Yiron (Israel) (AFP) – Israel has undergone major societal transformations during its 75 years of existence, which have left the nation confronting deepening divisions.
The northern Yiron kibbutz highlights how the country has evolved since its creation on May 14, 1948, as the socialist ideals of some of the founding fathers have given way to greater economic liberalism, and a more multicultural society.
The kibbutzim -- agricultural communities based on collective living -- "played an essential role in the construction of the country," said sociologist Yuval Achouch, from the Western Galilee Academic College in the northern city of Acre.
But despite still being associated with Israel's image abroad, kibbutz residents at their peak only made up 7.5 percent of Israel's Jewish population. Today they are less than two percent, according to Achouch.
Yiron was established in 1949 less than two kilometres (a mile) from the Lebanese border, on the ruins of a Palestinian village destroyed by Jewish forces during the 1948-1949 Arab-Israeli war, unleashed by Israel's declaration of independence. READ MORE
