Training Students of Optometry in Cultural Competence

We’ve discussed how Hadassah Academic College is becoming the first academic institution to become culturally competent. We started with staff and administration, and now we’re moving on to training students.

Learning the cultural competence of optometry care

On June 1 we held our first workshops with 33 students of optometry who are in their fourth and last year of training. This group in and of itself was one of many cultures – Jews, Muslims Christians, religious and secular, new immigrants and veterans.

The workshop was adapted from our one-day introductory workshop. Students learned how to provide culturally competent services, as they drew upon their own experiences at the college.

“It was weird for me to call the lecturer by his first name. In my school we never call the teacher by his name, we called him ‘teacher,'” said one participant.

They had studied together for years and knew one another, but had never discussed issues relating to their identities, and to cultural competency. “This was the first time I’ve had an opportunity to get to know Christians,” said another participant.

They also learned different skills that are unique to Jerusalem – how to give an Ultra-Orthodox person (who is forbidden to touch someone of the opposite sex) a vision test. Or what happens if there isn’t a common language.

A Christian student shared that once, in preparing for an eye test, a client asked her to hide the cross that was on her necklace. The discussion that ensued touched on a number of subjects – on generalizations, legitimacy of the request, the public space, and social and political tensions. At first the student was hesitant about sharing the experience, but afterward she was appreciative of the support.

Next year we are planning workshops for students in all 4 years of their optometry study, each year deepening their understanding of cultural competency.

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation for their continued support of this program.

Naomi Roff2016-06-12T13:19:48+00:00June 8th, 2016|Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Academic Institutions, Identity Groups and Conflicts|

Debating in the Square – Jerusalem Day Edition

Of the 50 initiatives that took part in A Different Day in Jerusalem – events on Jerusalem Day, Speaking in the Square was one that is especially close to our hearts. It is one of the first initiatives that we began mentoring as part of a citywide effort to fight racism and xenophobia in Jerusalem some 2 years ago, and they’ve come a very long way since then. They’ve even changed the dynamic of Zion Square as we wrote here.

Speaking in the Square

On Saturday night, June 4, the eve of Jerusalem Day, they were one of the main events in downtown Jerusalem as part of A Different Day in Jerusalem. Here are some impressions of the evening by one of our core participants, Giora:

In the year in and a half that we’ve been coming to Zion Square, the only constant is that it’s always changing. It doesn’t matter how many times I go, every night there’ll be something that will surprise me. Sometimes it’s something small, like a new street performer, and sometimes it’s a surprising arrest of [Lehava founder] Benzi Gopstein, which will completely change the dynamic in the Square, and after a few tense minutes deep discussions begin that weren’t possible in the 6 months beforehand.

So each time we produce a “Debating in the Square” event in Zion Square it’s a risk. We’re never sure if the event will succeed, and sometimes we can do everything right and the event will still be a flop. The Square has its own life, and we can only adapt ourselves to the dynamic of Zion Square. This is even more true in and around the time of Jerusalem Day. In Jerusalem the political tension is constant, and it only increases as Jerusalem Day and the Flag Parade come closer.

On Saturday night, June 4 – the eve of Jerusalem Day – Zion Square surprised us again – this time, a good surprise. From the moment we arrived it was clear that even though the next day was Jerusalem Day, even though it was very hot, and even though Shabbat was over very late, the Square was thirstier than ever for a deep political discussion. If on a regular night we need to look for speakers to represent the different stances, this time the audience asked to speak up and express its opinions. They discussed the Flag Parade, mixed neighborhoods, Jews going up to the Temple Mount. We always found impassioned and eloquent speakers who wanted to take the podium. Some of these speakers were youth who we’re familiar with – we know them from their activities with Lehava on Thursday nights. While the debates were going on, there were private conversations in the circles surrounding the “center stage” groups of 2-3 people, all having deep discussions. On the outer circle, we saw additional familiar faces, youth who usually come to Zion Square late at night, walking by slowly and watching and listening to what was going on. When we usually have a debate evening, I’m a little tense, trying to see where the best place is for me at any moment – if we need a speaker, if there is something outside the circle that might disrupt the discussion, making sure that everything is working. On the eve of Jerusalem Day, from the moment that the event began, I had the opportunity to take a few steps back, to speak with people in the audience, and to see people who choose to listen respectfully to different opinions.

