MK Erel Margalit and his wife, Debbie, moved to the Ein Karem neighborhood of Jerusalem neighborhood in 2002. Upon researching schools for their daughters in the area, they met the harsh reality of the schools in the nearby neighborhood of Kiryat Yovel. They saw children without packed lunches, students who did not bother to show up for exams, and they learned of the extremely high drop-out rate (30%). The Margalits decided then and there to try and make a difference. They enlisted the help of Year of Service Volunteers - high school graduates who defer their military service for a year and spend time volunteering in organizations in need of assistance, and brought them to two Kiryat Yovel schools to run after-school academic tutoring and personal mentoring programs for small groups of children, as well as providing them with a hot meal every day.

 

After very little time, this community project bore fruit and quickly spread to more and more schools in numerous neighborhoods in need. The base of this program developed and became officially known as Bakehila- translated as "In the Community". Bakehila has since impacted over 25,000 children in impoverished neighborhoods in Jerusalem and is continuing to empower communities to be self-sustaining factions of society.

 

Erel Margalit officially founded Bakehila in June 2002, together with the establishment of The Lab, as part of their vision to re-brand Jerusalem as an internationally relevant cultural center and to empower disadvantaged Jerusalem neighborhoods. The Lab, an arts incubator for Jerusalem performing artists, responded to the need to bolster and transform Jerusalem via culture, creativity and innovation, while Bakehila invested in children's education and strengthening their community support sytem. The two non-profit organizations worked hand-in-hand, and some of the most significant Jerusalem needs were met at a practical and meaningful level. (The Lab eventually ceased their operations in 2011.)

 

Over a decade later, Bakehila continues to develop as the organization responds to the changing local needs and dynamic events in Israel. Bakehila is curently developing new programs aimed at fostering the next generation of emerging social leaders in Israel and is expanding operations into more neighborhoods in the Arab and additional disadvantaged communities accross Israel. Furthermore, Bakehila has succesfully performed 3 "social exits" from communities who now run their own long-term program operations in a self-sustaining and independent fashion.