A unique project to establish KKL-JNF Houses (Batei KaKaL) for youth in the Negev and the Galilee will encourage excellence and help address the inequalities between residents on the periphery and those in the center. The first house has been established in Upper Nazareth, and ten more are planned throughout Israel. The centers will foster excellence, empowerment and leadership development among young people, and will strengthen the values of Zionism and environmental conservation.
“We believe that every child has the potential to achieve great things no matter where in Israel he or she was born, and that our role is to make the resources required for this available to them,” said Avi Musan, KKL-JNF Houses Director. “The houses will be open to every teenager who wants to succeed, and we will provide them with all assistance so that they can develop their capabilities. This is a one-of-a-kind anchor that is unparalleled in the State of Israel.”
The KKL-JNF House (Beit KaKaL) in Upper Nazareth, which is in the final stages of construction, is scheduled to begin activities in just a few weeks. The workers are busy putting the finishing touches on the building — painting walls, installing the electrical wiring, setting up the communications systems, bringing in the furniture, cleaning, and putting everything in place.
The three-story building contains an open area on the ground floor, classrooms on the upper floors, a computer laboratory, an auditorium for films and lectures, and offices for the director and the educational coordinators. A special area for recreational activities will include places to sit, video games, and a space for social events. In this way, a former absorption center is being transformed into an up-to-date and attractive educational facility.
The construction of the KKL-JNF house was made possible by donations from friends of KKL-JNF all over the world, including France. The house’s activities will be held in partnership with the municipality of Upper Nazareth and its educational department.
KKL-JNF World Chairman Danny Atar visited the house in Upper Nazareth during the first stages of its being built, together with Mayor Ronen Plot. During his visit, Atar noted that “we are here, building the first project out of ten that will be established all over Israel, for the future of Upper Nazareth and the periphery in general.”
Ronen Plot, the mayor of Upper Nazareth, said, “I am very happy that all the young people in the city will have a place of their own.”
“The house in Upper Nazareth is the forerunner,” said Eyal Cohen, KKL-JNF Houses coordinator. “Education is the key to reducing inequalities, and the KKL-JNF houses will enable us to have a direct relationship with the young people and foster excellence.”
Activities at the house will include tutoring for tenth-to twelfth-grade pupils in order to improve their college entrance examination scores. The classes will be small and taught by professional teachers, with educators providing ongoing one-on-one support. The house, which will also promote informal education in Upper Nazareth, will hold social activities and enrichment lectures, strengthen love of Israel, and increase community involvement.
“We hope that each of the participants will start believing that not even the sky is the limit for them,” said Omer Harpaz, director of the Upper Nazareth house. “The young people are enthusiastic and motivated to be partners in this process.”
The building was designed in an innovative and youthful spirit that features bright colors, murals, and a great deal of technology in order to train young people in high-tech skills. Future plans include the creation of a television studio and a virtual-reality room.
The outer wall of the building has a nine-meter-high mural, the work of artist Hillel Lazarov. “I wanted to create a feeling of a child looking over the wall toward the horizon in order to show that no wall will block these children,” Lazarov said.
The neighborhood where the first KKL-JNF House has been built is populated mainly by new immigrants who receive a variety of absorption services, and contains a bustling commercial center. The area and the house are easily accessible by public transportation. A cypress tree at the entrance to the building was planted by immigrants from the former Soviet Union. KKL-JNF looks after the tree, which symbolizes the roots that the new immigrants have set down here.
As the work on the new house nears completion, several workers could be seen placing a sign over the entrance that reads, in large letters, “The KKL-JNF House for Excellence.” Young people will be flocking to the house in just a few days, enriching their worlds and gaining tools to succeed in life. As Omer Harpaz described it, “This building will be the young people’s university.”