The cases of the coffee pot, the alarm clock, the radio and the TV set
It may look funny today, but these items caused much unrest in more than one kibbutz.
They were milestones in the slow erosion of the absolute
material equality postulated by the kibbutz founders. We should also never
forget, that most kibbutzim were poor, many miserably so. And if a
whole village has only one alarm clock, a second, privately owned one
will cause trouble.
When a couple received a radio set as a present, all hell broke
loose. The kibbutz had a radio in the dining room, which served the
whole population, but as many people
fiddled around with it, it was
quite often broken.The lucky couple steadfastly refused to hand over their
set. They were talked to, shouted at, cursed and called names,
at many kibbutz meetings. They were even threatened with expulsion. In
the end, they were not expelled and the radio became public property
under their supervision.
The privately owned coffee
pot represented all that was evil in capitalist society. Not only was
it private property, but it was thought to cause people to isolate themselves (which
would have been rather a feat in those days of tents and two couples to a room.)
When Israel started its TV services in the early 1970's, the kibbutz
bought a number of TV sets and placed them in strategically chosen
TV rooms. It didn't take long until the first private TV (again a gift
from a doting relative - Timeo Danaos et donas ferentes - well, they weren't really Greek, but it's the thought that counts, isn't it?) entered the
scene. As it was mostly hidden in a cupboard and not blatantly
displayed, the public outcry was less vocal than might have been expected.
The pictures are just illustrations and not the culprits themselves.