Ktura
I’m tempted to stay up late to write about today’s visit to Ktura, 32 years too late, but I won’t. I want to get up early to wander around and take some more photos before getting on the bus to Eilat and then on through the central Negev back toward Beer Sheva. So I won’t even try to go into any detail right now.
I do want to say that the bus ride from Beer Sheva to the Dead Sea and then down the Arava to Ktora was just incredible. Moving further into the Negev’s silent, twisting, rutted beauty reminded me once more how much I loved being down here when I first came to Israel on the Young Judaea Year Course in 1966. Many things are different now, of course. The towns are more built up and modern. Dimona, where the bus stopped to pick up passengers, has nice-looking apartment buildings. The Beer Sheva-Dead Sea road passes a lot more Bedouin than I remember, with flocks of sheep and goats dotting the landscape. The gas station/tourist trap stops are more elaborate.
But the desert itself remains. The winding road down to the Dead Sea, with the blue sea below and Jordan’s mountains behind it, is a wonder. And down here in the Arava, on the kibbutz surrounded by red-brown mountains, it’s easy to think about what might have been.
Ktura itself has turned out well, it seems to me, and so I also hear not only from the two old friends here I’ve spoken to so far — half the original members who still remain — but also from others in Israel who know it as a kibbutz, like Hatzerim, that’s remained a “real kibbutz.”
I came to see the place the group I helped start in 1968 went on to create without me. One of those old friends asked me tonight if I miss this kind of community. The answer is yes, and always has been.
More another time.
March 22nd, 2006 at 8:56 am
HI-I am Young Judaea’s central shaliach and need information of the founding fathers of Ketura. Could you please give me all the names and either information on them or where I can find such information. My work number is 212-303-4586. Todah. Rafi
March 7th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
[...] which I visited for the first time two years ago, today remains a “classic” kibbutz, its mostly English-speaking members [...]
March 17th, 2007 at 10:23 pm
I came across this websire while doing research on a doctor. Although some of the writings are longwinded, as blogs tend tobe. I kept oming back to the essential quetion of who cares? You go on and on about a religeous war between two contries far away. I happen to be of the opinion that although the State of Israel should exist, The wasn’t enough real estate to be bought that didn’t require the eviction of the Palestnians. In a very simple analogy tha should make sense to your readers, I have a car. Forwhatever reason the car leaves my possion. Ten years later whn I see the car again, I cant ‘wail that thi was my car and it was towed oe night for being illegaly parked, but now I have it back and it’s mine. The truth is that no it isn’t your car, it belongs to the new owner and depending where you are, the new owner may be in his rights to shoot you. So Denny Fox, who are you and why do you offer al this clutter, interfearing with those of us looking for legitinate information insteead of slanted poitical commnetary. You want to be a writer, get a Job at the NEw York Times and save teh bandwidth.
Cheers Cookie
March 18th, 2007 at 11:34 am
Jack, I’m not sure it’s my fault that this blog turned up when you were looking for something else. Most searches turn up all kinds of irrelevant sites. Complain to Google.
Blogs serve a variety of purposes, including “slanted political commentary.” I’ll plead guilty to being long-winded, and I know a lot of the entries get repetitive. But I write about what’s on my mind at the time, without the rigorous revising and cutting I try to do for published articles. If it bores you, stop reading.
Your point about the stolen car would be worth talking about, though I don’t get the feeling you’re as interested in my wordy response as you are in just trashing me for saying anything.