Re’im

Kibbutz Re’im (Hebrew for “friends\comrades“), taken from the Book of Proverbs (18:24): “Man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother“.  This name was chosen in memory of members of the founding core group who were killed in Israeli’s 1948 War of Independence. The kibbutz was established in 1949 by members of the Israel Boy and Girl Scouts Federation who were demobilized from the Palmach, and was situated where the Gerer and Besor streams converge. The kibbutz was designed by the architect Hanan Havron; the building Havron used the for decades as his office, has become a heritage building displaying of the history of Re’im.

The members and residents work in service and auxiliary industries such as laundry, garage, carpentry, construction, the Ministry of Education, with private employers, in regional factories and other professions. The kibbutz is home to the Yisherlaser Reim metal processing plant and the Yisherbig cardboard industry plant, and also owns a portion of AB Matchanim, one of the largest planning companies in Israel. The residents also rely on agriculture, including orchards, field crops, and chicken coops.

Kibbutz Re’im is a cooperative kibbutz. The business area is managed by an economic management team headed by a business chairman, whose role is to supervise the corporations and business branches of the kibbutz, and to bring the annual business plan before the assembly of members. The community, which survives from its income, manages itself independently. The community manages a budget that reflects the level and quality of the services it provides itself in many areas such as: health, education, member welfare, culture, and the like. The management of the community is carried out through secretaries, administrations and committees assigned to various fields.

Kibbutz Re’im has suffered from harassment from Gaza since its inception as have all of the communities surrounding the enclave, with a 8-15 seconds warming time to find shelter when a red alter siren goes off. In fact, all settlements located up to 7 km from the Gaza Strip are entitled to receive safe rooms and bomb shelters paid for by the government, and in June 2015, the construction of the shelters in family homes was completed. The IDF also has a base near the kibbutz for added security.

Two interesting facts about Kibbutz Re’im: in 2008, Re’im embarked on a project to rely entirely on solar energy for domestic consumption- this would make them the first community in Israel to do so; located near Re’im is Tell Jemmeh, a 23-meter-high mound. Archaeologists identify Tel Jemmeh with the Canaanite royal city of Yursa, mentioned in the records of Thutmose IIIPharaoh of Egypt who describes the city as the southernmost of the Canaanite cities that rebelled against Egypt.