Establishing a New Kibbutz to Rebuild Communities in the North

Tom Shay is a Dror Israel educator and community builder who moved with his family to Israel’s north to work in Kiryat Shmona and help build a new Dror Israel kibbutz. In this interview, he shares why rebuilding is so urgent in 2026 and how community gardens are helping residents regain hope and agency.

Tell me a little about yourself in one sentence (name, how long you have been an educator, any relevant degree or any past teaching experience) 

My name is Tom Shay, I’m 41 years old, a father of three, and I’ve been an educator for 15 years, teaching both high school and elementary school after earning a teaching degree and an M.A. in Galil regional studies. Together with my family, we moved from Rehovot to northern Israel this past summer, in 2025. 

Tell me when you first got involved with NOAL/Dror and why 

I joined when I was 18 years old because I grew up on Kibbutz Yaron in the north, and I believed deeply that shared living was the right way for me to build a life. I wanted to find a way to renew that vision and bring it into the future. 

Why did you uproot your life and commit to joining this group building a new Kibbutz?  

I am living in the north and working daily in Kiryat Shmona and the surrounding communities because during the war I was constantly in touch with my family in the north and my friends who live in communities near the border with the Gaza Strip. By December 2023, I couldn’t ignore the question of where we were needed most. When the ceasefire with Lebanon began, we chose to move north because helping rebuild here felt urgent and deeply personal. 

Why is this so urgent in 2026? 

I grew up in the Galil, and I remember how long it took for communities to return to normal after previous military operations. Even then, the “return to everyday life” was slow and painful, and many families struggled just to regain stability. But we have never faced a war this long, this heavy, and this exhausting. I knew that once this war ends, the process of returning will be harder than anything people here have experienced before. That is why 2026 feels like a turning point. If we do not invest right now, in people and in resources, the north will be left behind once national attention shifts elsewhere. This is the moment to strengthen communities, rebuild daily life, and create real long-term change. 

What is your role in the Kibbutz? What is your role in the community you serve? 

My role is to strengthen community life through shared projects that bring neighbors together, especially through community gardens and local initiatives. Together with Dror Israel, the municipality, and community centers, I help create spaces where residents can meet, take responsibility, and lead projects that improve their neighborhoods. In just a few months in Kiryat Shmona, we established three neighborhood community gardens and we are preparing two more. We also supported 20 to 25 garden projects located beneath apartment buildings in older neighborhoods, working in partnership with schools, gap-year participants, and local residents. In addition, I work in elderly homes and educational frameworks, with five active sites already and more being developed in preschools in the coming months. 

What challenge in Israel do you feel that you are helping to tackle? 

I feel I’m helping to restore people’s sense of connection and their sense of agency, especially in Kiryat Shmona, where for two years many residents could not fully control their own lives. When people regain the power to shape their surroundings, it strengthens them from the inside out. From that strength, we can rebuild the north, protect its environment, and create a community that can truly last. 

What’s the biggest challenge for community life right now and how are you addressing it? 

The hardest challenge right now is that many people cannot picture a better future, and they do not always believe they have the power to influence what comes next. The community gardens are one way I address this, because they are not only physical spaces. They are educational tools that prove change is possible. When people plant something together, build something together, and watch it grow, they start believing again in their ability to rebuild and create life here. 

How do you hope to improve the community and help them to rebuild? 

I hope to rebuild trust in the future and trust between neighbors by creating opportunities for people to meet, cooperate, and succeed together. When residents feel ownership of their neighborhoods again, the rebuilding becomes more than recovery. It becomes a new beginning. 

What are you most excited about? 

I’m excited every day by the north itself, the landscape, the beauty, and the feeling of coming home. I used to travel an hour to school in the center, and now when I travel to work I see the Hermon and the Kinneret. It reminds me why this place is worth rebuilding. But what excites me most is meeting the people of Kiryat Shmona every day. I meet new people constantly, and I see how scared and overwhelmed they are, but also how much they want to rebuild. Watching that courage and determination is what gives me energy. 

What does success look like in 12 months? 

Success would mean many local leadership groups in Kiryat Shmona are active and strong. They would be organizing community events, learning together, and using the gardens as real hubs for neighborhood life. It would mean people are dreaming again and imagining what could exist here, like a small café, a community library, and shared spaces that did not exist before. I’ve already met people with these dreams, and success means building it together so they truly believe in the future again. 

What are you most proud of so far? Tell me one quick story of someone whose life you changed in your role here 

I’m most proud of the moments after community activities when someone comes to me and says, “This is exactly what I’ve been looking for. I didn’t know where it could happen, but I want this in my neighborhood too. Help me create it.” That moment, when someone realizes they can bring life back to their community, happens every single week. It reminds me that this work is real, and that hope can actually be built.