The evening was so successful that it was almost a shame to wrap it up. But at around 23:30 we decided we needed to finish up the event. All of us, the regulars, the night’s participants and the audience, left with a feeling of elation and great achievement. We knew that it was an especially successful evening. One of the reasons that the energy in the Square was so positive was because of the variety of events produced by A Different Day in Jerusalem for Jerusalem Day. People came to the Square whom I had known only on Facebook, and it was especially nice to connect faces with names.

Here’s the Facebook post (Hebrew):

Here is what an onlooker had to say about Speaking in the Square, and A Different Day in Jerusalem in general:

Naomi Roff2016-07-09T12:47:32+00:00June 7th, 2016|Blog, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, Palestinians/Arabs, Promoting Tolerance in Jerusalem, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

“A Different Day in Jerusalem” – Painting the Town Tolerant on Jerusalem Day

Thank you Jerusalem. Thank you Jerusalemites. You helped us to re-claim Jerusalem Day via a variety of activities designed to promote tolerance, and we lit up the city!

Finally, a day that enables us, Jerusalemites, to respect one another and for us all to have a voice. Indeed, with all the sensitivities surrounding this day, Jerusalem Day is the most important time to emphasize the need for a more tolerant Jerusalem for all the various identities and groups living here. It was about Jews and Arabs, Jewish denominations, Christians and Muslims, transgenders, asylum seekers and refugees, Jewish Olim, etc.

“Tarbuth” tour on the Haredi-non-Haredi seamline

It was a tidal wave of tolerant events in Jerusalem. More than 50 projects, programs, initiatives, events, concerts, tours, activities, discussions, readings, yoga and more, all showing respect to other people in Jerusalem. Tens of thousands of people (probably even more, but who’s counting?) were exposed to and participated in lectures, tours, discussions and events; saw us and our signs and exhibits on the streets, heard us on the radio, debated with us, read about us in the newspapers and on Facebook.

Most important – it was not just us – it was a mass effort of vastly diverse people and initiatives. The many events were produced and organized by many groups of activists all around the city who responded to our call and made it happen. We helped, mentored, supported, integrated, solved issues, coordinated the combined internet site, Facebook event, flyer etc. We worked really hard…. but most of the energy was put out by the hundreds of activists who did the work. It is extremely important, since this makes it sustainable (people are already sure that it will become an annual tradition…) and also because it means that the success belongs not to us, but to all the residents of Jerusalem.

“Another Day in Jerusalem” Flyer

We started on Saturday afternoon, with a different tour of Katamon, as well as a tour on Jerusalem’s seam line between east and west.

A Different Katamon

Later on, we heard doctoral student Eran Tzidkiyahu and journalist Elhanan Miller at the Nocturno Cafe, discussing the national influences of local ideologies. Here’s a video of that event (in Hebrew):

After stopping for coffee we moved on to Zion Square, where Speaking in the Square held their famous debate. The debates were about the Temple Mount, Jerusalem Day parades in the Muslim Quarter, and dividing Jerusalem with walls. There were people representing the entire political and religious spectrum, and the energy was incredible! Throughout the night several hundred people passed by, stopped for a few minutes, and listened, spoke, discussed, debated. All in a very Jerusalemite way, respectfully.

Speaking in the Square

“It was fascinating to see people from very different political and religious views sit down and debate the issues in a constructive and respectful way,” said Daniel, an onlooker. “Wonderful to see great positive energy pushing back at the too often feelings of despair.”

The next morning we were on Israel Radio’s Reshet Bet drive time morning show, “Seder Yom with Keren Neubach,” together with representatives from the Yerushalmim Movement and Machon Shacharit, who also participated in A Different Day in Jerusalem. Here’s the link to the interview. It was also posted on Shacharit’s Facebook page (in Hebrew):

At 11, we went to a Ju Jitsu workshop entitled, “The Connection between Mediation, Ju Jitsu and Acceptance of the Other,” which was held together with Mosaica – The Center for Conflict Resolution by Agreement and the Jerusalem School of Traditional Ju Jitsu.

Between Ju Jitsu, Mediation and Acceptance of the Other

After a short break, activities started up again in the afternoon. At 2:30 pm, our own Merav Horowitz, Director of the Window on Mt. Zion project, led a tour of Mt. Zion entitled, “Status Quo and Tolerance.”

