​Alongside serving as a housing solution, particularly for students living in Israel's geographical and socio-economic periphery, the Student Village forms an integral part of MTA's efforts to advance society as a whole. The Student Village is becoming a vibrant community center that hosts cultural and social events for MTA students, teachers and staff, our partners and members of the surrounding Jaffa and South Tel Aviv communities. These events are initiated and organized by the students living in the dorm, in collaboration with the College.

The primary beneficiaries of the social and cultural activities are the surrounding Jaffa and South Tel Aviv communities. Despite its geographical centrality, Jaffa is still considered a social periphery, with a majority of its population still suffering social, economic and educational disadvantages, which derive from years of neglect, poor infrastructure and lack of employment opportunities. The residents—most of who are poor working class—are split between a Jewish majority and an Arab minority, alongside other marginalized groups, such as new immigrants from Ethiopia and the former USSR, as well as refugees and asylum seekers. The overall heterogeneous population, therefore, features a complex blend of class, ethnic, religious and national identities, group interests and tensions.

MTA is deeply involved in Jaffa and South Tel Aviv through the operation of different social initiatives for the benefit of these communities. Over 20,000 children, youth and adults are catered yearly by a variety of holistic community projects, run in their entirety by the College’s academic and administrative staff and its students. The dormitories are allowing us to deepen further MTA’s involvement in its surrounding neighborhoods.