I received this wonderful email from Yam, in Israel, last week, who gave me permission to share with all of you:

I live on a kibbutz founded in 1973, moved here in 1981. Visitors still ask, “Where’s the soda water?” [in the dining hall]. Apparently, kibbutzim and soda water was a “thing”, so much so that the dispenser in the dining hall is the only thing many folks recall from their visit to a kibbutz.
We never had it here at Ketura, as far as I can recall, so it must’ve been a “thing” only until circa 1970s.
I just started drinking seltzer this year, having never been interested before, and love it. I had digestive issues that it helped and now I’m hooked. My husband and I go through a liter a day.
I found your site after wondering about the connection between New York Jews and seltzer. I grew up in the Midwest, where we bought 24-packs of store brand (Cragmont) soft drinks in various flavors and stored them in the garage. I’d assumed that seltzer’s popularity waned when people (Jews?) moved to the suburbs, bought cars, and did their shopping at supermarkets. My dad, who grew up on the Lower East Side, still likes his Dr. Brown’s. After searching, we found unflavored club soda at a supermarket (Walmart?) for 63 cents a bottle. Can’t beat that price!