המושב בעידן של תמורות - מגמות לעתיד

This paper aims to find out whether the Moshav can survive the significant changes taking place in its economic and social environment and still retain its unique features as a defined type of rural community. An analysis of changes which took place in the Moshav in the past decades reveals a process of rural restructuring, similar to that occurring in many developed countries. While agriculture still dominates the rural landscape and economy, its share in rural employment and land use systems is constantly declining. New economic activities replace farming as sources of income, non-agricultural businesses proliferate and new residents, mostly of urban origin, invade rural communities in search of a better quality of life. These changes derive from a combination of structural changes in agriculture, changing government policies and cumulative decisions of rural households. The result is a more heterogeneous Moshav - physically, economically and socially - and a growing regional, inter-village and intra-village disparity. These developments have a direct impact on the municipal organization of the Moshav, its environmental qualities and its relationship with the urban sector. The described transformation requires a renewed evaluation of economic, municipal and land-use policies. Such policies should recognize the right of the Moshav to exist as a sustainable community satisfying the needs and aspirations of its residents, and at the same time restrain the current undesirable development in which both public and private actors take part. The most serious problem of the Moshav today may be the absence of clear-cut policies designed to guide its future development. This ambiguous situation may destroy not only the unique historical features of the Moshav, but also erode its attractiveness to new residents and hence its ability to survive as a viable community.