Ein Shemer - Education and Culture

Education and Culture

Since its founding, the kibbutz has always made education one of its main priorities. The kibbutz children were given special, preferential conditions. They lived in a children's house with their peers, under the guidance of dedicated educators who nurtured in them a love of nature, humanity, a sense of justice and cooperation. Over the years the characteristics of kibbutz education changed, yet to this day kibbutz education is considered among the finest in the country. Ein Shemer's kindergartens have a special kibbutz character, based on treating each child individually and holistically, and at the same time creating a deep connection between the children, their natural surrounding and the community. Another unique educational enterprise is the regional high school, Mevo'ot 'Iron, which was founded in 1949 by members of Kibbutz Ein Shemer and which other kibbutzim, Ma'anit, Barkai, and Metzer later joined. Today the school is a drawing point for young people throughout the area, and has about 1,000 pupils, including young immigrants from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union.

For many years Ein Shemer had one of the leading volleyball teams in Israel, and during the 1950s and 1960s the men's and women's teams were at the top of the national league. One of the high points for local sports fans was the game held in 1960 between HaPoel Ein Shemer and Galatasarai, a Turkish team, for which a playing court and bleachers were built on the kibbutz and still stand. Today Ein Shemer is a partner in a regional volleyball team, HaMa'apil-Ein-Shemer-Menashe.

All through the years, the kibbutz has been known for its innumerable artists and intellectuals, far out of proportion to those of the general Israeli public or of other kibbutzim. In the first generation some of the prominent figures were: writers Moshe Zertal, Zvi Lurie, Rivka Gurfine and Zvi Arad; poets Azriel Uchmani and Arieh Shamri, caricaturist and artist Yitzhak (Ignatz) Palgi, architect Ya'akov (Kuba) Gever and many others.

Among the second generation, of the sons and daughters of the kibbutz, are poet and author Eli Alon, artists Avital Geva and Tzilla Lis, archaeologist and author Adam Zertal, thinker and writer Avishai Grossman, educator and writer Rafael (Rafi) Shapira, musician Miri Grossberg, blacksmith artisan Uri Hofi and many others.

Notable talents of the third generation include: author Rakefet Zohar, cinematographer Oren Tirosh, musician Zamir Golan and artist Atar Geva.