privatized, essentially turning into small villages of homeowners. Ein Gev has largely resisted that trend. People do get salaries now and have to pay for things like food out of their earnings. Many young people, either new or returning children of members, are coming to the kibbutz, but they have to buy land and build their own houses. The dining room is now only open for lunch and is closed on Saturdays, but holiday celebrations still bring out most kibbutz members. (Because of my personal schedule I did not get to the dining room during meal hours.) 

Ein Gev’s economy still largely revolves around bananas, dates, the dairy herd, and tourism. The latter includes a large holiday village south of the kibbutz and an expanded (since my day) fish restaurant next to the harbor. However, there are also extensive groves of lichees, mango, and grapefruit. Ein Gev still has a small group of volunteers, with many coming from Asia.

The tall palm trees still stand by the shore of the Kinneret, but the lake has been extremely low for years, due to a lack of rainfall coupled with increased use of lake water. The old airplane has been repainted and maybe made a little safer to climb on. You can drive most of the way up to Sussita now. The top has been excavated by archaeologists for a number of years and there are very impressive Roman and Byzantine structures now visible. All in all, while there are some new buildings here and there, I’d say Ein Gev still resembles the place we recall from our days there in the 1970s.

Name: Bart Proctor
Email: bproctor52@yahoo.ca
Location: Port Edward, British Columbia, Canada
Message:

I was in Ein Gev from July to November 1973. I worked in the banana fields, restaurant and even got a chance to work on a boat on the Sea of Galilee catching St Peter fish. After a while I worked with one of the lead kibbutzniks, Hime Brosh, who was a Moroccan Jew doing maintenance -- which was an interesting experience as he did not speak English and my French was limited.

I still remember the first day of the 1973 War vividly as we had partied very hard the night before and the next day low flying jets were hard on our hangovers. We soon realized what was happening and how precarious our situation was, with tank battles just down the road from us.

It was a long time ago but I still remember it as a very special time. I was 20 years old and I still remember a lot of the people there who were either Israeli or volunteers. Some of the people: Pam and Penny, Anigred, Tom, Ruth Gailea, and my buddy Danny from St. Louis who worked on tugboats on the Mississippi.

It was great to read the stories on this website.

Name: Jeremy Stanton
Email: stanton45@hotmail.co.uk

Location: UK
Message:

I was in En Gev in 1978 for about 6 months. I used to hang around with 3 Scottish guys, if anyone remembers. Also Lisa and Judith. I worked in the kitchens and the camping site. Coming out to Israel with my wife, love to hear from anyone who was around then. Gadi, Ofra and Scmul were about at the time.