This is a proud kibbutz, begun at the urging of David Ben Gurion in 1940, ostensibly for fishing but pragmatically for smuggling in then-illegal immigrant Jews. All members’ salaries go directly to the kibbutz which redistributes the income equally to all. The kibbutz provides housing; at Sdot Yam, triplex bungalows with tiny kitchens were the rule. (Many members have since enlarged their houses.) In the small-house days, children lived apart from their parents. This wasn’t as draconian as it sounds: the entire kibbutz is a close-knit community. Today four generations met in the home I’m staying in.
Kibbutzniks do not own private cars; the kibbutz loans out communal cars when someone needs to drive somewhere. On the kibbutz, people ride bikes…or walk. The cars are equipped with credit card readings to track members’ usage. The kibbutz provides members’ cell phones, for in Israeli automobiles, mobile phones are carried in a charger/stand attached to the dashboard.
Schooling and healthcare are provided at no cost. Kids play freely in the green, shaded spaces between residences. A communal dining room provides tasty food. Eldercare is provided. The kibbutz maintains the members’ pension funds, so privatization is a scary prospect.
Sdot Yam manages a banana plantation, avocado trees, and a herd of dairy cattle. The big income producer is a factory that manufactures “Caesar Stone,” a tile made of sand and polymers. Commerce is necessary, but I sense that what holds the kibbutz together is the spirit of sharing with others. The kibbutz is like an agricultural commune in the States, but with more formal rules. The family I stayed with were less harried than other people I met in Israel.
Location has something to do with this. Sdot Yam is on the Mediterranean coast.
The kibbutz sits at the limits of the ancient city of Caesarea, once the largest manmade harbor in the Mediterranean. It’s a great site: a short walk to the beach. The foundations of Herod’s gigantic harbor are still visible, as are the mosaics and Corinthian columns of the Romans, the baths and storehouses of the Byzantines, the walls of the Crusaders’ citadel, a minaret from the Muslim occupation, and the Beach Bar in Israel’s resort on the shore of Herod’s city. Each invading civilization did its best to destroy what had come before, yet all left significant reminders of its occupation.
Here’s a portion of one of the city’s two aqueducts. Modern engineers should learn to be so graceful.
Mazi, my host and a professor at Holon Institute, took me to see wonderful mosaics. These are outdoors, unprotected from the elements. Or your shoes — you can walk on them! We also toured an immense hypodrome, a Roman theater (still in use!), the Byzantine public baths, and more.
It is said that anywhere you put your shovel in the ground here, you’ll come upon antiquities. In fact, Roman marble columns are everywhere. If you’re getting in to this, you might want to visit my photos on Flickr.
Here’s Mazi, examining the mosaics.
1969-71 we were together .. in one room DORIS guatemala .JEEANNETTE uruguay other room BERNARD french .the pastry cook.. and MARC SULLIVAN… england…I would have news of YOU…
I lived in Sdot Yam first as a volunteer and after that as a soldier. Anyone out there from 1985? I used to work in the door factory and the ‘refet’.
I was on Sdot Yam from 9/84-2/85. I’m visiting Israel in September.I’d love to hear from anyone that might remember me…..
I was living in Sdot Yam during the summer of 1976. Went there with 3 friends from England- June, Syd and Chuck. We were 18 and had just left school and had the most wonderful time. I remember going on lots of trips around Israel and how exciting it was.
Would be fab to hear from anyone who remembers me.
Rachel
shalom
is it possible to rent a room in the kibbutz?
for me and my girlfriend
in august?
thank you and shalom
#
p.s.
could you help me were i get the information
how to rent a room
is it possible
Hello, I’d like to receive news from here .. and especially whether some people have spent time hanging the same time as me. I have pictures of Labasa at that time, and the other person’s name to share with you some more of my family is still in Israel. here is my email address; schirmeyerb@hotmail.fr
is it possible to rent room/flat/house onthe kibbutz from tomorrow for up to one month
I spent several months in Sdot Yam in 1965, not long before the first 6 day war. We went diving for Roman perfume bottles and coins at Caesarea. My main job at the kibbutz was peeling onions and ironing in the kibbutz laundry. There was very little interaction with the Kibbutzniks. The young guests from around the world hung out with each other. The first time I ever ate avocado was on my second day in Israel. Elat (Eilat had all of 2 hotels) and everybody hitchhiked. Unfortunately I was too young to really understand the interesting time I happened to be there.
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Shalom,,,
Ik heb in deze kibboets gewoond, drie maanden van september tot en met december in 1978,samen met mijn vriendin,,,, Geweldig.
Wat ik graag zou willen, is info om in deze kibboets te kunnen logeren.
Groetjes Marianne
Hi Dawne,
We were on the kibbutz together. I would love to catch up with you. email me eileen266@aol.com. I am in contact with Lee Wallach from our Ulpan also.
i was on sdot yam in the 1980′s had the best time of my life.
i have been back to the kibuitz a few times since.i am still in contact with people in usa ,uk and south africa. if you rember me send me an email
shalom
Hi Gary,
I was visiting Sdot Yam in 1979. Would you happen to know a woman named Randy Abramson from Cincinnati who was a volunteer at Sdot Yam?
thanks,
Andy
email: abernahi@yahoo.com
Gary,
I made two errors on the previous post. She probably spelled it Randi, and she’s was from Cleveland.
thanks
Hi Gary! Where you at Sdot Yam in 1982-1983?
Mia and Anette from Sweden
I was a volunteer at Sdot Yam from Sept 1970 until May 1971. Had a great time working in the bannana plantation and finally in the laundry. Any one from that time still around?
hi
was anyone on the kibbutz the summer of 1975? it was such an amazing place and time.
Good afternoon!
I am writing a book in English on Jewish chaplains in the First World War German army, and have traced Hannah Goldwyn, the daughter of Rabbi Siegfried Alexander who was murdered in Auschwitz, to your Kibbutz by an entry in the Yad Vashem database. Is she still alive? I would really like to contact her because she has the copyright of a photograph of her father in uniform that I want to use in my book. If she is no longer with us, might you have any information about her children?
Your kind assistance would be greatly appreciated
Shalom
Peter Appelbaum
I stayed in the kibbutz from jan-may 1978. I know Ulla Sela, we studied together in Sweden.
It would be nice to hear how life is in Sdot Yam, are you still there Ulla? Itay Amir, Avital, Eithan, Rachel?
Love
Irene
Mail: irene.uddin@hotmail.com
I lived at Sdot Yam Aug/Sept 1977. It was a humbling experience. I shared a room in “Welles Fargo” the name of the volunteers quarters. Wow I’ve seen the images of Sdot Yam now on the internet…what a change. My kibbutz mother was Hannah Goldwyn. I worked in the laundry, kitchen, banana field & at the resort at Caesarea. I was the fastest dishwasher this side of Tel Aviv!
I learned a lot about myself & learned to be thankful for small things. The work was hard, but satsifying. I would like to go back one day and look around. A very special time in my life.