(NewsNation) — When Hamas militants invaded Israel on Oct. 7, the terrorist organization hit small communities near the Gaza border the hardest.
The small communities — otherwise known as kibbutzim — became the sites of atrocities and warfare as residents were massacred and taken hostage by militants, NPR reported.
Kfar Aza, Be’eri, Nahal Oz and Magen were among the kibbutzim that made headlines in the days after the initial attacks.
But what exactly is a kibbutz — the singular for kibbutzim — and is it uniquely an Israeli phenomenon?
What is a kibbutz?
Similar to the idea of a commune, a kibbutz is a community that operates under the premise that all its members share income generated by the society, according to The Jewish Agency for Israel.
The first kibbutz was established over 90 years ago in Israel. The word “kibbutz” comes from the Hebrew word “kvutza,” which means “group” in English. A kibbutz can be made up of anywhere between 100 and 1000 members.
Kibbutz residents live under the same social contract, which has been based on egalitarian and communal principles. This means a kibbutz member is part of a unit larger than their own personal family and everything these members work for goes into a common pool, The Jewish Agency for Israel said.
The income generated by the society’s members goes toward running the kibbutz and making investments in the community. The community shares responsibility over each other, and makes sure that each member of the kibbutz is taken care of. Everything the kibbutz earns is then divided equally among every member.
An important goal of the kibbutz is to make sure each member is given the same, equal opportunity as each other, the report said.
The group is mostly self-sufficient when it comes to government, but a system of direct participatory democracy keeps individuals involved in any issues and events in the community, according to The Jewish Agency for Israel.
Today, there are about 250 kibbutzim in Israel, and most of them are secular — meaning they aren’t bound by religion. However, The Jewish Agency for Israel said there are about 20 religious kibbutzim and some communities are connected to both Conservative and Reform streams.
A majority of the communities today have veered from traditional systems of communal living, which means residents with jobs usually keep their own money and raise their own children, NPR reported. Plus, they are generally quiet places to live as their populations are aging, the report said.