Western Galilee kibbutz closes its pool to Israeli Arab swimmers

Arab families who came to the Kibbutz Kabri Beach Club in the past several days hoping to swim in the community pool were surprised when they learned they could not enter. Following Thursday’s summer opening, the pool was turned into a private facility for « club members » only.

A young man from Kfar Yasif who asked to join was rejected on the grounds that only residents of a short list of communities were eligible to join the club.

According to a circular issued by the kibbutz’s head of services, club members include kibbutz members and their children, students boarding at the kibbutz and their families, salaried employees of the kibbutz, and residents of neighboring kibbutzim and moshavim : Ben Ami, Manot, Gita, Klil, Matsuba, Mitzpe Hila and Naveh Ziv.

The list did not include a single Arab community despite the fact that there are several in the area including a few that are closer than some of the communities on the list. Arab villages in the area include Sheikh Danun, Mi’ilya, Abu Snan, Kfar Yasif and Jatt.

As expected, the decision provoked anger from Arab families, some of which had been coming to swim at Kabri for years. « Maybe the kibbutz can declare the pool to be private property despite the fact that we are talking about state land, but to the best of my knowledge, a private pool is supposed to be only for the people who live on the kibbutz, » said a resident of one of the area villages who asked that his name not be mentioned. « What’s surprising is that they decided to open the gates to all the surrounding communities as long as they are Jewish. It’s obvious that there is discrimination and racism here. »

« If it was important to the kibbutz to maintain a regional division, it could have at least permitted residents of the adjacent Arab communities to enter the pool. »

Some of the families expressed fears the closure of the pool to Arabs will set a precedent for other kibbutzim and communities in the region who maintain pools now open to the general public.

Balad chairman MK Azmi Bishara asked Attorney General Menachem Mazuz this week to reverse the kibbutz decision on the grounds that it is motivated by racism.

Kibbutz officials rejected racism charges. « There are a significant number of Arabs and Druze from the surrounding communities who work at the kibbutz, and even families who live on kibbutz, who are very welcome here, and there is no problem with them coming to the pool, » Kabri’s director of services Ophir Kozlov said.

He said the pool had accumulated huge debts in recent years. As a result, kibbutz management decided to privatize the pool, but permit residents of a limited number of nearby communities to join the club.

Kozlov emphasized that a number of residents and organizations from Nahariya had asked to join the pool but were turned down. « This is a very restricted, community-oriented model... we want to hold community activities that are funded by the kibbutz and to create a homier atmosphere. »