The Parents’ Community

In 2015, the Hannaton Educational Center created an opportunity for parents to experience their children’s gap year through a parent-graduate community.

Parents and Second Year Mechina students are invited to join the multi-generational Hannaton Community. The program is a unifying encounter with Israeli society through the Educational Center’s core activities and the Mechina Gap Year’s study and social action projects.

Membership has grown steadily every year and creates common ground between diverse sectors of Israeli society.

Over the years, parents of Mechina students expressed interest in a values-driven, social action program that mirrors their children’s gap-year experience.

We designed it to include:

An online and in-person ‘Learning Community’ with evening sessions scheduled every two weeks.
Two tours with Beit Midrash Galil
Community interaction at Hannaton Educational Center
A Hannaton Shabbaton (Shabbat weekend)
Social action programming through Mechina programming.
Community life cycle events and peer support

Community members of diverse geographical and social origin connect in this cross sectoral space with those they might never have met. They bring a unique energy and strength to Hannaton and a belonging that comes from shared values.

The Hannaton Parents’ Community serves as a model for other Mechina Programs interested in initiatives that address their wider impact on Israeli society through a broader partnership with parents and alumni.

The Community is led by Dr. Nira Nachaliel, the Educational Director of the Hannaton Educational Center. She is ordained by the Beit Midrash For Israeli Rabbis, and has extensive experience in community leadership, particularly leading learning communities.

For more information, contact Dr. Nira Nachaliel: nira@echannaton.org