A pilot program initiated by AVI CHAI together with the Israel Association of Community Centers, which aims to develop community centers of excellence in the field of Jewish study and culture. Bayit proposes to transform a select number of centers, already committed to Jewish study and culture, into an elite group of community institutions, which embrace Jewish values as central to their activity, and offer an array of high quality Jewish programs that attract the broad spectrum of residents they serve. To achieve this, Bayit will define standards of excellence, work with centers to achieve these standards, and provide recognition and continuing support to centers that meet Bayit‘s standards.
Bayit commenced its pilot program in 2009 with six individual centers or networks: city-wide networks in Ramat Hasharon and in Holon, the Leo Baeck and Neveh Yosef centers in Haifa, Ginot Ha’ir in Jerusalem, and the community center of the Golan Heights. If successful, we envision the development of a voluntary group of up to 30 community centers within six years, representing one-fourth of all centers that serve Jewish populations – and a critical mass that can impact the entire community center network.