Derekh Eretz is a civic infrastructure movement initiated and supported by the Dor Moria Research Center. It equips local communities in Israel with the tools, legal support, expertise, and seed funding needed to organize, launch initiatives, engage municipalities, and influence national legislation — building the infrastructure for organized civic participation from the neighborhood level to the Knesset.
The movement operates on three levels. Locally, initiative groups address specific neighborhood needs. At the city level, movement coordinators work directly with municipalities to shape the urban agenda. At the national level, Derekh Eretz operates a registered Parliamentary Lobby, advances legislation on district council recognition, produces policy analysis for Knesset committees, and organizes direct meetings between activists and elected officials.
The Resource Center is the operational core of the movement — where civic initiative meets practical support. It connects activists with the resources they need: funding, legal support, and professional guidance
Provides grants of NIS 500–5,000 for local microprojects. Fast turnaround, transparent selection, minimal paperwork — with a focus on concrete results for residents rather than procedural complexity
Offers professional support for civic initiatives: document preparation, engagement with municipal authorities, and protection of local communities’ rights within Israel’s legal framework
Advises civic leaders on project management, communications, and the long-term sustainability of grassroots organizations
Connects neighborhood and city-level needs with business community partners and private philanthropists
The Resource Center’s mission is to lower the barrier to civic participation. Any viable initiative should be able to get off the ground without needing political connections or a major donor.
The Parliamentary Lobby was formally registered by a Member of Knesset at the initiative of Derekh Eretz. It translates civic demand into legislative language and builds durable channels between activists and elected officials.
The core objective: secure statutory recognition for district councils — not as a local workaround, but as a national standard. At present, community self-governance depends on individual initiative and local politics. We want it to depend on statute.
That means securing formal legal status and defined powers for district councils, integrating Derekh Eretz’s policy analysis into parliamentary hearings and faction work, and building recognition — in political, legal, and media circles — that civic self-government is a necessary institution.
The Civic Academy is the movement’s training arm. It prepares activists, coordinators, and community leaders to address real local challenges — with practical skills, not theory.
Political literacy. How Israeli state institutions work and how to engage with them effectively.
Applied skills. Fundraising, methods of civic influence, legal instruments, and financial management.
Halakha for Secular Israelis. A unique track that reframes traditional norms as a resource for civic resilience — without requiring religious affiliation.
Youth program. Leadership development for the next generation.
Courses run in-person and online. Instructors are working civic leaders, lawyers, economists, and researchers. Every course ends with a practical assignment: participants apply what they’ve learned to a specific challenge in their neighborhood or city.
The Academy is designed not merely to provide training, but to build a leadership pipeline. Graduates form the trained leadership base for district councils and municipal-level civic structures. The Academy also serves as a shared training infrastructure for Derekh Eretz’s partner organizations, with unified standards and accessible expert consultation across the core competencies: fundraising, legal support, civic influence, and community governance.
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