MOSHAV SHITTUFI

MOSHAV SHITTUFI (Heb. מוֹשָׁב שִׁתּוּפִי, collective moshav), a form of settlement combining features of the kibbutz and the moshav . The originators of the idea wanted to combine the advantages of both forms of settlement, while avoiding what they regarded as overemphasis on collectivism in the kibbutz and on individual farming in the moshav. They therefore separated production from consumption, adopting the productive system of the kibbutz and the preservation of the family unit in the moshav. The village's lands and installations – sometimes including industrial plants – are collectively owned and operated, as in the kibbutz, but each family has its own home and is responsible for its own cooking, domestic economy, and the care of children, as in the moshav. Mothers generally work outside the home for two or three hours a day five times a week. From the proceeds of the moshav shittufi's farming and other enterprises, each family is allotted a sum to meet its own needs, while the village as a whole provides education for the children, medical services, cultural activities, and the like. The first two moshavim shittufiyyim – Kar Ḥittim in Lower Galilee and moledet in the Gilboa district – were founded in 1936–37, and after World War II many of the demobilized soldiers who settled on the land chose this form of settlement. In 1970 there were 22 moshavim shittufiyyim with a total population of 4,200. Eight belonged to Tenu'at ha-Moshavim, five to Ha-Oved ha-Ẓiyyoni , four to Ha-Po'el ha-Mizrachi, three to the Ḥerut movement, and one each to the Farmers' Union and Po'alei Agudat Israel. To coordinate their activities, the moshavim shittufiyyim maintained an inter-movement committee. In 2004 there were 27 moshavim shittufiyyim with a population of about 12,500. For bibliography, see moshav . (Uzi Finerman)