We came from the cities and the kibbutzim, from the Left and from the Right, from Jewish backgrounds spanning secular to observant. We came together to form a community that draws its inspiration from the Jewish spiritual tradition and grapples with the most pressing social issues in Israel today. We were pained by economic and social gaps, alienation, polarization, and the weakening of social bonds.
Today, over 400 of us work together with the residents in these communities, where we live, to rebuild these bonds, bridge these gaps. We established the Kvutzat Reut organization in 1993 in order to fulfill this vision. We created a model in which the organization and the community work in tandem to strengthen communities and build shared language in a way that sets off a ripple effect through Jerusalem and nationwide.
The driving force behind our work is a deep sense of shared Jewish goals that draws its source from the Zionist pioneering movement and from the Chassidic movement and adapts them to the contemporary Israeli reality, through the view that learning leads to action—“talmud hamavi l’yedei maaseh.”
We work together with organizations, government bodies, families, and individuals in Jerusalem and throughout Israel to achieve this purpose.
Kvutzat Reut operates within two interconnected spheres of activity:
• Cultivating leadership: through Mechinat Beit Yisrael, student villages, programs for young people, and intentional communities [link to each] across Israel.
• Community growth: narrowing gaps through formal and informal education. Beit Yisrael runs a wide range of programs for children, youth, and the elderly as well as operating preschools and an elementary school. We work with local communities to develop nature sites as community spaces. And we work hand-in-hand with neighborhood residents to build strong community bonds.