Having recently returned from a "Heritage Trip" to Haarlem in Holland and Liverpool in England along with Irene and our two granddaughters (Mai after the IDF draft and the Adi due for the draft in December) returning to Matzuva and the tranquility of a rural community is like a breath of fresh air even if it is already 75 years old. The kibbutz is now home to a younger generation who are active in all facets of life with the emphasis on progress. "Savion House" The fac i l i ty for our senior members that housed up to 15 senior c i t i zens and funct ioned for about 15 years has been c losed for a number of years being too smal l to be f inancia l ly v iable. To be rentab le i t would have to cater for up to 30 res idents and on that basis i t was c losed (requ ir ing bui ld ing a further f loor or extension to the bui ld ing). The bui ld ing was or ig inal ly a ch i ldren 's house but with a low birthrate on the k ibbutz towards the end quarter of the last century i t was dec ided to use the bui ld ing to cater for senior members who were inf i rm and needed to be cared for with a medical staf f round the c lock. Now the bui ld ing has gone a complete c i rc le and is today be ing renovated to once aga in become a ch i ldren 's house to fac i l i ta te the b lessed growth in the number of ch i ldren at Matzuva. After the complet ion of the renovat ion Savion House wi l l serve the needs of Matzuva's chi ldren!!

Sarah Gershon ל"ז 26.7.1922–24.9.2015

On a sunny and humid afternoon in September most of the Matzuva k ibbutz at tended the funeral of another of our sen ior members Sarah Gershon R.I .P. at the age of 93 after a long i l lness. Sarah was born in Ber l in in 1922 to parents who or ig ina l ly came f rom Czechos lovakia. Her father estab l ished a coa l bus iness and the fami ly enjoyed a comfortab le l i fe . With the r ise of Naz ism in Germanythe fami ly moved back to Czechoslovak ia but a few years later the Germans invaded the country and wi th i t in i t iated "the f ina l so lut ion" for the Jews of Europe. In 1940 Sarah joined the Youth Al iya Scheme and sai led for Mandatory Pa lest ine. Of her large fami ly who were interned in concentrat ion camps only her grandmother surv ived the war. Sarah came with a group of ideolog ist youngsters and af ter a 2 year spent at K ibbutz Degania she dec ided to jo in K ibbutz Matzuva. The condi t ions were f rugal and far f rom easy but she was proud to be a part of th is p ioneer ing community

At Matzuva she met up with Avr i Gershon and 4 years la ter their e ldest daughter, Hanna was born s ix months before the establ ishment of the State of Israe l . In those ear ly years the chi ldren at Matzuva were cared for in ch i ldren 's houses and only in the mid-1980's th ings changed and ch i ldren l ived at home from bi r th. Her younger ch i ldren, Amitai and Rut i were a lso born at Matzuva. Sarah worked in the chicken houses, the text i le p lant and later was respons ib le for c loth ing repai rs in the c loth ing

store. Later in l i fe she worked in the k ibbutz l ibrary b inding books and her expert ise in th is work brought in work f rom schools in the area. Sarah served on committees and would send food parce ls to k ibbutz members serv ing in the IDF. Her son Amita i is marr ied and now l ives in the USA and she with Avr i v is i ted that country a number of t imes as wel l as her i tage tours in Europe. Sara leh was a lady in her n inet ies but she had a youthfu l out look on l i fe wi th al l her fami ly around her and car ing for her unt i l she passed away. May her dear soul rest in ever last ing peace. Visit of Sandy & Steve Selby I t 's a lways n ice to welcome back former Ulpan students and Volunteer guests at Matzuva. Sandy and Steve were ulpan students in the 1970 's and Steve went on to become a member of the k ibbutz and a lso served in the IDF. The couple lef t qui te a few fr iends at Matzuva and we were happy to see them once more. Sandy and Steve l ive in New York with the i r fami ly. Besides v is i t ing four k ibbutz fami l ies I a lso took them along to the new Squash Court at Matzuva. The fac i l i ty is f i rs t-c lass thanks to the outstanding work by k ibbutz member Ohad F l iderman who planned and completed the only squash court north of Hai fa. At the entrance to the court there is a p laque on the wal l of donors who made Ohad's dream become a rea l i ty . Among the donors appear the names of Sandy and Steve Se lby. The same even ing the four fami l ies and the Selby 's enjoyed an evening meal at a wel l -known restaurant in north Nahar iya with our photographer Max Nathans tak ing a p icture at th is meet ing of o ld fr iends. **Should any a lumni wishing to v is i t Matzuva whi le in Israe l contact me in advance by mai l to kadmonib@yahoo.com

