The Danya Cohen Story a Batnua Exclusive.

1
The Danya Cohen Story a Batnua
Exclusive. Kvutsat Yovel member Danya Cohen made
aliyah in 1999. Shes currently the sole
representative of North American Habonim, living
with Brits Anton, Emma, James, Adam and recently
joined by Aussie Dahlia.
  Batnua So, Where do you live now? Danya I
live in Jerusalem. I have lived here for a year
and a half. I am a student at the Hebrew
University, studying Political Science and some
other stuff.
own goals by having partners around all the time
to achieve those goals. My community wants to
learn together and be active in our community.
Ultimately, my community wants to affect other
people in Israel to form small groups and live
communally and socialistically. I believe that
sharing all your stuff is a tool towards getting
close to people. Kupa is not only about
eliminating money as a difference between people,
but as a way to get to know them.
DC My involvement in Habonim-Dror was one of
the defining experiences of my life. I was a
chanicha at Moshava from 1988-1992, MBI 1993,
MADATZ 1994. I worked as a madricha at Moshava in
95, 96, 97, Gilboa in 98 and then I worked
for Habonim South Africa in 1999. I've always
felt that Moshava was the coolest machaneh by
far, but Gilboa is young and energetic and has so
much potential.
B Tell us about your involvement with HDNA.
 
  B So, whats it like
living communally? DC
Communal living is extremely
challenging but really fun. I love coming
home and having so many other
people care about me.
The most primitive element of
communal living is getting to know and
tolerate each other's personal habits. People
have drastically different standards when it
comes to personal cleanliness and the mess they
leave around the house. It takes a while to sort
out who's going to wash the
B How did that involvement lead you to where you
are now?
DC My madrichim at Moshava taught me that
social justice is first and foremost a Jewish
struggle. Activism is not only a method for
secular Jews to feel Jewish, but allows Jews to
observe Jewish commandments in a way that makes
them feel comfortable and empowered. For me, the
most effective place to improve the world is from
Israel. Among the original goals of Zionism was
to build a socially just Jewish society. That
goal is still relevant and crucial. While I
believe that Jews can live perfectly fulfilled
lives in the North America, I think it's so much
more important that young energy gets directed
towards Israel
dishes and who's going to do the shopping. Those
issues cloud the atmosphere before you can get to
the more important ones. Open communication about
your needs is crucial. The bottom line is to find
a way to satisfy everyone's needs without
sacrificing anyone else's.
 
B Whats it been like being in Jerusalem this
fall, being a lot closer to all the violence we
in North America only see on tv? 
DC There is a real feeling of being at a crucial
juncture in history. People feel very
disappointed that the peace deal that seemed so
close was destroyed in a matter of days. The
atmosphere is tense because people sense the
importance of this time more than because they
feel endangered. Danya will be joined by the five
other members of Kvutsat Yovel on December 31st,
2000.
B How does living communally in Jerusalem
relate to what you learned as a chanicha? DC
Most of the stuff I learned at Moshava has
direct application to my life today. I live in a
community with people who share many of my
goals. Living communally helps you to achieve
your