The Community Building initiative is a pilot of the ‘Yachad’ organization that operates in two cities – Yavne and Katzrin. The initiative seeks to create solidarity, a sense of community and joint endeavor among residents of apartment buildings and neighborhoods, and to cultivate communities that conduct local community activities and events that are inspired by communal Israeli Judaism.
The initiative, which encourages Israeli-Jewish communality, identifies community activists in each area who it trains to lead activities which strengthen mutual responsibility and a sense of belonging and meaning among tenants and residents in neighborhoods, joint housing complexes, and apartment buildings in Israel.
Objectives:
- Strengthening Israeli-Jewish community resilience in the local/neighborhood domain
- Enhancing the quality of life of individuals, families, and communities
During the pilot year, project coordinators in each community identified suitable activists, trained them, and encouraged them to create activities around Kabbalat Shabbat, holidays etc. During the war, many community events took place inside buildings (in Yavne) and in neighborhoods (Katzrin). These contributed to the strengthening of community resilience.