Visit of Sandy and Steve Selby: Evening with old friends in Nahariya From Left to R ight: I rene Kadmon, Baruch Kadmon, Max Nathans, Z iva Er l ich, Steve Selby, Phi l l ip Er l ich, Sandy Selby, Jacquel ine Meirkewitz , Andrea Freder icks

Photo: Max Nathans

"My Heart is here..73 years I've lived here!" Hava Doron a founder member of Matzuva" ( interv iewed by Edna Nathans before moving to a care home for senior c i t izens pr ior to her leav ing the k ibbutz) .

Hava Doron Mus ic ian

"I t ' s very hard for me there 's an ongoing batt le with in me - my heart on the one hand and my head with the reasoning of my chi ldren on the other. They have a point that I should not l ive far f rom them and try out a home for sen iors at Kfar Saba in the Sharon in the centre of Israe l . H i t ler wiped out my ent i re fami ly – my ch i ldren have never known the ir grandparents, unc les and aunts. Today I have 4 ch i ldren and many grandchi ldren and at the end of the month there wi l l be a great-grandchi ld . A l l of them l ive in centra l Israe l . My ch i ldren convinced me to make a move to be near to them. I need to t ry and l ive near them at a care home. We decided to have a month 's tr ia l–whatever may happen i t ' s go ing to be hard for me. The fami ly he lps a lot and supports but is neverthe less

d i f f icu l t for me The fami ly helps a lot and supports but is neverthe less d i f f icu l t for me. I have had a fu l l l i fe here at Matzuva and I hope everyth ing turns out OK. I won' t g ive up on my music and the fami ly has brought the piano over a lso dur ing the tr ia l per iod. I won't g ive up on my reading and I st i l l cook meals for mysel f and do other th ings. I t 's important for me to be as independent as poss ib le. I am rea l ly attached to Matzuva wi th a l l my heart but unfortunate ly my fr iends have passed away and the younger populat ion I don ' t know and somet imes I fee l l ike a st ranger in my own home. I real ly love the v iew from my salon window – I wept when my possess ions were taken by my daughter wi th her daughter and my granddaughter to my new home ". We wish you Hava good health and enjoyment with your loving family with many years of happiness in your new environment /Edna 50+ Committee Th is re lat ive ly new commit tee has been formed to cater for the 50–80 year age group at Matzuva. Tamar Reuven, Shosh Segal , Mira le Lev i , Sh lomo Cohen, Andrea Freder ick and Ingr id Ben-Shabbat . Or i Samushi s i ts on the committee as an observer f rom the Munic ipa l Committee. The commit tee organizes act iv i t ies that inc lude ta lks, f ie ld t r ips, get-togethers and looks after the wel fare of the 80+ senior members at Matzuva. A very in terest ing ta lk on "Inher i tance and Wi l l s" was g iven by Attorney Nark is Lavi , a res ident of the community ne ighborhood at Matzuva. The next ta lk wi l l be on the subject of "Senior-C i t i zen Rights"

Five Years of a crazy sensi t iv i ty with a stubborn wi l l to dream and achieve…al l against any chance to act and against a l l odds (or near ly a l l ) . I would meet Ohad on the path and exchanged a word or two wi th h im, what progress was afoot with h is project . Even at the end of a d i f f icu l t day he was a lways wi l l ing to report on the progress of h is idea

I needed to report to the k ibbutz newsletter on the project and h is enthus iasm and determinat ion along with a lot of t i redness and somet imes despai r d idn ' t prevent h im from dec lar ing the project wi l l become a rea l i ty. This t ime I wasn ' t

look ing for a report but rather look ing forward to interv iewing him. I wanted to hear a l i t t le about h im direct ly f rom the horses mouth! (Edna Nathans).

