From March 14 to March 21, Havurah, a Jewish art collective, took a delegation of 25 young Jewish artists to Israel for a week of volunteering and art programming through Sachlav Birthright.
On Friday, the delegation volunteered at Underdog Winery, helping to prepare the grapevines for regrowth in the upcoming harvesting session. On Saturday night, after Shabbat, Havurah attended the Jerusalem Art Biennial. The Jerusalem Biennial highlighted several artists on the trip, and Havurah's exhibition, Tzimtzum, was displayed.
On Sunday, the group volunteered at a strawberry farm, helping the local farmers package outgoing orders. In the afternoon, they heard from Jewish writers on "Conflict and Storytelling" and had an artist happy hour with Sam Griffin, an Israeli artist from London. Griffin is working on works detailing his experience in Gaza at the beginning of the war.
After volunteering at an orange farm on Monday morning, the artists returned to Tel Aviv for an exclusive tour of the newly opened LGBTQ center. They met with photographer Michael Liani and musician David Lerner. The group then visited the typography studio AlefAlefAlef or the Pluto Studio music studio. In the evening, in partnership with Am Yisrael Chai and the World Jewish Congress, an artist party was held at The Normal Hotel in Tel Aviv for Israeli and Diaspora artists to "Bridge the Gap."
Tuesday was spent down South. Starting at Kerem Shalom, the artists help re-paint the beautiful mural walls surrounding the Kibbutz. They then headed to the Nova site.
Wednesday, the last day of programming, started in Petah Tikva at the Israel Support Bridge warehouse—a hub for helping Israelis with supplies during the war. The delegation then went to Israel for a private tour of the Jerusalem Theater. Following the private art tour, they had an exclusive archival tour at the Jerusalem Cinematheque. Before the Closing Artist Dinner in the German Colony, the group headed to the Kotel for an hour to reflect on the inspiring and meaningful week of volunteering and art programming.
Havurah, by the side of Sachlav Birthright, truly put on an incredible and unique experience to help the Jewish nation in a time of need and foster Jewish pride through art when a sense of connection is needed most.
Havurah is part of the World Jewish Congress NextGen and World Union of Jewish Students' incubator initiative, NextGenInc.