Aspects of weakening cooperation in the Israeli Moshav

This paper explores the attitudes of members of three moshavim located in different parts of Israel regarding the reasons for the weakening of the cooperation within their cooperative association and settlement. Major reasons include government policy and the inability of the moshav cooperative association to enforce the rules of cooperation. Major internal causes are concerned with conflicting interests of different moshav members due to economic changes, including changes in specific agricultural branches, and issues concerning loans given to farmers. Reasons such as production quotas, employment patterns, and education do not significantly contribute to the weakening process, though there are differences in the importance of these reasons between the three moshavim. Some differences in attitudes were found on the basis of age, education level, and type of agricultural branches. The overall transformation in the economic, social, organizational, physical, and environmental attributes of the moshav raises a major question regarding its future survival as a unique type of rural cooperative settlement.