In an effort to effect demographic change in Israel’s social and geographic periphery, United Israel Appeal Canada supports the settlement of young people working to make their communities stronger and lead them to new achievements. Over the last several years, United Israel Appeal Canada has created meaningful partnerships with groups and communities of young adults, ages 25-40, engaging in social entrepreneurship, building their lives and settling in Israel’s peripheral areas and making a difference in communities.
Whereas in the past, many young and talented Israelis stayed in the centre of the country to attend university and pursue their careers, today many young people are choosing to make their lives in peripheral communities in the Negev and the Galilee. They are establishing "young communities" and creating strong, continuous connections where they live through their work with at-risk children and youth, adults and the elderly--all in an effort to reduce social gaps and build a more just society.
A young community is a communal, social change-oriented way of life. A community’s members take up permanent residence in socioeconomically disadvantaged regions and neighbourhoods in order to build an active partnership with the residents. Young communities bring a young, fresh spirit to the periphery and change the face of Israeli society.
Today, there are over 90 young communities throughout Israel, and each community averages about 40 families. Each community is different in its organizational structure and the challenges it faces. The members of the communities come from all parts of Israel and from a variety of backgrounds. Some of the communities are designed as urban kibbutzim, while others are urban communes. There are Religious-Zionist communities, communities that gain their roots in youth movements, student villages and communities that develop from the initiative of local young who choose to stay in the towns in which they were raised.
United Israel Appeal Canada supports a number of educational and leadership development programs, with a focus on Israel’s periphery. During 2008, 30 new young communities were established, and we identified the great potential that exists in supporting these young people. We are committed to assisting them through funding their tuition, providing them with guidance and expanding the phenomenon of young communities in Israel.
The Wide Variety of Young Communities Supported by United Israel Appeal Canada
Student Villages
Through student villages operated and supported by the Ayalim Association, college students in the Negev and the Galilee are becoming socially involved. These villages create a platform for young people to improve education and engage in social initiatives in these peripheral regions. Each student receives a full scholarship and subsidized housing, and in return volunteers 500 hours per year with children from development towns and engages in other special projects such as building gardens in development towns and renovating schools, afterschool clubs and neighbourhoods. The student villages provide students with a chance to experience communal life and social activism and serve as a jumping-off point for those who decide to settle permanently in the Negev and the Galilee.
Youth Movements
After the army, a variety of activists from youth movements establish young communities and volunteer in local community activities as part of their commitment to social change. Some even establish educational kibbutzim whose members are dedicated to bringing about social change through education.
Local Communities
Young people who are residents of cities and towns in the Negev and the Galilee decide to stay in the places they grew up and change them for the better. These young people establish young communities and a framework of loyal social activists.
Urban Kibbutzim
Some communities are designed as urban kibbutzim, structured as traditional kibbutzim but situated within towns rather than in isolated rural areas.
Urban Communes
Urban communes are communities whose members live their lives according to socialist principles with varied degrees of economic partnership.
Religious-Zionist Communities
Religious-Zionist communities seek to enrich Jewish communities by enhancing Jewish communal life and practice in addition to contributing to their communities’ social welfare.
The Center for Developing Socially Active Communities (Shahaf Center)
United Israel Appeal Canada, in cooperation with the Jewish Agency, the Joint Distribution Committee, the Oran Foundation, the Gandir Foundation, the Rashi Foundation and the Kehilot Foundation, has worked to establish the Center for Developing Socially Active Communities (the Shahaf Center). The Shahaf Center seeks to establish a network of socially active communities in Israel with the goal of creating effective channels of communication between communities and enhancing their professional development. The Shahaf Center supports the creation and development of young communities and aims to provide them with the necessary tools to change the face of Israeli society.