Learning about relations between the religions on Mt. Zion

Meanwhile, downtown, the Ruach Nachon Mechina Post Secondary Leadership Academy stationed themselves opposite Safra Square, a key location that many tourists and visitors passed by as they made their way toward the Old City. They greeted the throngs of passersby with music, inviting them to share their visions and wishes for Jerusalem. They also led tolerance activities on the Jerusalem light rail.

With music and blessings for Jerusalem

For those wishing to send messages of peace to Israel’s neighbors, Hamabul Collective’s “Jerusalem Says Hello” project enabled them to do so.

A little later, events gained momentum and were happening simultaneously. Downtown, members of Tag Meir distributed flowers to Palestinian residents of the Old City. And huge placards of poetry in Hebrew and Arabic, written by Jewish Israeli and Muslim poets, and translated into the ‘other’ language, could be seen along Jaffa Road. Anyone and everyone walking or marching down Jaffa Road that day, saw those signs.

Jewish and Muslim poets for all to see

At the same time, in the south of the city, the Yerushalemim Movement held its Jerusalem Day Family Parade along the Jerusalem Railway Park. A thousand men, women and children celebrated the day. There was also a workshop for children at the Reading Station on the Railway Park, as well as a story hour operated by the Talpiot Tolerance Team.

Jerusalem Day Family Parade

As evening descended, events continued – multicultural parties, salon meetings, musical performances and concerts, including a “Chafla” at the Tahrir Bar and a discussion on: The Temple Mount: An Opportunity for Inter-religious Tolerance, with (newly sworn in) Likud MK Yehuda Glick and Yariv Oppenheimer, General Director of the Peace Now movement, moderated by veteran journalist Peggy Cidor.

Inter-religious Chafla at the Tahrir

Rounding out the evening was the event by 0202 – A View from East Jerusalem – which interviewed journalists from different sectors about their individual sector’s news coverage of Jerusalem Day. We heard the point of view of the local Palestinian population, the local Ultra-Orthodox population, the religious population and others. It was fascinating.

And this was just a sampling of the 50 events and activities that took place throughout the city. Here is a selected list of main events in English, and here is a complete list in Hebrew.

Our dedicated web site, jerusalemtolerance.org, also helped people know about and navigate the different events.

We received a good deal of press coverage as well. Some can be seen in previous posts we had here:

Another example was in the Ha’aretz daily newspaper. You can read in in PDF format here.

Elhanan Miller Haaretz article

We also appeared on the home page of the Washington Times! Here’s the link to the article. You can read a .pdf of the article here.

Washington Times front page

And, of course, in the Jerusalem Post, after as well as before the event:

Pride not Prejudice, Jerusalem Post

Did you see our Michal Shilor on TV describing “A Different Day in Jerusalem”? Here it is, in case you missed (in Hebrew):

And this was just a sample of the press coverage…

Many, many thanks to our partners in this project: UJA-Federation of New York, the Jerusalem Foundation, This is Jerusalem, Jerusalem Center for Young Adults.

Naomi Roff2017-05-02T07:11:23+00:00June 6th, 2016|Asylum Seekers, Blog, Christians, Effective Activism, Ethiopian Jews, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, Jewish-Palestinian/Arab, New Immigrants, Palestinians/Arabs, Promoting Tolerance in Jerusalem, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

Dr. Hagai Agmon-Snir, in an Op-Ed Article for NRG

As we get ready of Jerusalem Day, and “A Different Day in Jerusalem,” we’ve been very active in promoting the great variety of events that are going to take place.

Now our Director, Dr. Hagai Agmon-Snir, weighs in in an Op-Ed piece that was published on the NRG web site on Thursday, June 2. Click below for the full article in Hebrew:

Article from NRG

And here’s an English translation:

We Can Change the Culture of Hate on Jerusalem Day

The fight for tolerance must be waged throughout the year. But we must not desist from fighting for tolerance on Jerusalem Day. When the hatemongers try to turn the national pride into an opportunity for incitement, we must re-claim the message of tolerance in the city.

