A kibbutz is a Hebrew word meaning a group,a gathering. 15/11/2016

The first kibbutz, Degania, was established in 1909 and today there are 256 of them in the whole of Israel.I had spent about five months or so in such a communal settlement called Sedot Yam, near Caesarea, on the coast between Tel Aviv and Haifa.It was a wonderful, carefree life and I loved every single moment.Years later when I returned to Israel to say good-bye to friends  who were emigrating to Australia,I took a plane from Tel Aviv to Sharm el Sheikh.It was a trouble free, easy flight.Returning from Sharm el Sheikh to Tel Aviv was a different matter altogether.The queue was small,the people went through the security quickly.And then it was my turn.I was asked to step aside and empty my bags.That was easy,I travel light[I went to California and Hawaii with two and a half kilos,to Israel with a little less].Everything was touched and turned over and touched and turned over again.Step inside,said the customs officer and pointed to a closed cubicle. Why? So that we can search you. No.Please search me here. We looked at each other.The young officer knew things were not going to go his way.I am going to get the supervisor,he said.Three men emerged and were walking towards me.And I knew then that Mossad, the Israeli secret service, had a long memory.They were not going to let me out of their clutches.I let them change the course of my life once,I was never going to bow to them again.Never.In a flash I took off my t-shirt and untied the shorts letting them drop to the ground.I stood there in my white silk lacy knickers and a matching bra,legs astride,lifting both hands up above my head,staring at them defiantly.Then I turned round and back again.Do you want me to undress completely,I asked the largest man slowly, holding his gaze.One of them said something in Hebrew I did not understand [on a kibbutz I wanted to learn the language but as a Christian was not allowed to attend the classes ],but I think he swore.The airport in a shock,a deafening silence all around,every-one looking at me in disbelief.I picked up my t-shirt,turned it over and shook it,the shorts followed.Then I dressed,gathered all my belongings and with my head held high and staring ahead went through the security.Israel could not wish for a more loyal friend than myself. But Mossad did not think so. Being born in a communist country,Slovakia, I was considered to be an enemy and was treated as such.Yet to date I defend the country with the same vigor I have done in the past and there will always be a place in my heart for this part of the world where once I was so very,very happy.I stayed the night in a Tel Aviv hotel and the next day flew to London.Before the flight my luggage went through the same thorough search as every other passenger's.I was not asked to go to a cubicle.