A new plan for regional collective settlements, ensuring the defense of Israel and helping in the speedy absorption of new immigrants was presented here today by former Premier David Ben Gurion at a conference of representatives of kibbutzim.
Mr. Ben Gurion severely criticized the political divisions in the kibbutz movement. He charged that the political quarrels within the kibbutzim are responsible for the failure of the collective settlements to assist properly in the absorption of newcomers. He also stressed his concern over the fact that the younger generation in the kibbutzim has not come forward to take the lead in training new immigrants in their villages.
This failure of the kibbutzim to advance the absorption of newcomers, Mr. Ben Gurion said, has led to the formation of two nations and two countries within Israel–one well-settled on fertile land, the other rootless and unproductive. This, he warned, has built up a small oasis and a large vacuum, which is a danger to the land.
He proposed the establishment of settlements which would consist of persons with different countries of origin and a regional development plan in which entire regions would mix agriculture and industry in small urban settlements and thus the entire region would be self-supporting.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
