July 29

— The kibbutz with lush farmland in contrast to Negev
— Idealistic kibbutznicks
— Crops planted & harvested with modern equipment

Bob meets and chats with a visiting UN soldier in Tel Aviv

July 29, 1957 Monday afternoon 3pm
Dear Mom, Dad and Alan,

Right now I’m sitting here in a lovely room on a Kibbutz right in the geographical center of Israel’s Galilee. There are acres and acres of lush farmlands. I’ve been here since yesterday but was so busy I didn’t get a chance to write. My impression of the day and a half is that they are great & idealistic & very efficient. 3 crops a year are planted & harvested with modern equipment. They are lucky in that they don’t have a security problem like on the borders. This morning I visited the Potato Fields & helped out.

The afternoon is being spent here. Yesterday we went through Israel’s coastal plain & Valley of Jezreel. What a marked contrast to The Southern Negev & the Judean Hills. Here the soil is rich and there is plenty of water.

How is everything back home? There are so many things to write & tell about but I’ll try to save it till I get home. I’m keeping a diary which should help.

Letter from Bob unsigned

Comments:

July 29, 1957 Monday afternoon 3pm

“My impression of the day and a half at Kibbutz is that they are great and idealistic and very efficient. Three crops a year are planted & harvested with modern equipment.”
In the early years of the State, the kibbutz system succeeded due to the devotion and hard work of its members. Idealism was high towards the kibbutz enterprise and newly founded State of Israel. In time, the socialist collective ideal turned to become more capitalistic, as everyone preferred the profits for themselves.

“ Yesterday we went through Israel’s coastal plain & Valley of Jezreel. What a marked contrast to The Southern Negev & the Judean Hills. Here the soil is rich and there is plenty of water. “
He talks about how rich the soil was in the Jezreel Valley in the Galil and the differences with the Southern Negev where everything was sand. Today, Israel has even made the southern Negev desert bloom with it’s innovative agricultural techniques.

“There are so many things to write and tell about but I’ll try to save it till I get home. I’m keeping a diary which should help.”
My father mentioned he was keeping diary. After miraculously finding the letters, I tried looking through the old boxes but never found the diary.