Youth village
Encyclopedia
A youth village is a boarding school
model first developed in Mandate Palestine
in the 1930s to care for groups of children and teenagers fleeing the Nazis. Henrietta Szold
and Recha Freier
were the pioneers in this sphere, known as youth aliyah
, creating an educational facility that was a cross between a European boarding school and a kibbutz
.
, and Na'amat
. After the establishment of Israel, the Israeli Ministry of Education
took over the administration of these institutions, but not their ownership.
The Hadassah-Neurim Youth Village, founded by Akiva Yishai, was the first vocational school for Youth Aliyah children, who had been offered only agricultural training until then.
From the 1960s to the 1980s, young people from broken or troubled homes were sent to youth villages. Today some of the villages have closed, but many continue to provide an educational framework for immigrant youth. Others have introduced programs for gifted students from underprivileged neighborhoods, exchange programs for overseas high school students and vocational training facilities. Some function as ordinary high schools and accept non-residential students.
In 2007, Yemin Orde Youth Village, established in the early 1950s on Mt. Carmel, had a student population consisting of youngsters from all over the world, including Muslim refugees from Darfur
. The village provides a safe haven for destitute children aged 5-19. A youth village patterned after the Israeli model is now being established in Rwanda
.
is believed to have special value for the two major population targets of Youth Aliyah - immigrant youth and young people from deprived social groups. It creates a strong, influential environment that neutralizes the negative influence of an underprivileged neighborhood, promotes social integration, and provides a broad range of extracurricular activities that may not be available in the home setting.
A police studies track was established in 2004 at the Kanot Youth Village, and is now being offered at Nir Ha'emek Youth Village and Hodayot Youth Village. It has been shown that young people with low self-esteem thrive in such programs. Eighteen out of the 20 students at Kanot who studied in the police studies track, which includes criminology, sociology and horseback riding, graduated with a matriculation certificate.
There are 60 youth villages in Israel today, with a student population of 18,000.
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
model first developed in Mandate Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
in the 1930s to care for groups of children and teenagers fleeing the Nazis. Henrietta Szold
Henrietta Szold
Henrietta Szold was a U.S. Jewish Zionist leader and founder of the Hadassah Women's Organization. In 1942, she co-founded Ihud, a political party in Mandate Palestine dedicated to a binational solution.-Biography:...
and Recha Freier
Recha Freier
Recha Freier founded the Youth Aliyah organization in 1933...
were the pioneers in this sphere, known as youth aliyah
Youth Aliyah
Szold was initially skeptical about the merits of Freier's proposal, as she believed that Germany offered better educational opportunities for Jewish children than Palestine. However, Hitler's rise to power convinced her otherwise. The Nuremberg Laws were enacted in 1935 and on 31 March 1936 German...
, creating an educational facility that was a cross between a European boarding school and a kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
.
History
The first youth village was Mikve Israel. In the 1940s and 50s, a period of mass immigration to Israel, youth villages were an important tool in immigrant absorption. Youth villages were established during this period by the Jewish Agency, WIZOWomen's International Zionist Organization
The Women's International Zionist Organization , is a volunteer organization dedicated to social welfare in all sectors of Israeli society, the advancement of the status of women, and Jewish education in Israel and the Diaspora.-History:...
, and Na'amat
Na'amat
Na'amat is an Israeli women's organization affiliated with the Labour Zionist Movement. Na'amat was founded in 1921.-Etymology:Na'amat is an acronym for Nashim Ovdot U'Mitnadvot , lit. "Working and Volunteering Women."-History:...
. After the establishment of Israel, the Israeli Ministry of Education
Ministry of Education (Israel)
The Israeli Ministry of Education is the branch of government charged with overseeing public education institutions in Israel. The political head of the department is the Minster of Education, currently Gideon Sa'ar....
took over the administration of these institutions, but not their ownership.
The Hadassah-Neurim Youth Village, founded by Akiva Yishai, was the first vocational school for Youth Aliyah children, who had been offered only agricultural training until then.
From the 1960s to the 1980s, young people from broken or troubled homes were sent to youth villages. Today some of the villages have closed, but many continue to provide an educational framework for immigrant youth. Others have introduced programs for gifted students from underprivileged neighborhoods, exchange programs for overseas high school students and vocational training facilities. Some function as ordinary high schools and accept non-residential students.
In 2007, Yemin Orde Youth Village, established in the early 1950s on Mt. Carmel, had a student population consisting of youngsters from all over the world, including Muslim refugees from Darfur
Darfur
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
. The village provides a safe haven for destitute children aged 5-19. A youth village patterned after the Israeli model is now being established in Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
.
