Editing Kibbutz (section)

== Legal reforms after privatisation ==
Some kibbutzim have been involved in legal actions related to their status as kibbutzim. Kibbutz [[Glil Yam]], near [[Herzliya]], petitioned the court regarding privatisation. In 1999,{{dubious|The sources are from 1989 and 1993, and the news from 1999 and later?! Were they foretelling the future?|date=July 2019}} eight members of kibbutz [[Beit Oren]] applied to the High Court of Justice to order the registrar of cooperative societies to declassify Beit Oren as a kibbutz and reclassify it as a different kind of cooperative society. The petitioners argued that the Kibbutz had dramatically changed its life style, having implemented differential salaries, closing the communal dining hall, and privatising the educational system and other services. These changes did not fit the legal definition of a kibbutz, and in particular, the principle of equality in consumption. Consequently, the registrar of cooperative societies, who has the authority to register and classify cooperative societies, should change the classification of kibbutz Beit Oren. The kibbutz responded that it still maintained the basic principles of a kibbutz, but the changes made were vital to prevent a financial collapse and to improve the economic situation.<ref name="FreidOne">{{cite news |last1= Freid |first1= Stephanie |title= All for One |date=30 April 1993 |newspaper= Jerusalem Post |id= {{ProQuest|321095389}} }}</ref><ref name="BrinkleyKibbutzDebt">{{cite news |last1= Brinkley |first1= Joel |title= Debts Make Israelis Rethink an Ideal: The Kibbutz |date=5 March 1989 |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |id= {{ProQuest|427140244}} }}</ref>

This case resulted in the Government establishing the "Ben-Rafael Committee" chaired by [[Tel Aviv University]] professor [[Eliezer Ben-Rafael]] to recommend a new legal definitions that will suit the development of the kibbutz, and to submit an opinion on the allocation of apartments to kibbutz members. The committee submitted a detailed report with two new legal classifications to the settlements known today as kibbutzim. The first classification was named 'communal kibbutz', identical to the traditional definition of a kibbutz. The second classification was called the 'renewing kibbutz' and included developments and changes in lifestyle, provided that the basic principles of mutual guarantee and equality are preserved. In light of the above, the committee recommended that instead of the current legal definition of kibbutz, two different determinations will be created, as follows.

* a) '''Communal kibbutz''': a society for settlement, being a separate settlement, organised on the basis of collective ownership of possession, of self-employment, and of equality and cooperation in production, consumption and education.
* b) '''Renewing kibbutz''': it should fulfill the same conditions quoted above for the 'communal kibbutz', with the additional condition that it maintains mutual guarantee among its members, and its articles of association includes some or all of the following:
** relative wages according to the individual contribution or to seniority allocation of apartments{{dubious|"relative wages according to....seniority allocation of apartments"? Nonsese or deep meaning? Either way: wrong for Wiki.|date=July 2019}}
** allocation of productive means to its members, excluding land, water
** productive quotas, provided that the cooperative society will maintain control over the productive means and that the articles of association restrict the negotiability of allocated productive means.

The recommendations were accepted by [[Cabinet of Israel]] in 2004.<ref name="WagnerKibbutz">{{cite news |last= Wagner |first= Mati |title= Kibbutzim to Adopt Capitalism |newspaper=[[Jerusalem Post]] |date=30 March 2004|id= {{ProQuest|319423418}} }}</ref>