URIM — THE NEGEV IS HOME

The signpost, shaped as an arrow, reads "Urim 13.4 kms." Kvish Ha-Raav (Hunger Road), built in the last days of the British Mandate by hungry, drought-stricken Bedouins, is now the gateway to the Jewish settlements in the Northwestern Negev, bordering the Gaza Strip and guarding the Southern approaches to the heart of the country. As the road winds out of the wadi, the new development town of Ofakim spreads out before the eye to the left while, on the right, several moshavim wind their way inward from the road, their patches of green breaking the monotony of the dominant brown.

An arrow points to Urim, and you turn off into a short stretch of road which leads into the meshek. A sprawling fruit orchard on the right, neat green rows of sugar beets on the left, and a towering rain silo dead ahead pinpoint the entrance as you drive through the main gate. Tractors of various shapes, types, and dimensions; the intermittent flashes of a welding torch; the bellowing of a cow; and the self-satisfied cackling of a proud hen herald a small, bustling community, vibrating with activity. This is Urim of today.

In the black days, early in World War II, a group of youngsters from Bulgaria was integrated into the framework of Youth Aliya. They were sent to the Youth Aliya agricultural school at Ben-Shemen. Two years later, in 1943, their formal schooling completed, they formed a garin (settlement group) numbering some twenty people and set out for training in Ginegar. By 1945, they felt sufficiently strong to strike out on atzmaut (semi-independence) in Raanana, where they managed to eke out a meager living by hiring themselves out as day laborers. In Raanana, they were joined by a small garin which had received its training in Kfar Maccabi.

Meanwhile, on the international scene, developments were rapidly coming to a head. It was clear to the leaders of the yishuv (the Jewish community in Palestine) that, unless the Negev were settled immediately, it would not be included in the territory destined to become the Jewish state.

In October of 1946, with the break of the' Yom Kippur fast, the yishuv struck out in a bold and dramatic move. Eleven convoys set out from various concentration points; and, in that one night, eleven new settlements appeared on the map of the Negev.

One of those convoys carried a group of eager young Bulgarians, an advance group of the garin at Raanana. Their destination was a place called Gren, a point some thirty kilometers south of present-day Urim. The excitement of the day was doubled by the fact that, on the previous night, two new garinim, composed of Bulgarian augmented by a smattering of sabras, joined with the original group at Raanana to swell their numbers to nearly one hundred chaverim. The new groups had completed their training at Ben-Shemen and Geva.

Gren, now called Urim, was not a suitable agricultural point. Its soil was sandy and water was scarce. It had been picked as a settlement point for strategic and political reasons. The majority of the group remained at Raanana, waiting for the day when they could join the advance group at Urim. The chaverim at Urim worked primarily as hired laborers and at guard duty, while a few began to take the initial steps towards setting up a meshek.

The declaration of the State of Israel brought about a change in affairs at Urim. On the first of August, 1948S, with the War of Independence as yet unresolved, the group at Gren was ordered to resettle at a militarily strategic point in the abandoned Arab village of Imara, which housed a former British police station. Two concrete block buildings were left by the British, one of? which became the dining hall, the other eventually a carpentry shop.

The new conditions made it possible for more of the group at Raanana to join their chaverim at Imara, which became the Urim of today. By Rosh Hashanah, 1949, the transfer from Raanana to Urim was completed, but not without loss. The original group of close to one hundred dwindled to forty-odd for a variety of reasons, the main reason being that the parents of many of the Bulgarian youth had come to Israel and required the help of their children in order to establish themselves in the country.

With the resettlement at Imara, Urim began to develop its agricultural foundation. The task was not a simple one. Some chaverim were called upon to help buttress the defenses in the stronghold settlements scattered throughout the area, and others were called on to serve in the army. Those that remained in Urim began to develop a dairy herd, a small fruit orchard, irrigated and unirrigated field crops, and the beginnings of a chicken run. In order to supplement the meager income from the agricultural beginnings, some chaverim went out to work for the Jewish National Fund planting windbreaker trees, which were to divide up the fields and act against wind erosion; and a carpentry shop was set up, which contracted work for the army and from the Jewish Agency.

The founding of the state and the War of Independence had a profound effect on Habonim in America and Canada. The movement set out to harness its resources to meet the needs of the time, and the period that followed was both hectic and rewarding. At a conference held at the hachshara (training) farm at Smithville, Ontario, in Canada, a new garin aliya (settlement group) of Habonim was formed—Garin Bet.

Its members took direct responsibility for the work of the movement, freeing members of Garin Aleph to join their chaverim in Israel. Its people also came to the two training farms at Cream Ridge, New Jersey, and Smithville, Ontario, to prepare themselves for aliya, The beginning of January, 1950, saw the first chaverim of Garin Bet arrive in Israel. They headed for Geva, in the Eastern Emek, which was to be their training and gathering point, while waiting for the balance of their chaverim to come.

Meanwhile, a point of view began to develop in the movement which said that the movement should concentrate on forming several smaller garinim rather than one large one, that these smaller garinim should amalgamate with the garinim of the Israeli movement to form new settlement points. The result was the formation of a smaller garin which called itself Garin Maoz. During the course of its year of existence, some of the chaverim of Garin Maoz came to the conclusion that one large garin was better able to fulfill the tasks of the movement and, at a meeting held in Smithville in September of 1950, decided, in a hotly debated session, to amalgamate with Garin Bet. An amalgamation conference was held in Cream Ridge in December; shortly afterwards, members of Maoz went on aliya.

June of 1951 was set as the date of Garin Bet's induction into the army. This necessitated a decision as to where the garin should settle after it completed its three months of basic training.

