akko kibbutz project

8/15/2019 Akko Kibbutz project

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Dror Israel’s

Educators’ Kibbutz in Akk


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“All the deeds of men are

dreams at frst, and become

dreams in the end.”

Israel’s Modern-day Pioneers -The Educators’ Kibbutz in Akko

The Educators’ Kibbutz in Akko was established in 2005 in the peripher y city of Akko.

Twenty young and energetic members of the Dror Israel Movement, upon completion o f

their obligatory army service, moved to the city with the two-tiered mission of creating

change through education and establishing a vibrant cooperative community of educators.

Eleven years later, the Educators Kibbutz has grown to include 61 members. Its members,

all educators in various formal and informal educational projects, educate about 3,000

children, youth and adults throughout the city and region.

Theodor Herzl | Founder of Zionism


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Civil Society in Israel -Dror Israel Movement

The Educators’Kibbutz in Akko is part of the Dror Israel movement.

Dror Israel is a Jewish Zionist educational movement, consisting of 1,200 young

men and women, graduates of the Hanoar Haoved Ve’Halomed Youth Movement,

choosing to live according to the values of equality, peace, voluntarism and

Tikkun Olam and striving to create change in Israeli society. Dror Israel members

establish educators’kibbutzim and guide and teach in a variety of formal and

informal educational frameworks. Dror Israel is an expansive and inclusive

movement, reaching over 100,000 children and youth, from ever y sector of Israeli

society and primarily throughout Israel’s social-geographical periphery. Each

year, over one hundred new members join preexisting Dror Israel Kibbutzim or

establish their own.

Number of Educators’ Kibbutzim 16

Number of Dror Israel members 1,200

Number of participants in 100,000

educational programs per year

Percent of gap year program al um ni t hat 81%continue to promote social justice matters

Pe rc en t o f n on -J ew is h p ar ti ci pa nt s i n 20%

educational programs

Num ber of cit ies and towns we operate in 157

Dror Israel in numbers


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Akko

Akko is a city of 50,000 residents in Israel’s north. Alongside its beautiful location and r ich history, Akko has many challenges today.

Its mixed population – one-third Arab and two-thirds Jewish, including 10,000 immigrants from the former Soviet Union – poses

a daily challenge for people who are different to one another to be able to coexist peacefully and enjoy the diversity instead of

it being a source of tensions. Another one of Akko’s challenges, like other peripheral cities in Israel, is retaining its young adult

population, who often leave to seek opportunities in larger cities. We seek to provide meaningful programming for local youth and

young adults while promoting coexistence between Jews and Arabs, and also improving the image of the city and its residents’

sense of self-worth.


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Education as a National Mission

In the 1990s, graduates of the Hanoar Haoved Ve’halomed youth movement, who had

traditionally settled agricultural kibbutzim with the national mission of “draining the

swamps”and “making the desert bloom,”realized that those were no longer Israel’s essential

national needs. Instead, they propelled a new model of small urban kibbutzim focused

affecting change in Israeli society through education. These young people adapted the

original pioneers’vi sion and values to a modern-day answer to the challenges facing Israel

today. Today, members of Dror Israel educate with a nd towards the belief that a ny person,

regardless of familial, academic, emotional or personal background, has a great deal tocontribute to their surroundings, their society and their own future, given the proper tools,

the guides and the support networks.

“To repair the world means

to repair education.”

Dr. Janusz Korczak Humanitarian |children’s author, pediatrician and educator


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The Center for Coexistence

Akko’s population of around 50,000 is about two-thirds Jewish and one-third Arab, and developing friendly coexistence and real partnership

in the city between Jews and Arabs is one of the primary goals of the Akko Educators’Kibbutz.

The Center for Coexistence projects in the city include:

• The Dufda Club seeks to create a positive, constructive and inclusive educational framework to prevent delinquency, violence and

vandalism prevalent in the “free time”of the afterschool hours, as well as serving as a center for coexistence in Akko for joint activities

between Jewish and Arab children

• The Common Language project - This project aims to supplement Hebrew studies in Arab middle schools using fun and stimulating

methodology whilst using language studies as a catalyst to values-based discussions on the topic of coexistence in Israeli society.

The project takes place in three regular weekly classrooms with approximately 100 students.

• Leadership groups of Jewish and Arab youth between the ages of 13-18 – through experiential learning models, these youth discuss taking

responsibility for Israeli society in every sector, prevention of racism and violence, and general responsibility for coexistence in Israeli society.

• The Akko Heritage Center - an educational center that educates towards the values of Democracy, Peace and Tolerance. The center operates

adult education programs that tell the history of multiculturalism in Akko and creates platforms for city residents to to be socially active and

encounter different populations.