One, two, three or four Jerusalems; Israeli, Palestinian, French or international sovereignty. In any future scenario, the metropolis called Jerusalem will need to function, both in the short and long term. But without tolerance and without a consistent fight against hate and racism in Jerusalem, the city will decline and collapse. It will be bad for the Palestinians, it will be bad for the Jews, it will be bad for those who are more religious and even for those who are less so. It will be bad for the citizens, it will be bad for the permanent residents, for asylum seekers and for tourists. Even if we disagree on the “correct” future for the city, we must come together and raise a voice for tolerance and calm in the city – today.

After 49 years, Jerusalem is a city torn apart. Arabs, Jews, Ultra-Orthodox, Reform, immigrants from Ethiopia, France, Russia and USA, asylum seekers from Eritrea, millions of Christian pilgrims. In other cities in the western world, this diversity is seen, alongside the challenge, as an asset. As an opportunity to create a lively, interesting, attractive city, rich in human, social and cultural resources, a place for the development of the arts, a place for the development of thought.

In Jerusalem, on the other hand, a culture of hate, incitement, racism and violence causes us, residents of the city, to look around us in fear and ask, what will our next trip on the light rail look like? What political maneuvering will be done tomorrow in the Municipality by the groups that hate me? Who will be my scary neighbor next year?

There are those for whom hate is good. Most of them don’t live here. Politicians who sacrifice Jerusalem for their fight for a seat and along the way create divisions among us. World leaders who get involved in Jerusalem matters that they don’t understand. Official armies and terrorists whose job it is that we hate one another.

We, who live in Jerusalem day by day, pay the price. The fire of hate is lit within us all too easily. We become committed to incitement easily, too. We don’t feel how racism and violence hurt us and eat away at us – from the inside.

And then comes Jerusalem Day – a day that is oh so tense, socially and politically. This year it comes on June 5, a day on which the Palestinians, one third of the city’s residents, commemorate, Yom Hanaksa (Day of the Defeat). Defeat creates hate – one doesn’t need to be a brain researcher to know this. Simultaneously, the Jews celebrate the liberation of the city, often in a way that rejoices in the others’ defeat. And their joy is mixed with anger, since despite the perfect victory, we still watch our backs when we’re walking in the street, in case someone comes at us with a knife.

And there are many on the Jewish side who are ashamed of the atmosphere of gloating, and lower their heads in hopes that the day will be over. And I know a significant number of Palestinians who are ashamed that the atmosphere of defeat causes a caustic hate on their side.

Of course, the fight for tolerance must be waged throughout the year. But we must not desist from fighting for tolerance on Jerusalem Day. When the hatemongers try to turn the national pride into an opportunity for incitement, we must insist, even on Jerusalem Day, to re-claim the tolerant message of the city.

Yes, we will continue to argue over liberation or occupation, if an open button is considered too immodest for a woman, and on shops closed on Shabbat. We will debate in sign language and in Braille, in Arabic, in Tigriniya, and in Hebrew. But on Jerusalem Day we, lovers of Jerusalem, will demonstrate that in our special city, one like no other in the world, there is a strong and stable core of tolerance that stubbornly declares: “Jerusalem will be all that we dream for it, for us all!”

Naomi Roff2016-06-12T14:30:34+00:00June 4th, 2016|Blog, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Promoting Tolerance in Jerusalem|

Window to Mt. Zion – Documenting the Mount

We see a lot of different people here on Mt. Zion – Jews, Christians, Muslims, all groups, all ages.

Opera singers on Mt. Zion

But we don’t often see opera singers.

Until this past Saturday night, on May 28, as part of the Jerusalem Municipality’s Festival of Light.

Festival of Light

At the same time, nearby at David’s Tomb, a musical experience from an entirely different world was taking place – and traditional Saturday night Melave Malkah feast – Hassidic songs and dancing into the night.

Melave Malka

Opera and Hassidic songs, both on one Mount. Only in Jerusalem!

Singing and dancing into the night

Thanks to Window on Mt. Zion for the documentation.

Here’s the Facebook post in Hebrew:

And a few videos.

Naomi Roff2017-05-02T07:12:18+00:00June 3rd, 2016|Blog, Christians, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, Mount Zion, Promoting Tolerance in Jerusalem|

A Different Day for the Capital – Article in Jerusalem Post

Ahead of Jerusalem Day and “A Different Day in Jerusalem,” (and also here) we were written up in the Jerusalem Post. Click here to view the PDF version. (Click here for the online version.)

