Page 37 - Kol Bogrei Habonim - Winter 20

dining-rooms of Kfar Blum, Kfar Hachoresh, rampage of a previously unknown killer, the
Amiad and Rosh Hanikra. The height of his
creativity was expressed in the dining-room
of his own kibbutz, which, following the
newly-built centre in Kfar Hanassi, was novel
in that it combined functions that had
previously been housed in separate buildings,
such as the moadon (clubhouse), mazkirut
(secretariat offices) and kol-bo (general
store). Since then, other kibbutzim have
followed his lead.
Kahana’s influence was not restricted to the
planning itself, but was exemplified by
initiating conferences, publishing articles and
establishing the Research and Development
Unit within the Takam (Kibbutz Movement)
Planning Department.
In 2011, he published his monumental work
“Neither City nor Village: The Architecture
in the Kibbutz 1910-1990” (published by Yad
Tabenkin), which documents and appraises
the architectural creativity of the kibbutz as
an extraordinary urban alternative. He also
established the Planning and Architectural
Kibbutz Archive, which is housed in the
Institute for Research and Documentation of
the Kibbutz Movement, at Yad Tabenkin in
Ramat Efal.
Kahana had the good fortune to be saved, to
forge his own path in a foreign land, to learn
architecture in London, to immigrate to Israel
and to become one of the outstanding
architects of the kibbutz movement, to
innovate in architecture, to teach at the
Technion and to raise a large family that
surrounds him today (his wife passed away in
2016), and is especially supportive now,
when he is forced to isolate himself in his
kibbutz apartment because of the murderous
Freddy has written a 100-page memoir of his and Hannah’s life. He welcomes anyone to
contact him to receive it. Please contact: ibhabonim@gmail.com for his email.
37
plague of the corona virus.
What are you doing in these days of
lockdown?
“I sit at home and I have plenty to do. I
volunteered to organise the kibbutz
newsletters and continue to update the
architectural archives of the kibbutz that I set
up and write on many topics. Twice a day, I
go for a walk and am generally well looked-
after. Every day, the clinic calls me to check
that I’m OK. I receive all my meals from the
kibbutz kitchen. The store is open, and every
day, my granddaughter, who lives nearby,
goes there to buy me whatever I need. I have
a large record and CD collection, and I listen
to different albums from time to time.”
Now, with the corona virus threatening
everyone, are you worried?
“I am very worried on a global scale, but not
personally. What can still worry me? I’m
almost 93 years old. All my life, I believed
that living in a community is the right way to
live, as opposed to living a private,
anonymous city life, and today, when the
outside world is breaking up and changing,
my community and my family are my real
support. That just goes to show that we have
to find community-based solutions.”
Do you remember your parents, whom you
lost at such a young age?
“From time to time, I think of them, even
though I can no longer remember them, it was
so long ago. I think if they could see me
today, they would be happy to know that we
carried on. They would be happy to see the
children and the nine grandchildren. That is
my victory.”