Special-needs adults have found a haven on Kibbutz Kishor, a Western Galilee community built especially for their needs — and redefining “special needs” along the way,Kibbutz with a Cause,Special-needs adults have found a haven on Kibbutz Kishor, a Western Galilee community built especially for their needs — and redefining “special needs” along the way
NEW DIRECTIONS Whether it’s working in the winery tending to the goats and horses or pitching hay members credit the kibbutz with giving them skills and purpose (Photos: Lior Mizrachi Kishorit Archives)
Roni Isakov mashgiach at the Kishor winery siphons wine from oak barrels into a pair of waiting glasses drawing the season’s first samples. A warm dry winter produced an early harvest and Isakov is eager to taste the product of months of work.
You’ve got to be nimble to keep up with the wiry Isakov whose hands are tinted from the rich purple color of fine red wine. As he hurries from the vat room to the barrel room the heels of his knee-high white boots squeak with every step on the slick black slate floor.
Isakov stops to convey guidance to a valued assistant — one of the 171 adult employees with special needs who are members of the Kishor community — and who require extra supervision and forbearance. Some of the members live and/or work in the nearby city of Karmiel while others choose to live in the kibbutz and work in the kibbutz’s own revenue-generating businesses.
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