To most, the defining characteristic of a kibbutz is communal living.

The defining characteristic of Kibbutz Kishorit, a home for life for adults with developmental, emotional and mental health conditions, is inclusion, allowing people with special needs to lead full and productive lives alongside mainstream people.

Founded in 1997 on the land of the former Kibbutz Kishor in northern Israel, Kishorit is home to approximately 200 people with special needs and 100 mainstream people.

The Jewish Link visited Kishorit and sat down with its CEO and co-founder, Yehoshua (Shuki) Levinger, to discuss how Kishorit promotes and nurtures an inclusive environment, and encourages each member to lead a productive life.

Significantly, “every member in Kibbutz Kishor has to sign that he wants to live with people with special needs and share his life with them,” stated Levinger. Of equal importance, Kishorit members are provided with a host of services and opportunities to help them achieve their goals. “Every member has a social worker who is the case manager.” The two meet five days a week, perhaps over a cup of coffee or at a workplace.

“Once a week they have a therapeutic meeting about the rehabilitation program that the member chooses,” Levinger said. Rehabilitation plans are unique to each member, which vary greatly. “A rehabilitation plan could be, for example, ‘I want a girlfriend.’”

Kishorit also has several employment industries, created to provide its members with meaningful work that suits their particular needs. Among Kishorit’s businesses, products and services are a canine center, which Levinger boasts breeds the best miniature schnauzers in Europe, agricultural products, and a winery called Kishor Vineyards.

The Jewish Link has previously highlighted Kishor Vineyards and praised its “lovely, well-balanced and delicious wines whose humble nature belies their underlying quality.” (See https://jewishlink.news/spotlight-on-kishor-vineyards-in-israel-s-upper-galilee/.) Levinger emphasized that “the vineyard and winery reflect the central principle of Kishorit, that the members always be at the forefront of the work.”

With a smile Levinger told The Link that the origin of the winery is connected to the Second Lebanon War in 2006. When Levinger asked a donor for funding to build a shelter, the donor responded: “I don’t want you to sit in a shelter … I’ll give half of [what you’re asking] for grapes and wine.”

And so the winery began.

The revenue that Kishorit brings in from the winery and other businesses undoubtedly assists with its ability to operate. As Levinger explained, the actual cost of providing services to each member is not entirely covered by government funds, and the revenue Kishorit brings in from its businesses is crucial to offset the difference between service costs and government funding.

Levinger also discussed Kishorit’s school, composed of 75 teens and young adults between the ages of 14-21, most of whom have mental health challenges. The students not only receive an education, but also treatment, therapy and guidance to help them succeed. The school is, in essence, an alternative to a hospital for many of its students.

“Every student is choosing what he wants to learn for three months,” stated Levinger. “Half of them are finishing Israeli degrees at the age of 21. Ninety percent of them are going to the army for one year as volunteers. And most of them will be regular citizens in society. Maybe they will need medication, but they will not need to be in a [psychiatric] hospital and we are very, very proud of that part.”

Indeed, Kishorit and its model of inclusion has much to be proud of.

Kishor wines can be ordered online and delivered throughout the U.S. (www.israeliwinedirect.com). They are also available in stores and restaurants in Manhattan, New Jersey, Philadelphia, southern Florida and Atlanta.

Judith Falk is the creator of the Upper West Side Shtetl Facebook Group. You can follow her on instagram @nyc.shtetl. She was hosted by the Israel Ministry of Tourism on a trip to Israel in March and visited Kibbutz Kishorit on that visit.