Page 31 - Kol Bogrei Habonim - Autumn 21
P. 31
about the name of the Garin, and if it was house with Noreen
possible to change it because of the innuendo Levinson, who
connected to the word Zayin. Somebody was also my
stood up and said how would be it for them kibbutz “parent”. I
in the army if an officer said “Garin Zayin, loved being with
amod dom!” Everybody burst out laughing, the babies. This
but I was so terribly innocent that I didn’t was something I
understand what they were talking about. could see myself
doing in the future.
On returning to
1965 Israel Camp. Leeds, I discovered
Working with the babies there was a new
at Amiad tall, good-looking,
bearded young
man who was doing Movement work in Dror.
He had been on Machon with George
Levine. The chubby schoolboy that I had met
at Hebrew classes at the age of 14 had
1964 - Pegishat Garin at the Chava. From Left metamorphosed into a very attractive young
Alec Collins – shaliach – Rosalie Barber, Niki man, called Menachem Vinegrad. That was
(Lewis) Yomtov, ? , Mike Lewis, Dave Hyams the beginning of the merger of Dror and
Habonim.
We were so happy and carefree and felt so
protected by the Movement that we A few months later, I was back on
automatically assumed that the next step Hachshara, writing to Menachem every day,
would be all of us going to the Machon and still intending to go on Aliya to Amiad
(Youth Leadership Institute) in Jerusalem. with Garin Zayin. I was asked to work with
We were very disappointed to find out that Hugh Reisman in the new seminar centre
we were not going to be sent. Instead, we that had been built on the Eder Farm. I was
would take part in the six-week Israel Camp on Hachshara for a few wonderful months,
with the rest of the Habonim kids, but we and then I returned to Leeds to marry my
would be allowed an extra 6 weeks working beloved, both of us aged 19.
at Amiad, when the others went back home. The shlichim from Habonim and Dror each
My first experience of work at Amiad on tried to pull us in their own particular
Israel Camp was another shock for me. I was direction, but finally we decided to go to
expected to pick fruit in the August heat. For Kibbutz Machanayim to be the pioneers of
the first time I asked myself, is this the life I the Dror contingent, instead of following
really want for myself? How will I be able to Garin Zayin to Amiad.
function outside in heat like this? But after We lived on Machanayim for 20 years,
Israel Camp, I was put to work in the baby
during which we lived in the US for two years
31
