Creating Community Partnership as Foundation for Community Building: The Case of the Renewed Kibbutz

Expansion neighborhoods, built adjacent to kibbutz neighborhoods, are a new phenomenon in the rural peripheral regions of Israel. This article evaluates the process of building community partnerships, describes frictions created between residents of the expansion neighborhoods and kibbutz members, and defines challenges that need to be overcome in order to build an integrated community within the renewed kibbutz.Data collection was based on face-to-face interviews with new residents and officials from 10 kibbutzim. Qualitative analysis show the complexity involved in the process of building community partnerships and emphasizes the need to develop structures that will allow for dialogue and collaboration.