Jerusalem Post article

And here’s the text of the article:

A different day for the capital
By LAURA KELLY
June 3, 2016
Spearheading alternative initiatives for this pivotal day in an effort to show ‘Jerusalem knows how to be tolerant.’

The first time Michal Shilor attended the Flag March – the annual parade on Jerusalem Day from the city center to the Western Wall – she was horrified.

“There’s this image that on Jerusalem Day, the city gets bombarded by all these foreigners,” Shilor says in an interview with In Jerusalem, “and then they leave, and we’re left to pick up the pieces of the ‘wars’ that happen here during that day.”

While the day is supposed to celebrate the reunification of Jerusalem, it highlights deep divides in the capital. As thousands of revelers march through east Jerusalem, many Arab residents feel the parade is a provocation – the message being that Israel is for the Jews, and Arab residents are not welcome.

Last year, a petition to change the route of the parade to avoid Arab neighborhoods – where instances of vandalism, racist chanting and violence have been documented in the past – was rejected by the High Court of Justice. However, the judges did write in their decision that there should be a zero tolerance policy for racist acts.

Shilor, 26, works at the Jerusalem Intercultural Center and this year, is spearheading the first A Different Day for Jerusalem program as an answer to the Flag March.

From Saturday evening to Sunday evening, A Different Day for Jerusalem has a roster of nearly 50 events by grassroots organizations and activists who want to show the tolerant side of the city. Events range from neighborhood tours, parlor talks in bars and restaurants around Jerusalem, a public tent to hear stories of the bereaved families from both sides of the conflict, to street debates, community theater and even an Iranian embassy. All seek to give Jerusalemites and visitors an opportunity to see the patchwork of people that make up the city.

“The idea is to say on Jerusalem Day – which is something that most of the civil society in Jerusalem just doesn’t know how to deal with – that we want everything we’ve been doing all year to come together on this day specifically because this is the most important day to show that Jerusalem knows how to be tolerant,” she asserts.

In addition to her work at the JICC, Shilor is the founder of 0202, a Facebook page that translates Arabic news from east Jerusalem into Hebrew and English.

Shilor says the idea for 0202 was born out of frustration, simply wanting to know and understand a third of the population she was living with.

The organization has a staff of 20 people, all of whom are working partly on a volunteer basis – “I’m volunteering completely,” Shilor says – that follow 150 Arabic Facebook pages. They include some of the bigger news media, such as the Gaza-based Shahab news agency or Al Quds Aulan [Jerusalem First]. But more interesting, says Shilor, are the community-based pages.

One in particular is Mini-Active, a group of 1,000 women from east Jerusalem who document municipal failings in their community, bring it to the attention of the municipality, and then post on Facebook when the problem is resolved.

The challenge, says Shilor, is to be able to develop a comprehensive picture of what people are really concerned with in east Jerusalem.

“If you look at daily life in east Jerusalem, it consists of very basic needs that aren’t being met, but you’re not going to read about that in the news. You’re going to read about how ‘The Occupation Forces did this and this and this.’” Most difficult for the group were the months leading up to October 2015, the start of more than six months of terrorism that saw attacks by Palestinians – shootings, stabbings, car rammings and a bus bomb – targeting Israelis. Thirty Israelis and four foreigners were killed in such attacks, and more than 200 Palestinians were killed while carrying out attacks or in other violent confrontations with the IDF.

As they continued to follow the media, the cycle of violence became increasingly clear. With an attack came the coverage by the media. The sharing on social media of graphic images, often without context, would incite more people to undertake attacks. While in the Hebrew and English media there is more background information, in the Arabic media this is lacking.

“They [the Arabic media in east Jerusalem] also don’t say why people were arrested. When people are released, they don’t say what they were arrested for,” Shilor explains.

She adds that no matter what the facts are, it’s the divergence in narrative that is significant. She gives the example of an east Jerusalem Palestinian friend who’s afraid she’ll be accused of having a knife on her, and an Israeli-Jewish friend who’s afraid to walk in the street or go to the Old City.

“Whatever the facts are doesn’t really matter because it affects people differently.”

Shilor’s vision for the project, however, goes beyond the Jewish-Arab divide.

