Romney: America is not a kibbutz
August 8, 2012 6 Comments
Mitt Romney, January 2012
By Lauren Appelbaum, Political Director
Washington, Aug. 8 – Just days after praising Israel during a speech in Jerusalem, Mitt Romney attacked an integral part of Israeli society – the kibbutz. During an attack on President Obama’s argument that businesses in the U.S. rely on help from society and the government, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said the American economy is fueled by individuals working hard.
“It’s individuals and their entrepreneurship which have driven America,” Romney said at a fundraising event at Maggiano’s Little Italy in Chicago Tuesday. “What America is, is not a collective where we all work in a kibbutz or we all in some little entity; instead it’s individuals pursuing their dreams and building successful enterprises which employ others and they become inspired as they see what has happened in the place they work and go off and start their own enterprises.”
Just last week, during his trip to Israel, Romney argued that Israel’s culture is the cause for the country’s economic success. Speaking at a fundraiser in Jerusalem, the former governor said higher personal wealth among citizens in Israel than in the Palestinian-controlled areas was an indication that the country was accomplishing something its neighbors were not.
Yet the kibbutz has been a staple of Israeli society since the state’s creation. A kibbutz, which is a unique rural community dedicated to mutual aid and social justice, runs on a socioeconomic system based on the principle of joint ownership of property, equality and cooperation of production, consumption and education. When Israel was created, kibbutznicks were among the first people that helped build the country.
According to the Kibbutz Program Center, there are currently 270 kibbutzim in Israel, with a population of roughly 120,000. That accounts for 2.8 percent of Israel’s population.
In January 2011, Romney visited a kibbutz suffering from continuous rocket attacks coming from the Gaza Strip. This visit was during a trip with New York Jets owner Woody Johnson.
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Let’s not over-react about Romney’s comment. My personal interpretation is that he was not criticizing the Kibbutz system in Israel, rather saying that that system is not part of the American success experience. There is going to be a choice bewtween Obama and Romney in the fall. In terms of who will be a more reliable ally of Israel, each person must decide. But actions speak louder than words, and we have many examples of Obama’s actions.
I know for a fact it was said in just, we all do it. There was nothing malicious or demeaning about it.
I am an Israeli who lived in a kibbutz for a short period, and I find your interpretation of Mr. Romney’s comment surprising. For one thing you failed to mention that the great majority of kibbutzim in Israel have been privatized, a process that has been going on for years, and in itself an acknowledgment that this social experiment has not worked. We all share the nostalgia for Halutziut. However,Mr. Romney, referring to a particular socio-economic vision, was accurate in stating that the U.S. is not a kibbutz. Your choice to interpret this remark as an attack on Israeli society, on the other hand, may betray a political bias. What a disappointment. Just for the record- I am a registered Democrat.
whether obama or romney we are subject to ideologies which guarantees inaccuracy. The truth is that society contains elements of private and public enterprise and distribution. Individuals and communities are of value. Businesses are licensed to operate within a community by the community and if they do not serve the interests of the community they need not be licensed. I dont see much difference between a kibbutz and a corporation or partnership. Corporations run america not individuals. It is the use of false ideologies that keep the population dealing with red herrings.
Mitt Romney is a friend of Israel. He recognzes that Jerusalem is a capital of Israe, while the Obama administration refuses to do that. His comments on the cultural differences between Israelis and the Palestinians are right on the money. He is clearly someone who, as President, would provide a great deal of support for Israel. As for his comment on the kibbutzim, he was not attacking them at all. Rather, he was pointing out that in America we have a capitalist economic system that is based on individualism, and not socialism, which is based on collectivism. Perhaps a socialist, communal lifestyle is suitable in other countries, Romney stated, but in the United States we practice capitalism. Romney, therefore, did not attack the kibbutz lifestyle; he merely did not believe it to be suitable in the United States. One can agree with himor disagree on this, but that is what he meant. I hope that this will not be taken out of context by Romney’s political opponents.
Wow! Talk about putting a an absurd spin on an innocuous an accurate statement.There are so many issues to comment on without creating new unicorns to chase.