The following photographic exhibit is an invitation into the world of Kivunim, the unique study and experiential program whose goal of “building world consciousness” is achieved by our annual encounters with countries from Morocco to India. Our lens is the remarkable epoch of the Jewish people who have lived in over 50 countries across the world for over 2000 years. Kivunim shared with us the evolution of Jewish civilization characterized by integration of culture, language, philosophy and even elements of religion from our host societies into our own.
All Kivunim participants study both Hebrew and Arabic and the name of our exhibition, ASSABIYAH, is an Arabic word we learned during our first month in Israel. It means “group feeling” or “social cohesion” and throughout our time together, we have slowly begun to grow not only as individuals but as a community. With each trip, lecture, and experience our individual personalities have woven themselves together creating an increased sense of solidarity within a powerful group identity.
It was a surprise for most of us to learn that Judaism’s encounter with Islam and Arabic culture represents some of the most creative moments in Jewish history. One of our very first lectures in our core curriculum course entitled “Civilization and Society: Homelands in Exile” was about the concept of Assabiyah. Long before we had bonded deeply with each other, we learned about Ibn Khaldun, one of the most prominent Islamic scholars of the pre-modern period. He believed that empires flourish best when Assabiyah is the driving force behind their founding. We experienced this first-hand as Kivunim 2022-23 thrived thanks to the cohesion and sense of community that characterized our year together.
Our program began in the desert, at the Field School of Sde Boker. We hiked through the Negev, moved to and then made Jerusalem our home; visited both ancient and modern synagogues, mosques, temples and churches around the globe; spoke to youth across different faith traditions and ethnicities; explored some of the greatest museums, archaeological sites and natural sites of the world throughout which we united into one large group through endless shared experiences and increasingly shared values. Each trip and encounter added new depth and intensity to our sense of Assabiyah.
This exhibit highlights exceptional photographs (with participation by every member of our year) from the places that were so crucial to the development of Kivunim 2022-23’s collective identity.
ASSABIYAH was curated by Eden Greenfest, facilitated by Tobi Kahn
A note from Tobi Kahn:
What an amazing year it's been for the visual thinking component of Kivunim. It was a great thrill to see 100% participation in our end-of-year online photo exhibition, ASSABBIYAH.
The objective of this course was to teach what it means to think visually through exposure to a wide range of visual experiences. By having the students participate as artists themselves, they learned and practiced the visual language required to explore the world that surrounds them. They encountered, both through their own eyes and through the camera's lens, the diverse Jewish communities around the globe and the remarkably varied ethnicities and practices in Israel and elsewhere. The inevitable byproduct of this process was the expansion of their own sense of Jewish identity—all through discovering how to "see".
My profound thanks to Eden Greenfest, for being an outstanding curator, and the diligent and hard-working committee whose efforts contributed significantly to making this exhibition possible.
Tobi Kahn
Eden Greenfest- Curator, Project Manager, Lead Web Designer, Writing Supervisor, Head of Video Production, Student RepresentativeClementine Roth- Assistant Project Manager, Web Design Support, Student RepresentativeMaris Brail- Assistant Project Manager, Head Writer, Student RepresentativeSara Weinstein- Video Production LeadMaayan Jankelovics- Assistant Photo Editor, Student RepresentativeMiriam Friedman- Assistant Photo Editor, Student RepresentativeIsaac Alkin- Assistant Photo Editor, Student RepresentativeLindsay Schlussel- Assistant Photo Editor, Student RepresentativeSari Warkol- Student RepresentativeBenji Schwab- Student RepresentativeJulia Feit- Student RepresentativeHannah Haine- FacilitatorTobi Kahn- Facilitator 