Ohad: "I 'm or ig ina l ly f rom Jerusalem and I came to northern Israe l to study computer sc ience. Dur ing th is t ime I met my wife-to-be, Neta, and we cont inued to l ive in Hai fa. I began to work in the industr ia l park cal led Tefen in Western Gal i lee and we looked for a community v i l lage in the area. We arr ived eventual ly at Matzuva through the good of f ices of Yi fat Goldste in who was my boss and had bui l t her home in the ne ighborhood sect ion of Matzuva. We l iked the idea of l iv ing in a k ibbutz and we moved into our new home in the former Chi ldren 's Farm sect ion. I worked in h i- tech and espec ia l ly enjoyed the soc ia l standing, comfort and prest ige but I fe l t I wasn' t in the r ight p lace I wanted to be in. My des i re to work profess ional ly and also other cons iderat ions I wanted to do. I had never before act ive ly been engaged in educat ion but the idea to move over to th is profess ion gathered pace. I le ft h i - tech and worked for 2 years at the "Manof" ch i ldren 's v i l lage for chi ldren-at-r isk and a further year as a mathemat ics teacher at the Manor school in Kabr i . I was very happy wi th the turnaround as wel l as the change of profess ion. I rea l ly love Matzuva despi te a l l the d i f f icu l t ies as wel l as the gul f between what I thought i t was in compar ison wi th real i ty . I love sport but at that t ime I hadn't yet d iscovered squash and I had never part ic ipated in compet i t ive sport . My f i rst introduct ion to squash was as a student at Hai fa Univers i ty. They have good courts and I gradual ly d iscovered that af ter hard work I was on the road to becoming a good p layer. My f i rst a im was to become a member of the univers i ty team and afterwards to compete and eventual become a coach. I took pr ivate lessons and I worked hard and a lso had the urge to win. I would p lay 5-6 games a week and a lso tra ined a lone. The dream of hav ing squash at Matzuva has a lways been to have a squash court here on the k ibbutz. One day I got a phone cal l that the court at Ra 'anana in the Sharon was be ing d ismant led – I knew that th is was a one-t ime opportunity! They knew me as a coach l iv ing in the north and bel ieved I could turn my dream into a rea l i ty . We help to d ismant le the i r court and rece ived a l i t t le f inanc ia l ass istance from Matzuva to br ing the parts home. However, I knew this wasn ' t go ing to be enough! F inding donors is not easy but with the he lp of others we succeeded to ra ise the required money. This was a head start and thus the per iod of p lanning and bui ld ing could begin. I t was a long journey last ing 2 years to f ina l ly see the f ru i ts of our work in p lace". (Trans lat ion of Part 1 of the interv iew by Edna Nathans in Hebrew with Ohad).

Never a dull moment down on the farm !! Shalom, Baruch Please read on…. Nitzan Reuven, firstborn at Matzuva, celebrates his 75th Birthday this month and a special evening will be held at the moadon with a movie about the life so far of this great character who is always willing to help others! Everyone here knows Nitzan, veteran members and newcomers, adults and kids – on a tractor or a battery-driven buggy. He smiles and is down to earth telling a story connected to the kibbutz. To kindergarten toddlers he always asks "Do you want that I work with you in the kindergarten? – that's Nitzan! During the last few months he runs around with a new sparkle in his eyes! He has a dream of a new project on the way – he tells of it and enlists anyone who is able and willing to assist in it's realization!

