Kishor

Kishor
Kishor
Coordinates: 32°56′51.43″N 35°14′59.6″E / 32.9476194°N 35.249889°ECoordinates: 32°56′51.43″N 35°14′59.6″E / 32.9476194°N 35.249889°E
Council	Misgav
Region	Lower Galilee
Affiliation	Kibbutz Movement
Founded	1980

Kishor (Hebrew: כישור‎, lit. Distaff), now Kishorit is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Lower Galilee near Karmiel, it falls under the jurisdiction of Misgav Regional Council. In 2013, Kishorit had 150 members, all diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, schizophrenia, Down syndrome and autism.^[1]

Founded in 1980, it was Israel's first kibbutz for individuals with special needs. Named after the Bible (Proverbs 31:19) together with the nearby kibbutz Pelekh, whose name is the corresponding word of the same sentence.^[2]

Kishorit provides its members with employment opportunities, leisure activities, private living quarters, medical supervision, nursing care and opportunities for social integration in Israeli society.^[3] All members are assigned work duty in the laundry room, kitchen or one of ten work centers. The centers, all headed by outside professionals, include an organic goat farm, a chicken coop, a toy factory and a dog kennel that breeds miniature schnauzers sold in Europe.^[4]

References

1. At One Kibbutz, Special Needs Meet Socialism
2. Bitan, Hanna: 1948-1998: Fifty Years of 'Hityashvut': Atlas of Names of Settlements in Israel, Jeruusalem 1999: Carta, p.30, ISBN 965-220-423-4 (Hebrew)
3. Kishorit
4. At One Kibbutz, Special Needs Meet Socialism