Kibbutz
The kibbutz movement developed in Palestine during the 1930s as part of the
Jewish struggle to establish a Jewish state and homeland, and became a vital part
of Israel’s early agricultural expansion after the state was established. Originally
simply an agricultural settlement, on virgin and usually inhospitable territory,
more recently the typical kibbutz has also engaged in industrial production.
The kibbutz movement is highly ‘communal’ in orientation, with all work
being rationally planned and shared, and with little or no private property, the
profits of the enterprise being used communally. Many kibbutzim adopt other
policies that contrast sharply with life in capitalist societies. A particular
example of this is the communal rearing of children, intended not only to
free most women for productive work along with the men, but also deliber-
ately to create a spirit and psychology of communalism, and to reduce
individualism. As perhaps the only successful examples ofcommunesin
the West the kibbutzim have been a source of inspiration for many Western
intellectuals, though in contemporary Israel itself they are not necessarily
admired. The kibbutz movement has produced a disproportionate number
of the more dedicated and successful soldiers in the Israeli Defence Forces
(largely because self-defence was so crucial during the years before the creation
of the state of Israel, and because even today these settlements are prime targets
for attack by Israel’s enemies) and also of those in prominent political and trade-
union positions. The economic importance of the Kibbutz movement is no
longer very great, and successor generations of the Kibbutzim have tended to
move to cities and to ordinary professional and industrial lives, despite efforts
by the governments to reinforce the communities.
Korean War
The Korean peninsula had been dominated to a greater or lesser extent by
China for 2,000 years, and particularly between the 13th and 19th centuries,
after which, following a short period of independence, it was annexed by Japan
in 1910. After the Japanese defeat at the end of the Second World War, Korea
was partitioned into areas under Soviet and US military control along the 38th
parallel. Attempts to agree on a democratic unification failed, and two separate
states were set up, the Republic of Korea in the South after elections which
were held in early 1948, and shortly after the Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea under Soviet influence in the North. US forces were withdrawn from
the Republic of Korea in 1949 and in June 1950 Northern troops invaded the
South. At US instigation theUnited Nations (UN)Security Council ordered
a withdrawal, and asked member nations to provide troops to enforce its edict.
The USA immediately acted and sent its first troops into South Korea at the
end of June.
Korean War