Eventually she would like to open up two other translation pages – a Jerusalem page following the ultra-Orthodox community and one for the more secular or modern-Orthodox west Jerusalem.

“The same event can be seen through so many different lenses, and it affects different people in so many different ways. We don’t have to agree with the other people, but we have to understand that they see it differently,” she maintains.

“That’s the first step toward living better in this city.”

Many thanks to the UJA-Federation of New York and the Jerusalem Foundation for their support of this project.

Naomi Roff2016-06-12T13:10:12+00:00June 3rd, 2016|Blog, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Promoting Tolerance in Jerusalem|

MiniActive Community Cleanup – Taking Responsibility for Your Own Street

Part of the guiding principle of MiniActive is that residents take responsibility for their own environments – neighborhoods, streets, schools.

Cleaning up our streets

As part of this effort, MiniActive has organized several community clean-ups.

Sweeping, collecting

Community cleanup number 2 took place on May 21 in Kufr Aqeb. The main participants – 20 teenage boys from a local school.

Organizing into teams

Many thanks to the school and its staff for their support!

Dividing up the equipment

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation for their continued support of this program.

Here’s the Facebook post in Arabic:

Naomi Roff2016-07-02T15:02:34+00:00June 2nd, 2016|Blog, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, MiniActive, Palestinians/Arabs|

“Jerusalem as a Culturally Competent City” Conference

In what other setting could you find the Jewish Mayor of Jerusalem introduced in both Hebrew and Arabic, followed by the President of the Jerusalem Foundation, herself addressing the audience in English, Hebrew and Arabic, followed by a Muslim Canadian keynote speaker of Pakistani origin? Only at the “Jerusalem as a Culturally Competent City” conference, which we hosted, along with the Jerusalem Foundation, at the Jerusalem Cinematheque on Tuesday, May 17.

It was the culmination of 10 years of working to advance cultural competency, together with the Jerusalem Foundation. What began as focusing on health care, at the ALYN Rehabilitative Hospital, at Clalit primary care clinics and at the Hadassah Medical Center Mount Scopus has blossomed into a concept that encompasses all fields and all sectors, in Jerusalem and throughout Israel.

Opening the conference in Arabic and Hebrew

Throughout the day over 300 people participated, listening to over 70 speakers. They came from all walks of life, from all different fields. We had professionals from the municipality, senior officials in planning, education, welfare and community life. We had researchers and leaders from colleges, universities and think tanks. We had active community residents. We had professionals from a wide range of NGO’s. We had the Israel Police and the IDF. We had Christian and Muslim Arabs, some residents of East Jerusalem, some not. We had secular, traditional, religious and ultra-Orthodox Jews. The entire day was conducted with Arabic, Hebrew and English on equal footing. (You can see the tri-lingual program here.) We had it all. We had Jerusalem in all its wonderful diversity.

The tri-lingual invitation

Throughout the day, we discussed ways that service providers, in all fields, can make their services equally accessible to all of Jerusalem’s populations, making them culturally competent. And on the residents’ side, we discussed ways that they can work to improve their own access to these rights and services, many of which are guaranteed them by law. We discussed strategies and challenges, and the process in between. It was fascinating, exhilarating and downright riveting.

Ms. Uzma Shakir, Keynote Speaker

Mayor Nir Barkat opened the conference, saying: “The starting point for any activity that we do in Jerusalem is the city’s unique DNA, which is unlike any other city in the world.” When the city was founded, more than 3,000 years ago, “its gates were open to everyone, all tribes, Jewish and not…No one felt like they were a guest in Jerusalem…Everyone found their place,” he continued. It is this philosophy, where everyone finds their place, that informs us to this day.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat at conference

Yohanna Arbib-Perugia, President of the Jerusalem Foundation, was the next speaker. She emphasized the important role of cultural competence in a diverse and unique city as Jerusalem. Seeing the Jerusalem Intercultural Center as a strategic partner of the Foundation, she believes that the focus of the Foundation on cultural competence will deepen in the coming years.