** Once again we would like to draw your attention to the new project named "Aliya to Matzuva" and our appeal for support to turn this idea into reality for all to enjoy. New Project at Matzuva – We still need your help!! "A MiniatureMatzuva" …but not exactly Madurodam! This new project called "Aliya to Matzuva" is the brainchild of Nitzan Reuven. The location is the little hillock to the north of the new circle immediately past the main gate into the kibbutz. The target date is the 75th Anniversary of the establishment of Matzuva in 1940. The project has been designed by architect Itzik Ben-David, a resident of Matzuva, along with the input of kibbutznik Ezra Segali and the Matzuva Trustee Noam Netzer. The idea is to include replica items such as the security wall around the new settlement, a watch tower, the first bell tents and hut of the fledgling kibbutz including basic agricultural implements of that period. We will publish a more detailed map of the project in the coming updates.

"ALIYA TO MATZUVA" PROJECT

North ↑ To Shlomi PERIMETER

FENCE → MAIN GATE →

PROJECT

← SITE

MAIN ROAD INTO KIBBUTZMATZUVA

*to the south of the road the communityneighborhood

NEW ↑TRAFFIC CIRCLE

Background: Way back in February 1940 the first settlers left the "Tower and Stockade" Camp at Lower Hanita and crossed the northern border road and began to climb up a hill on the southern side of the northern road and in doing so established Kibbutz Matzuva. This was at that particular time a daring and significant step that determined that the area north of Akko would become in 1948 an integral part of the fledgling State of Israel. This became the Western Galilee region right up to the border with Lebanonratified by the Rhodes Armistice Pact of 1949. The Matzuva land had been purchased from wealthy Arabs in Beirut and was one of the few Jewish communities north of Akko in the Biblical area of the Tribe of Asher (one of the 12 tribes of Israel).

Conditions were frugal and tough with no water within reach and these young adult pioneers lived in tents with a single shack that served as a dining room and communal center. The initial diet was made up of carobs and olives with water being brought by road from Nahariya. In this sparse environment the first child of Matzuva was born. He was named Nitzan and was the pride of his parents the Reuven Family and the small community. Sadly, Nitzan's father was killed near Akko while on a mission for the Hagana resistance in 1943. At this time Palestine was then under the British Mandate while across the border nearby was the French mandate over Lebanon that during the WW2 was under Vichy control.

Today, Nitzan is in his mid 70's but still working as a motor mechanic for Matzuva Agriculture. He is married to Tamar who is also a daughter of founder members. I spoke with Nitzan recently (who is a neighbor of ours) about his aspirations as a proud grandfather. He told me of his dream to ensure that the early days of Matzuva be somehow remembered not solely in words but also in a tangible way for present and future persons of the wider Matzuva Family. I asked Nitzan what idea he had in mind!

He said that we would love to establish a "Miniature Matzuva" depicting physically how Matzuva became a reality in 1940. He subsequently spoke with Noam Netzer the kibbutz trustee who embraced the idea. Nitzan identified a little hillock not far from the main entrance to Matzuva with the kibbutz to the north and the community neighborhoods to the south. At this site a retro of Kibbutz Matzuva 1940 is to be erected as a visitor's center attracting visitors to the Western Galilee as well as the hundreds and hundreds of volunteer guests and Ulpan alumni who we hope will make a nostalgic visit to Matzuva and Israel to meet residents and take a walk down Memory Lane.

We need your assistance and generosity to turn Nitzan's dream into a reality that will bring back in most cases pleasant memories of younger days including the kibbutz experience of work, study and camaraderie bringing together young adults from numerous countries and backgrounds.

The project has been recognized and approved by the Mateh Asher Regional Council and the plans have now been submitted for approval. The cost of the project is not finalized at this stage but we will keep you informed when known.

Once again I recommend readers to visit Max's Photo Album on this website for a pictorial view of life at Matzuva through his excellent and original quality photos and videos. Enjoy! Baruch

MATZUVAAGRICULTURE Growing with Love

Until the next update – keep well and be in contact.

105 YEARS OF THE KIBBUTZ MOVEMENTM A T Z U V A ’ S 7 5 t h Y E A R

Best wishes to all our readers Baruch – Matzuva, November 6, 2015