This document was originally created and distributed in May 2009.
It's here as a source document, although there are things that are no longer accurate within, and some language used to describe the community has changed significantly.
Things that are no longer accurate are included in [brackets.]
Corrected information included in yellow.
A [West Coast Intentional Jewish Community] Jewish Commune
FOR YOUR INTEREST AND CONSIDERATION
A call to action: Come help us create an autonomous Jewish Community on the West Coast; where we will live together and create a welcoming haven for our people, supporting one another in our work for social justice in our neighborhood, our region, and the world.
We are looking for a few Jews to help with the initial start-up phase of the community. People who are excited about organizing Jews and creatively combating oppression. People who approach conflict directly and hold big visions in their minds. People who can remember each person's inherent goodness and work effectively and constructively from that mindset. People with great emotional integrity, with a willingness to confront their own struggles.
A sketch of some anticipated details of the community:
LIVING ARRANGEMENT
We will be located on at least five acres with at least one house and we will start the community with [five or six] seven to ten people. We will build the community up to include five or six dwellings and twenty or thirty people.
We will build bridges between the larger Jewish community and our community, and hold out our vision of Jewish liberation as a model for the world.
We will grow food on the land as an essential component to being connected to the place that we live. Benefiting economically from this may be an added bonus, but it is not a necessary component.
ECONOMIC PROJECTS, INTERNAL SUPPORT
The community will design and create economic projects that will be available for community members to participate in.
The community will retain [50%] some percentage of each person's work-related earnings, whether or not they are participating in a community-generated enterprise. (If someone works for a community project, they will keep half their earnings. If someone works outside the community, they still keep half their earnings).
Here are some examples of potential community-generated enterprises. One project idea is care for elderly people: members of the community, as an economic activity, can support elders who are living with us, up to the level of care at a senior residence facility, and in so doing give elders access to an age-diverse community, at a fraction of the cost of a senior residence.
Youth involvement projects could also develop as an economic venture. Members of the community would design academic and experiential learning programs for youth of the outlying communities, providing a place for young people to learn outside the mainstream education system.
We can host group retreats and have lodging options available for visitors to our community.
The community will play a role in taking care of everyone's basic needs. We will have "homegrown" options for basic needs: health, education, emotional support, play, housing. We will also provide options for people to get these needs met from the broader culture (i.e. medical insurance).
SOCIAL JUSTICE, JEWISH LEARNING
One piece of a possible social justice platform is support for peacework related to Israel/Palestine; specifically sponsoring community members to travel to Israel/Palestine and build relationships with an eye towards peace.
Another possible component to build into the community structure is Jewish learning - language, cultural and religious studies - and to support members of the community to study Jewish culture elsewhere and bring knowledge back to the community.
WOW! That sounds great! But I'm not Jewish. Where can I fit in?
While it is our full intention to build a specifically Jewish community, this vision isn't isolationist. It's incredibly important that we have allies to work hand-in-hand with us. The land where we live will be open to other groups of people who want to live with us. Nothing would please us more than to have a group of Gentile Allies to support our vision and grow with us, or another group of people targeted by oppression to build a mutual ally relationship with. We extend an offer to create a mutual support alliance, whereby we agree to learn about and support the liberation of another group of people and hold out the expectation that they do the same.
WHO IS ORGANIZING THIS?
Jacob Rosenblum and David Zenaty, a couple of twenty-something yids from Olympia.
Jacob is excited about the prospect of designing economic projects for the community. David is jazzed about teaching young people in the community, and organizing events and workshops for them.
WHERE ON THE MAP?
Jacob and David are planning to start this community in Oregon, with one house in Portland, and a farm 30 minutes south of Portland. [primarily interested in starting this community in either the Portland area or the San Francisco Bay area, but are open to other options. Somewhere between 20 and 30 minutes outside of a city by car, at most an hour by bike. (a combination of land and relatively easy access to the city.)]
We ask that anyone who is interested in joining the core group dedicate at least two years to this effort.
I hope that you find these ideas compelling; they have been developing over a number of years and hundreds of conversations with dozens of people. Let us know your thoughts!
Jacob jacob@redsolid.com 503-891-3655
David dzenaty@gmail.com 360-791-4827
Page updated July 2010.
