Over eight years ago, BINA founded a community wide social action program in South Tel-Aviv (“BINA BaShchuna” or “Wisdom in the (neighbor)‘hood”) with the dual goal of engaging young adults in Jewish Social Action and assisting the underserved local community.
The program is based upon three principles of community-building:
- Response to real needs of the community;
- Collaboration and cooperation with local constituencies (schools, municipality, other NGOs);
- Community building from within - all BINA volunteers live in the communities in which they volunteer;
Every year over 100 (pre-army, mid-service and post-army) young adults from all over the country participate in the program, touching the lives of thousands of children, youth, adults and elderly in the neighborhoods. They provide educational support in the local schools, serve as tutors in after-school programs, hold programs for youth-at-risk, assist the elderly in the community and organize pluralistic community holiday celebrations.
By combining study and social action, BINA participants realize the Mishnaic value of “Study which Leads to Action”. By living and working in Israel’s deprived neighborhoods, participants are exposed to a microcosm of Israel’s society; to its diversity as well as its challenges. BINA sees this as an essential element in the development of a Jewish social conscience.
Based on the success of the South Tel Aviv project, similar programs have been launched in Beer Sheva’s “Daled” neighborhood and the mixed Jewish-Arab community of Yaffo.
BINA Bashchuna is a Comprehensive Community Initiative. Read more about it here.
Click here to read more about BINA's approach to Jewish Community
