Working in collaboration with the Abeles Foundation, the Sapir Center has initiated the creation of an entrepreneurial incubator for young Russian-speaking and Russian-thinking Israelis. The incubator is run by ‘BINA‘ and ‘Rashut HaRabim‘.
Israelis from the former Soviet Union and their families constitute a large and significant group within Israeli society. At the same time, even three decades after the wave of mass-immigration of the 1990s, significant questions about belonging and identity persist.
The goal of ‘Fabrica’ is to enrich the knowledge and tools of Russian-speaking activists, to promote the exploration of their unique cultural heritage identity, to discover manifestations of this culture within general Israeli-Jewish culture, and to acquire tools from the world of social and business entrepreneurship. The final product of this process is the development of initiatives that will give Israeli-Russian Judaism a voice and presence in Israeli society.
The first cohort of the incubator began in Tel Aviv in the winter of 2021-22. The incubator program includes 15 sessions in which the participants engage in Beit Midrash study, discuss questions of culture and identity, acquire entrepreneurial tools, and develop initiatives.
Their projects will be developed with the help of mentors and advisors who will assist the participants in building and implementing their initiatives.
Goals
- To explore Soviet-Jewish heritage, and to examine the sense of belonging and connection to Jewish identity and culture among the Russian speaking community in Israel.
- To develop social and cultural initiatives of Russian speakers around Soviet – Israeli – Jewish identity and culture.
- To build a community of Russian speaking entrepreneurs and activists.
- To establish a group of people who possess self-confidence and pride and that is active in shaping Israeli-Jewish culture and identity out of a sense of ownership.
- To add new voices to the Jewish-Israeli field and to connect Russian speakers in Israel with the activists and participants in this field.
Target Audience
- Russian speaking and Russian thinking social activists
- Communities of Israelis from the former Soviet Union
Expected Results
The participants will develop initiatives in small groups of 2-3 participants with diverse entrepreneurial experience. The projects will touch on Israeli-Russian-Jewish identity and culture from social / educational / cultural directions.
Some of the initiatives will be an upgrade and expansion of existing projects while others will be novel initiatives that propose new ideas in the field of Israeli-Jewish identity and culture in the Russian speaking context. The initiatives should have the potential for replication and expansion, public visibility, and be able to feasibly raise funds from a variety of sources.