The Dror Israel movement is a pioneer Zionist movement of educators that work in all sectors of society to strengthen faith in man and action in society and to actualize the values of equality, social alliance and social responsibility in everyday reality.
The movement members' way of life places the equality of the value of all people and the happiness of all people in the center. The members of the movement live in communal groups that help each individual shape his or her life in an active way.
The movement is composed of alliances of individuals and communal groups aiming to advance Israeli society through general education and friendly interpersonal communication.
The members of the movement act out of a sense of mission to realize the vision of the founders and fathers of the Zionist movement: Theodore Herzl, Berl Katzenelson, the members of the pioneer Zionist movements in the Holocaust and others.
The Lifestyle
The Educators Kibbutz is a new model of kibbutz for the Dror Israel Movement members that allows a communal lifestyle – mostly volunteering and educating. The purpose of these Kibutzim is to enable the contribution to society by means of education of children and youth, through the development of a variety of autonomous communal educational experiences of the members.
- 30-100 educators live in every Kibutz in accordance to the local needs and the preferences of the groups.
- Every Educators' Kibutz is responsible for the activities of 2000-4000 children and teenagers.
- The Educators Kibutzim are spread all over the state of Israel – in the city and the countryside.
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The national distribution of the Educators Kibutzim enables the Dror Movement to maintain common educational processes for the different Kibutzim and their members.
Activities in Israeli Society
The 'Dror Israel' Movement works in all parts and all sectors of Israeli society. Its' members educate around 200,000 children, youth and young people, in different frameworks – schools, youth clubs, activities in the 'HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed' youth movement and more. The educational activity uses a wide variety of ways and methods and both formal and informal pedagogical tools. The educational activity is intended for all the sectors of Israeli society: Jews – those born in Israel and new immigrants, Arabs, Bedouin, Druze, children and youth from different backgrounds in Israeli society. The Dror Movement sees working in all the sectors of Israeli society a top priority.
- The educational activity of the members of the Kibbutzim includes:
- Seminars for schools and educational organizations.
- Activities in educational centers and institutions.
- Running workers' rights centers for working youth.
- Social activity coordinators and counselors in Jewish, Arab and Druze cities, towns and villages.
- Coordinators and counselors in the activities of HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed.
- Leading youth delegations to the concentration and death camps in Poland.
- Social guidance in Regional councils and schools.
- Guiding in Museums.
- Activities in schools and educational centers of the 'Dror Batey Chinuch' school network.
- Jewish-Arab Co-existence activities.
- Activities with refugees from the genocide in Darfur and the Sudanese Civil war.
To train its members, the Dror Israel Movement has many learning and discussion meetings. The meetings take place in different forums and give the educators the tools they need for the different educational activities they operate. Part of the training is done in cooperation with other bodies.
The Educators' Kibbutzim of the 'Dror Israel' Movement include over 1000 young people age 22-45 who are members of 60 groups spread throughout the country. The members work – as individuals and as groups – with a common goal to improve and change Israeli society. Every year, 100 new members that finish their civilian and military service join the Educators' Kibbutzim. The movement members' way of life is shaped and changed according to the decisions of the members of the groups in different areas of life. Membership in the Dror Israel Movement is based on the choice of the members and is renewed from time to time in accordance to the will of each member.
The members of Dror Israel work as educators in Israeli society out of the belief that education is a central component in shaping society. They put an emphasis on value based education, towards the equality of value of all people and to a humanism that calls for a change in society. This education stems from a faith that, in the words of Janusz Korczak, 'To fix the world means to fix education'. Since the field of education in Israel is not a rewarding one (in comparison both to other countries and to other fields in Israeli economy), this choice of the movement members has economical implications including the choice of a modest and mostly voluntary lifestyle.
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Every year, 100 new members join the Educators' Kibutzim when they finish their civilian or military service.
This increase in the number of members raises the number of Educators' Kibbutzim and centers of activity and broadens the extent of the educational activities of the Dror Israel Movement.
In order to allow the continuation and expansion of the activities of Dror Israel they must –
- Develop and deepen the educational activities run by movement members, mainly in weakened populations.
- Create an infrastructure for the Educators Kibutzim – accommodation, existence and mobility.
- Enhance the learning and training processes of the movement members.
They call all partners who believe in the power of education, in the power of values and the power of people to change the world and to make it a better place to contact them.
If you wish to visit Dror Israel - Please contact them at – contact@drorisrael.org.il