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The Akko Jam

The Jam was established in order to provide a solution to the lack o f cultural life in Akko and i ts environs by creating

a cultural center in Akko to meet the cultural needs of local population. The club also addresses the phenomenon of

the flight of young people from the city to more culturally central cities in Israel and shaping Akko as an attractive

location for young people to create their adult lives. The club provides a platform for local artists as well as affordable

performances by Israel’s leading musicians. It is operated mainly by volunteers who envision Akko to become a leading

cultural center in Israel.

The Jam is open twice a w eek and hosts large concerts and cultural events, monthly open mic nights, themed nights

for local bands, and much more.


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The Ogen Club – after-school program for at-risk youth

Operates on a daily basis with 30 children between the ages of 12 and 15, most of whom have been referred by the city’s welfare

department as they require significant intervention and support for various reasons. Activities at the club include a hot meal and

socialearning activities that are based around the idea of developing responsibility and autonomy. There are various interest groups

such as carpentry, English, and a b icycle club. In addition, there are committees that the club participants take pa rt in that help them to

take responsibility for the clubhouse – whether it be through a maintenance committee or even socially through their conflict resolution

committee. The club is operated by three counselors and one direc tor four days a week. In the morning hours, these counselors spend

time in the schools of the children where they help with lessons, give extra guidance to the children who may need, speak with

teachers and educators about the progress of the children, and more. In this way the staff structure helps to fulfill the goal of taking full

responsibility for the lives of the participants.


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The Educators’Kibbutz in Akko’s additional activities include:

• Informal education programs for thousands of children and teens in communities throughout the

Galilee – in kibbutzim, moshavim, and Arab and Bedouin villages and towns

• The Man, Society and Nature high school in Carmiel

• The Social High School in Haifa

• Dozens of participants on Journeys to Poland to study the Holocaust and the roots of Zionism

• Seminars and workshops in high schools on various topics, including leadership training, current

events, civics and holidays

• Workshops and tours for IDF soldiers, police and border police on topics of tolerance, respect, and

equality

• Afterschool clubhouses of HaNoar HaOved VeHalomed in Akko and communities throughout

the Galilee

• Holocaust Memorial Day educational activities including the Rebellion of Hope exhibit, with

hundreds of participants

• Annual commemoration tent for Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin z”l visited by hundreds of participants.

“Zionism is a movement

to realize a utopian goal

through realistic means”Yigal Alon | Palmach Commander IDF GeneralIsrael Parliament Member and Minister


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Completing the TaskSince their arrival in the city in 2005 at the invitation of the

municipality, the Educators’Kibb utz has lived in the Association

for the Wellbeing of Israel’s Soldiers’building which had previously

been uninhabited for years. At this time, the condition of the

building has deteriorated significantly, and the city is exploring

other plans for the complex while assisting in finding a new home

for the Educators’Ki bbutz. We have located a former nursing home

building, currently uninhabited and requiring minimal renovations

to become our new home!

In addition to housing the Educators’Ki bbutz, we plan to host in

the building one of Dror Israel’s newest programs: The College for

Professional Leadership’s Community Caregivers for Seniors course,

a seven-month interdisciplinary program developed together with

the Ministry of Economy and JDC-Eshel which trains young adults

to work with the growing population of Israel’s seniors.

With your support, the Akko Educators’Kibbutz will b e able to:

• Provide a home for educators and their activities

• Open a new branch of the College for Professional Leadership in Akko

• Further the development of Akko and its residents

• Create a ground breaking, first-of-its-kind Educators’ Kibbutz structure

to revolutionize urban planning for communities in Israel

Item Cost in USD

Purchase 3,460,000

Planning 26,000

Infrastructure 600,000Renovation 156,000

Taxes 190,000

Total 4,432,000

Project Costs


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C o l l e

g e f o r

P r o fession a l L e a d

e r s h

i p s t u

d e n tspe r y e a

r

Kibbutzmembers

61

Total daily reach300

Total weekly reach

2,000

Total yearly reach

4,000

100

The project i s a pa rtnership of the Akko Municipality and Mayor, the Ministry for the D evelopment of the Negev and

Galilee, Dror Israel and Dror Educational Centers.

Renovation of this building will enable the Educators’Kibbutz to absor b more educators, more students and more projects.

We are seeking additional partners who believe in the power of education and in the power of people to make change in

society to join us in this endeavor.

Invitation to Partnership


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Contact Information

Gilad Perry Email: [email protected]

Mobile: +972-54-6734410

Address: 120 Kibbutz Galuyot St., Tel-Aviv

Website: www.drorisrael.org.il


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“The members of the Educators’ Kibbutz do amazing work in

Akko, and this is what I would like to see in all of Israelisociety. These young educators are trailblazers.”

Shimon Lankri, Mayor of Akko

akko kibbutz project

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