Three possibilities were available. One was to settle an abandoned point at Givot Zide in the Western Emek; a second, to reinforce the hard-pressed Bulgarian group in Urim; and last, to embark on a new settlement venture. The decisions were difficult to make. The settlement heads pressed for Givot Zide; sentiment pressed for new settlement. After many exhausting sessions and several votes and revotes, Garin Bet decided to go to Urim. When basic training ended in September of 1951, Garin Bet made its appearance in the Negev.

The influx of some eighty Americans and Canadians acted as a catalyst to the agricultural development at Urim. The sudden increase of working hands made it possible to expand the existing agricultural branches and to develop new branches. Within a year, unirrigated field crops became a major branch of work, the dairy herd increased its size, irrigated fodder underwent a drastic revision, vegetable areas grew, the chicken run began to assume commercial proportions, and a herd of sheep was added to the livestock inventory. The Americans began to take their places in leadership positions, in work as well as in administrative and social capacities.

This development, however, was coupled with social crises, which at times seemed overwhelming and beyond solution. The American group was undergoing chevlai klita—the labor pains of adjustment and integration into a new way of life. There was a new language to learn, a new culture, a new climate, change in food, adjustment to physical labor, and a modus vivendi to be found with a Bulgarian group whose background and environment were radically different from its own. The difficulties took their toll, and many of the Americans left to find their places elsewhere.

The final months of 1954 marked the end of the initial phase of growth coupled with crisis, and Urim entered a new period of rapid economic development, which went hand in hand with the group stabilization and integration. This development was due in no small measure to the diligent work of several chaverim of Geva, who spent a year in Urim guiding, advising, and doing; it was also partly due to the increased maturity and experience of the chaverim at Urim.

At about this time a new policy was evolving, without its ever having been officially declared or defined. It became increasingly clear that economic success depended on increased specialization, agronomically as well as organizationally. Basically, this manifested itself in choosing a small number of crops which proved agriculturally successful and increasing the areas allotted to these crops to an optimum size, which would permit maximum efficient utilization of raw materials, machinery, manpower, water, and organizational control. The policy proved effective, and the economy grew by leaps and bounds.

At no time was Urim free from security problems. From the very beginning, marauders from the Gaza Strip roamed the wide open spaces, stealing and pillaging by night; and strong security counter-measures were essential. Despite patrols and ambushes, in which all male chaverim participated in addition to their day*s work, irrigation pipes were stolen, some forty dunam of olive saplings uprooted and carried away, and nearly one hundred sheep rustled from the sheep pen.

The manpower problem was rapidly becoming critical. The economic growth had been so rapid that the available labor force no longer sufficed. After long negotiations with 'the Tnua Meuchedet, the Israeli branch of Habonim, it was agreed that a garin, numbering some sixty chaverim, come to settle permanently in Urim. This garin completed its hachshara at Maayan Baruch, underwent basic training in the army, and spent a further training period at Metzuba. Following hachshara at Metzuba, the garin began intensive paratroop training; and. Just as their training was completed, the Sinai War broke out. The boys in the garin participated in the fighting, both as paratroopers and as mobile ground forces; and two fell on the field of battle.

The war ended, the garin finally was able to return to a normal course of life and settle down in Urim. The quality of the garin was good. Quickly they took their places in the community and added a new impetus to the economy. For the first time a genuine Israeli atmosphere pervaded Urim, and little or no friction was encountered among the three ethnic groups comprising the community.

Not all who came to Urim stayed. Today Urim numbers over fifty Americans and Canadians, some thirty-five sabras (native Israelis), the balance Bulgarians and sundry nationalities. The total number of chaverim is one hundred, and manpower has again become a problem. Within the next two years, two additional garinim, each numbering some thirty chaverim, will join Urim; and the sabra element will become dominant. On the other hand, the next few years will see Urim as the focal point of American Habonim aliya. It should be added that the American-sabra "shiduch (match) has been singularly successful.

Economically, Urim is considered one of the stablest and most successful of younger kibbutzim in the country. The past fiscal year showed Urim as having reached a one-million-pound gross income, and estimates for next year set the figure at two hundred thousand pounds more. The economy is purely agricultural, but the consensus is that the time has come to branch out into industry to supplement and more evenly balance the flow of income.

Urim has many things to show. Its chicken run is one of the most modern and relatively successful in the country, accounting for over one-quarter of the gross income. Both the dairy herd and sheep are proud possessors of milking "parlors" which are the latest word on the subject. Apples and peaches are the mainstays of the fruit orchards, and industrial crops—sugar beets and cotton—account for some five hundred sixty dunam. Negotiations are under way to obtain a herd of one thousand sheep for high-grade wool and meat, Urim having been chosen as one of two kibbutzim in the country that will be asked to undertake the project.

The social side has kept pace. A large swimming pool was built that serves as a social centre for five to six months of the year. Next to it is a combined basketball and volleyball court, electrically lit, which doubles as a tennis and badminton court in summer. Plans are under way to build a park, which will include the present sports facilities and pool; a series of connecting buildings to serve as coffeehouse, library, music room, and archaeological museum; an amphitheatre seating three hundred; a translucent plastic theatre-in-the-round seating eighty; a zoo; and a miniature golf course. Completion time is estimated at five to eight years.

Perhaps the most significant sociological development in Urim is the decision to institute the system of Lina mishpachtit, that is, having the children sleep at home with their parents. This requires that a children's room be built alongside the room of the parents. Building should commence before the winter of 1960.

Urim stands today as a symbol of American and Israeli movement unity. Its chaverim continue to be active on both fronts. Two chaverim of Urim have already served as shlichim to America, and a third was director of a Habonim camp during the summer of 1959, On the Israeli scene, Urim has become an important source for leaders of the local youth movement. A synthesis has been made between meshek development and movement responsibility, each adding meaning and flavor to the other. 

EZRA LIFSHITZ, Urim, 1960