With an open heart and curious eyes, Ella Kanner set out to closely understand women who were born and raised in the kibbutz, women from across the broad spectrum of the kibbutz movement: secular and religious, Ashkenazi and Mizrahi, native-born kibbutzniks and those who arrived as children from the outside. She collected from them chilling and heart-stirring testimonies about their childhood.
From these testimonies emerge the elements of that imagined kibbutz ethos that exists in all of us, alongside heartbreaking and sometimes very difficult accounts of what occurred in the communal sleeping arrangements, about life in the children’s quarters, separated from parents and family, about nights filled with anxiety, about crying that went unanswered, about sexual abuse.
With a gentle motion, almost like placing down, without criticizing the testimonies or directing them to produce her own statement, Ella Kanner positions these charged texts side by side, joining one testimony to another, and succeeds in creating a polyphonic tapestry that weaves into one grand story: the story of communal sleeping arrangements.
Unlocked Doors is a sensitive and intimate document that shatters into transparent and delicate fragments the imagined kibbutz we all grew up with, and provides a unique glimpse into the vulnerable heart of the kibbutz: the children’s quarters.
Unlocked Doors by Dr. Ella Kaner is not the first book about the communal sleeping experience in kibbutzim, but it provides an essential and authentic voice—a mature reflection on childhood from the perspective of women who lived it.
The book is a powerful collection of 22 deeply personal monologues by women over the age of 40, recounting their experiences growing up in Israel’s kibbutzim under the communal sleeping arrangement that was practiced until the 1980s.
The testimonies come from a diverse group of women—secular and religious, Mizrahi and Ashkenazi, straight and LGBTQ+, native-born kibbutz members, and those who arrived from outside communities. Their stories reveal the unique atmosphere of kibbutz life, with all its warmth and challenges.
This book was born from a public call by the author, to which dozens of women responded, eager to share their untold stories. These anonymous testimonies unveil the struggles and hardships faced by those raised in communal sleeping settings, raising fundamental questions about parenthood, relationships, home, and the long-lasting impact of childhood experiences.
The women share their longing for warmth and affection, nights of fear and loneliness, and even instances of sexual abuse that took place under the cover of night. The book also explores how the communal sleeping experience shaped these women’s adult lives, affecting their ability to form relationships and navigate intimacy.
What is a Kibbutz? What Was Communal Sleeping?
A kibbutz is a unique form of collective settlement founded in Israel in the early 20th century, based on principles of equality, shared property, and cooperative living. Kibbutz members traditionally worked together, shared resources, and maintained a close-knit community.
One of the defining aspects of kibbutz life was the communal education system, where children were raised collectively rather than within individual family units.
Communal sleeping (lina meshutefet) was a key feature of this system: children slept in dedicated children’s houses rather than in their parents’ homes. These children’s houses served as their primary living spaces, where they ate, studied, and played, while parents saw them for only a few hours each afternoon before they returned to their communal sleeping quarters.
This system aimed to instill independence, equality, and social cohesion, but over time, concerns arose regarding its emotional and psychological effects on the children. By the 1980s, most kibbutzim had abandoned communal sleeping in favor of family-based living arrangements.
Unlocked Doors gives voice to the women who grew up in this system, offering an intimate and raw glimpse into their inner worlds, their memories, and the lasting impact of their upbringing.