Uzma Shakir, Director of the Office of Equity, Diversity and Human Rights, City of Toronto, was the keynote speaker. She described the processes taking place in Toronto and throughout Canada regarding multiculturalism and cultural competency, which include developing approaches appropriate to the vastly different population groups in Canada, from the native populations to the Francophone community of Quebec to recent immigrants from south Asia and elsewhere. She first defined the role of cultural competency:

Cultural competency can be viewed in two ways: it can either be seen as paternalistic and prescriptive – something you do for others who have either limited or unequal power to claim their rights; or transformative and critical – consciously producing spaces that address those power differentials in a meaningful manner and eventually lead to an equitable and just society. In other words, cultural competency can mean being nice to people while maintaining the status quo of inequality or it can mean empowering marginalized people to take control over their own destiny and to change the conditions in society to produce equitable and just outcomes for all. However, this requires an honest recognition of who is marginalized and then consciously co-creating the conditions for inclusion. In this sense, Toronto has its challenges just like Jerusalem and provides some compelling lessons.

She explained the desired outcome of culturally competent processes through this picture:

Three views of Equity

In the first approach, existing infrastructures render services equally for different people. However, since people’s needs are different, equal provision of services does not create proper equality. In the second approach, adjustments are made, often ad hoc, to be able to work within the existing infrastructure to provide services in a way that responds differently to the different needs. In the third approach, infrastructure is built from the start with the different needs of different people in mind, to enable each to meet his or her particular needs in the best way possible.

Here is Ms. Shakir’s full speech:

For the speech in written form, click here.

Discussing challenges to cultural competency

Following the opening session, four parallel sessions addressed different aspects of cultural competency. These included, “Setting & Implementing Cultural Competence Policy in An Organization,” “Cultural Competence in the Public Sphere,” “Coping with Social and Political Tensions in a Multicultural City,” and “Cultural Competence Activities of the Community.” Speakers included the directors of the Bloomfield Science Museum Jerusalem, Museum of Islamic Art, the Tisch Family Zoological Gardens, the ALYN Hospital Pediatric Rehabilitation Center, the Haredi College, community centers from around the city, senior officials in the Municipality, and many, many more.

Setting and implementing cultural competence in organizations

Setting and implementing cultural competence policy in organizations

Even lunch was an exercise in cultural competency. Different foods were labeled with no translation in a range of languages – from Amharic to Russian to Polish and more. Choosing food at the buffet became a funny challenge….

How do you say salmon in Amharic?

After lunch the plenary session discussed major organizations’ efforts to make their services culturally competent. Speakers ranged from the Director of Community Services Administration in the Jerusalem Municipality, the President of Hadassah Academic College, the Director of the Jerusalem Center for Mental Health, and the Commander of the David Precinct of the Israel Police (which includes the all resident quarters of the Old City (Christian Quarter, Muslim Quarter, Armenian Quarter, Jewish Quarter), plus sites such as the Western Wall, the Temple Mount / Haram al-Sharif, Mount Zion and the David’s Tomb complex). The final parallel sessions discussed case studies in cultural competency in different fields – education, health care (This was considered ‘advanced cultural competency’ since indeed our work began in health care some 10 years ago.), arts and culture and community activism toward tolerance.

Our heartfelt thanks go to the Jerusalem Foundation for their partnership and support over these past 10 years. And many congratulations on their 50th anniversary celebrations, of which this conference was a part.

It was the first conference surveying cultural competency in Jerusalem. Will there be another? Stay tuned to find out.

Looking for more? Here’s the video of the entire opening session:

Naomi Roff2017-05-02T07:31:16+00:00June 1st, 2016|Asylum Seekers, Blog, Christians, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Academic Institutions, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Cultural Competence in the Workplace, Ethiopian Jews, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, New Immigrants, Palestinians/Arabs, Santé Israël - French internet platform on the Israeli healthcare system, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

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Monthly Archives: June 2016

We Can Change the Culture of Hate on Jerusalem Day

The fight for tolerance must be waged throughout the year. But we must not desist from fighting for tolerance on Jerusalem Day. When the hatemongers try to turn the national pride into an opportunity for incitement, we must re-claim the message of tolerance in the city.

A different day for the capital By LAURA KELLY June 3, 2016 Spearheading alternative initiatives for this pivotal day in an effort to show ‘Jerusalem knows how to be tolerant.’

A different day for the capital
By LAURA KELLY
June 3, 2016
Spearheading alternative initiatives for this pivotal day in an effort to show ‘Jerusalem knows how to be tolerant.’