Last update - 00:00 04/03/2007
Northern kibbutz dairy farmers consider opting out of Tnuva deal
By Amiram Cohen, Haaretz Correspondent
Members of a large kibbutz in the North - once one of the better-off members of the kibbutz movement - are seriously deliberating whether to sell the community's shares in Tnuva, specifically whether to hand over to the state the rights to 25 percent of their stake. The kibbutz's Tnuva shares are worth NIS 5 million under the deal with Apax. That's not a lot of money, but enough to get under your skin if you feel like you've been had - and not just once but three times.
The veteran kibbutz was recently forced to sell a 50-percent stake in its own factory - once the jewel in the crown of kibbutz industry - for a price many angry kibbutz members call "bargain basement." They feel the United Kibbutz Movement didn't treat them fairly, didn't fulfill its commitment and they believe it now plans to blame them, and the members of sixteen other kibbutzim, for the fact that kibbutz members won't have pensions.
The reasons why the kibbutz has not waived its rights to the shares in foodstuffs conglomerate Tnuva are rooted in the early '90s, when the extent of the crisis in the kibbutz movement's financial institutions became clear. At first, it was thought that the problems could be resolved without outside assistance and each kibbutz was required to provide resources to cover the debt. When it became obvious that the resources were not enough, the movement's leadership decided to impose "levies" on the 22 wealthiest kibbutzim (about NIS 200 million in 2007 prices).
This northern kibbutz answered the call and contributed its share to rescuing the financial institutions in exchange for the movement's promise to repay the moneys in the future. It has been almost twenty years and the kibbutz in the North still has not received one red cent in return.
One of the leading financial figures on the kibbutz told TheMarker that kibbutz members feel cheated: "We don't have a dairy barn and we don't have a chicken coop but we do have 'levies.' We will weigh it in terms of cost/benefit. It is possible that we will sign the waiver for the state in order to gain the tax exemption for selling holdings in kibbutz corporations if the payoff is debt repayment. It is also possible that we will demand the movement get a move on - which it hasn't done for many years - and solve the levies problem. This is about millions of shekels, much more money than our Tnuva waiver is worth."
Another member puts it this way: "We come out suckers no matter how you look at it. We didn't get a penny out of the original arrangement, we paid millions of shekels in levies and now we are being asked to give up NIS 1.25 million in Tnuva shares."
He also points out, "It might surprise you to know that no one from the kibbutz movement leadership has asked us to sign so far. If they ask - we will comment. Things here will get shaken up."
He explains that the kibbutz members' general meeting is scheduled for the weekend and will likely approve supporting the sale of Tnuva. "After that, we have 45 days to decide whether to sell, but we won't be signing the waiver. In any case, members feel cheated. When we were strong, we were always very 'movement-oriented' and we responded to every demand to contribute to weaker kibbutzim. Today, when we are in trouble, we have become lepers.
"Yesterday," the member recounts, "someone from the movement showed up and convened a few people from some of the kibbutzim around here that haven't singed yet. He preached to us that if we don't sign, then Tnuva won't be sold and it will be our fault the kibbutzim won't have money to pay pensions to members. So first of all, no one threatens us. Secondly, we haven't said no and we haven't said yes. We are waiting to see what they - the ones preaching morals to us - do for us."