Understanding the Challenges of Tel-Aviv's southern neighborhoods

Tel Aviv is home for over 500,000 people and is Israel's geographical and cultural center. While many tourists find it attractive and fun, the fact is the southern neighborhoods of the city are struggling. Southern Tel Aviv has a diverse population: Veteran residents, usually of low social economic status along with younger new-comers, mainly upper class; Israelis along with Immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers; Jews and Arabs; Orthodox Jews and Secular Jews. This diversity poses unique challenges to those who wish to strengthen social cohesion.
The challenge of maintaining and nourishing the sense of community has a unique intensity and importance in Southern Tel Aviv,  as it faces a fragmented society.

The Southern Tel Aviv of Tomorrow

The South Tel Aviv Educators' Kibbutz has launched an effort to meet the challenges the city faces as a whole, and the Southern neighborhood in particular. By creating platforms for meaningful and reality changing encounters between the residents we encourage Jews, Arabs, Refugees and all parts of society to celebrate diversity and take a leading role in the neighborhoods' growth and prosperity. The Kibbutz runs multiple projects targeted at getting different parts of the population to meet and connect, such as youth groups for Israelis and Refugees, Hebrew lessons, Student groups aimed at social change and working with the educational staff in the local schools.
Together with the educational work done by the Kibbutz with kids, teenagers and adults, a strong emphasis is put on culture – in order to create a vibrant urban community, and raise the neighborhoods self-esteem.
The Student Groups are, perhaps, the Flagships of the Educators' Kibbutz activity. The "Rujum" Project, for one, is a platform for students who wish to devote some of their skill and talent to the better good. They do so in many ways: By organizing a community "Kabalat Shabat", recreational youth activities or anti-violence activities and so forth. Students working together with the Educators' Kibbutz are a beam of light, spreading to unveil the beauty of the city's harsh neighborhoods.

Kibbutz in the City

A new take on Israel's original social startup

The South Tel Aviv Educators’ Kibbutz, a cooperative community of 100 teachers, youth workers and counselors – pioneers from Dror Israel, embodies the same innovative spirit that drives the startup nation. We’re an action-based community living a Zionist, democratic and mission-driven lifestyle. Together, we’re creating a social startup in Israel’s geo-social periphery.

The concept is simple. A group of people living and collaborating closely together can breakthrough barriers, identify opportunities and innovate creative solutions to the challenges that prove insurmountable to the lone educator. It’s a novel twist on Zionism’s original startup – the kibbutz – and it’s catching on quickly.

Part of a Movement

Dror Israel is an Israel-wide social movement

The Educators’ Kibbutz in South Tel Aviv is part of the Zionist social movement Dror Israel. Dror Israel numbers 1,500 young men and women throughout Israel who are choosing to live according to the values of equality, peace and activism through the framework of educators’ kibbutzim. The members of Dror Israel pursue the ancient Jewish ideal of Tikkun Olam by pioneering change amid the challenges faced by modern Israeli society.
Dror Israel is a broad and inclusive movement that engages over 100,000 children, youth and adults from every sector of Israeli society, particularly in the country’s geo-social periphery. Each year, more than a hundred new members join Dror Israel kibbutzim from north to south or get to work on building new ones.