Work to Begin on KKL-JNF House in Upper Nazereth
Uvda
July 21, 2017
Top KKL-JNF officials visited the Beit Lavon building in Upper Nazareth this week, in anticipation of its becoming the first KKL-JNF house in Israel.
The building, which in the distant past served as the Upper Nazareth youth house and eventually became the city’s Immigrants House, will undergo extensive renovations beginning next month and will be rebuilt by KKL-JNF as part of a national project that is being promoted by KKL-JNF world Chairman Danny Atar for the benefit of youth in Israel’s peripheral regions. Upper Nazareth is the first city in Israel in which this project, whose cost is estimated at over 10 million shekels, is being implemented.
Top KKL-JNF officials visited the building that is to be renovated, and together with the local mayor, Ronen Plott, it was agreed that work would begin in August. “KKL-JNF House is an educational-cultural project that Atar initiated in order to narrow the gaps between Israel’s center and its peripheral regions, and in order to provide an equal opportunity to succeed in life for every pupil in Israel,” explained KKL-JNF Director General Amnon Ben Ami, noting that this would be an enrichment and activities center for youth ages 15-18, which will combine significant learning reinforcement (with emphasis on those fields that can prevent receiving a matriculation certificate: English, Mathematics, technological subjects), along with empowerment and enrichment during afternoon and evening hours.
The building will be equipped with the newest and most updated technologies. It will have a learning center where the best teachers will teach, and an enrichment center that will include workshops, lectures and enrichment activities, and the possibility of hosting the activities of youth movements and other municipal youth organizations.
The building, which was formally transferred to KKL-JNF last week, is located on Atzmon Street, one of the city’s main streets. Work will begin next week, and the building will be extensively renovated by KKL-JNF with the goal of transforming it into a significant and different icon in the urban landscape. The building’s façade will be prominent and inviting, use will be made of friendly and intensive colorfulness, and the classrooms will include high level technology and inspiring.
“This is the first time that KKL-JNF is establishing a house like this, and it will be the flagship of our educational projects,” in the words of the KKL-JNF management. “This is going to be an educational and cultural hub teeming with life and the most modern technological tools.”