Educational strategy
Residential educationResidential education
Residential Education, broadly defined, is a pre-college education provided in an environment where students both live and learn outside of their family homes. Varied forms of residential education have been in existence in the United States since before the nation's founding...
is believed to have special value for the two major population targets of Youth Aliyah - immigrant youth and young people from deprived social groups. It creates a strong, influential environment that neutralizes the negative influence of an underprivileged neighborhood, promotes social integration, and provides a broad range of extracurricular activities that may not be available in the home setting.
A police studies track was established in 2004 at the Kanot Youth Village, and is now being offered at Nir Ha'emek Youth Village and Hodayot Youth Village. It has been shown that young people with low self-esteem thrive in such programs. Eighteen out of the 20 students at Kanot who studied in the police studies track, which includes criminology, sociology and horseback riding, graduated with a matriculation certificate.
There are 60 youth villages in Israel today, with a student population of 18,000.
Youth villages in Israel
- AdanimAdanim Youth VillageAdanim Youth Village is a youth village in the northwestern Negev desert of southern Israel. Located close to Beit Kama, it is within the borders of Bnei Shimon Regional Council....
- Ahava
- Alonei YitzhakAlonei YitzhakAlonei Yitzhak is a youth village in northern Israel. Located near Binyamina, it falls under the jurisdiction of Menashe Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 210....
- AlumaAlumaAluma is an ultra-orthodox communal settlement in southern Israel. Located in the southern coastal plain around three kilometres north-west of Kiryat Gat, it falls under the jurisdiction of Shafir Regional Council. In 2006, it had a population of 537....
- AyanotAyanotAyanot is a youth village in central Israel. Located near Ness Ziona, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gan Raveh Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 396....
- Beit Apple
- Ben ShemenBen Shemen Youth VillageBen Shemen Youth Village is a youth village and agricultural boarding school in central Israel. Located near Ben Shemen and Ginaton, it falls under the jurisdiction of Judaism Hevel Modi'in Regional Council. In 2006, it had a population of 627.-History:...
- Eshel HaNasiEshel HaNasiEshel HaNasi is a communal settlement and youth village in southern Israel. Located between Beersheba and Ofakim, it falls under the jurisdiction of Merhavim Regional Council...
- Givat WashingtonGivat WashingtonGivat Washington , also known as Beit Raban is a religious youth village in central Israel. Located near Kvutzat Yavne, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Yavne Regional Council...
- Hadassah Neurim
- Hadassim
- HaKfar HaYarokHakfar HayarokHaKfar HaYarok is a youth village in Israel, located at the south of Ramat HaSharon. It is one of the biggest youth villages in the country.-History:...
- HodayotHodayotHodayot is a religious boarding school and youth village in the Lower Galilee, Israel. Hodayot was founded in May 1950....
- Havat HaNoar HaTzioniHavat HaNoar HaTzioniHavat HaNoar HaTzioni , known in English as the Israel Goldstein Youth Village, is a youth village and high school in Jerusalem, Israel....
(Israel Goldstein Youth Village) - KannotKannotKannot is an educational institution and youth village in central Israel. Located near Gedera, it falls under the jurisdiction of Be'er Tuvia Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 284....
- KedmaKedma, IsraelKedma is a youth village in the Shephelah area of south-central Israel. It is under the jurisdiction of Yoav Regional Council.-History:Kedma was founded as a kibbutz as part of the 11 points in the Negev campaign in 1946...
- Kfar Batia
- Kfar HaNoar HaDatiKfar HaNoar HaDatiKfar HaNoar HaDati is a youth village in northern Israel. Adjacent to Kfar Hassidim, it falls under the jurisdiction of Zevulun Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 576....
- Kfar SilverKfar SilverKfar Silver is a youth village in southern Israel. Located near Ashkelon, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 316....
- Kiryat Ye'arimKiryat Ye'arim Youth VillageKiryat Ye'arim Youth Village is a youth village in central Israel. Located near Kiryat Ye'arim to the north of Abu Ghosh, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 242....
- Magdiel
- ManofManofManof is a community settlement in the Misgav Regional Council in northern Israel. It is located in the Lower Galilee between Shefa-'Amr and Karmiel...
- Meir ShfeyaMeir ShfeyaMeir Shfeya is a youth village and agricultural boarding school in northern Israel. Located near Zikhron Ya'akov, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council. In 2006 it had a student population of 300.-History:...
- Mevo'ot YamMevo'ot YamMevo'ot Yam is a youth village in central Israel founded in 1951. It is named after the biblical term for "gateways of the sea"...
- Mossensohn
- Neve Galim
- Neve HadassahNeve HadassahNeve Hadassah is a youth village in central Israel. Located in the Sharon plain near Netanya and adjacent to Tel Yitzhak, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaSharon Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 668....
- Nitzana
- Nitzanim (closed in 1990)
- Ramat Hadassah
- Yohana Jabotinsky
- Yemin Orde
External links
- In pictures: Israeli youth village - BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...