March, 2018 | The Jerusalem Intercultural Center

Celebrating a Decade of Cultural Competence

It’s really been 10 years, a decade since we began our Cultural Competency project in the health system. In March 2008 we held what turned out to be the first conference on Cultural Competency at the ALYN Rehabilitative Hospital. In the 10 years since, we, and ALYN, have been trailblazers in cultural competency in Israel. ALYN was the first hospital to strive for full cultural competence on an everyday level, and we have become national leaders in cultural competency not only in the health care system, but in a range of different areas – from the work place to welfare and other municipal departments.

Dr. Maurit Be’ere and Daud Alian, addressing the first lecture celebrating a decade of Cultural Competency

We decided to celebrate this accomplishment with a series of lectures on Cultural Competency. The first focused on a lecture by Daud Alian, Director of the Atta’a Assistance Center for the Rights of Palestinian East Jerusalem Residents, on accessibility of Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem to health, welfare and education services.

The audience, listening attentively

ALYN’s lecture hall was full. Dr. Adit Dayan, Director of Community Projects from the Jerusalem Foundation, our strategic partner in Cultural Competency since its inception, opened the conference, along with Dr. Maurit Be’ere, Director of ALYN and the person responsible for bring cultural competency to the hospital, and Tal Cohen, who today is the coordinator for cultural competence at ALYN.

We can’t thank the Jerusalem Foundation enough for their partnership over the years.

Naomi Roff2018-10-27T06:29:06+00:00March 24th, 2018|Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Academic Institutions, Cultural Competence in Government Institutions, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Cultural Competence in Jerusalem Municipality, Cultural Competence in Police, Cultural Competence in the Workplace, Identity Groups and Conflicts|

Atta’a: Broadcasting its Expertise

We’ve already noted here how Atta’a has become the #1 go-to resource for East Jerusalem Palestinians seeking information about matters having to do with the Israel Ministry of the Interior, coming up first (even before the official site) in any Arabic-language Google search for “Israel Ministry of the Interior, Jerusalem.”

Long lines outside Israel Ministry of the Interior East Jerusalem branch

Now, Atta’a is broadcasting its expertise in mainstream Arabic-language media as well. On February 17, Atta’a Director, Daud Alian, appeared in a 25-minute interview on Palestinian television, describing the situation that many Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem face when trying to deal with the Israel Ministry of the Interior. Here’s the video, from the Atta’a Facebook page:

A few weeks later, a story on the same subject appeared in the Arabic-language East Jerusalem-based Al-Quds newspaper, the largest and most widely read Arabic-language daily newspaper in the Palestinian territories. Here’s a link to the online version of the article, and a picture of the printed version:

Article in the Al-Quds newspaper March 6, 2108

0202-Points of View from Jerusalem translated parts of the article into Hebrew. Here are a few selected quotes:

The Suffering of Those Needing Services from the Israeli Ministry of the Interior is Only Getting Worse

Daud Alian, Director of the Atta’a Center, which specializes in informing residents about procedures of the Ministry of the Interior, the National Insurance Institute and the Jerusalem Municipality, says that the situation at the Israel Ministry of Interior branch in Wadi Joz in East Jerusalem is tragic. He added that the tragic occurrence that happened yesterday, like every day…a long line of people waiting to get into the office, reminded him of the old Ministry of Interior branch on Nablus Road 20 years ago – only suffering and crowding.

Alian noted that the Ministry of Interior shirked its responsibility of setting appointments to complete different procedures. Instead, all appointments must be set through the ‘My Visit’ mobile app, which is not associated with the Ministry of Interior and which is only available in Hebrew and English. In addition, currently the app isn’t working and appointments cannot be made. He added that in most cases when residents try to call to make an appointment, the Ministry of Interior doesn’t answer. And if it does, they only speak in Hebrew.

Alian believes that the only way the problem can be solved is if large numbers of residents flock to the branch every day, like what happened yesterday. Only then, when the Ministry of Interior sees how bad the problem is, will something be done to relieve the situation.

And here’s 0202’s Facebook post (Hebrew):

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation for their continued support of Atta’a and its vital work.

Naomi Roff2018-04-21T09:26:13+00:00March 20th, 2018|Attaa, Blog, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Palestinians/Arabs|

The Little Prince – Working Together, Top Down and Bottom-Up

Over the past several months we are seeing a new wave of activism for a cleaner and greener Jerusalem, in all parts of Jerusalem. It’s great to see the energy (renewable, we hope :)) going into these efforts. It turns out that the issue of cleanliness and the environment is common to all populations in Jerusalem, all who are sick and tired of seeing a dirty city.

Much of the work is local and targeted, and is solved by working with the different professionals in the Jerusalem Municipality, and / or via various educational and clean-up activities. In parallel, we saw a need to bring the issue of sanitation and clean streets to the fore among on the political – not only the professional – level. Thus, we, together with the program partners, initiated a number of meetings with key political leaders in the Jerusalem Municipality. We wanted to hear the views and opinions of the city decision-makers. What do they think? What’s on the city agenda?

And indeed it seems that the issue of sanitation and the environment is going to be a central and leading issue for every elected official, heading into the city’s 2018 municipal elections.

Meeting with Deputy Mayor Rabbi Pindrus to discuss garbage

We opened our series of meetings with local decision makers with the Deputy Mayor Rabbi Yitzhak Pindrus, who is responsible for sanitation on Sunday, January 28. On February 26, we met with Moshe Lion, who is today in charge of the community centers.

Activists from Palestinian East Jerusalem, from Haredi and non-Haredi Jewish neighborhoods also participated. It was obvious to all present that the responsibility for cleaning up Jerusalem is on all of us, both residents and the Municipality, elected officials and professionals. Residents told about their activities and what they seek to accomplish. They asked how they can help the Municipality to keep the city clean, and how the Municipality can help them improve cleanliness in the public sphere. They discussed infrastructure, supervision, sub-contractors, communication and joint work, budgets, procedures, information and responsibility. Hard to believe how garbage can bring people together… 🙂

Meeting with Moshe Lion

The bottom line – the importance of building relationships and to work together toward a common goal – a cleaner Jerusalem. Both Deputy Mayor Rabbi Pindrus and Moshe Lion stressed that cleanliness and sanitation are central issues for him, and he’ll be able to push to do more if there is a strong rallying cry from residents, demanding the Municipality’s action.

The residents also gave updates from the field – a new subcontractor began clearing garbage in the Shuafat Refugee Camp and a group of 50 Cleanliness Promoters in the Bucharim neighborhood who will be working in the public gardens and entrances to buildings before the Passover holiday.

Here’s a Facebook post (in Hebrew) describing the encounter with Rabbi Pindrus:

Here’s the post (in Hebrew) about the February 26 meeting with Moshe Lion:

So this is our mission: to raise our voice that we – and the city – need clean streets. Together we’ll be able to accomplish great things.

Naomi Roff2018-04-21T09:24:38+00:00March 15th, 2018|Blog, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, The Little Prince - Cleaning Jerusalem Together|

Cultural Competency Coordinators – Putting Themselves in the ‘Other’s Shoes

One of the best ways to reduce inter-cultural tensions is by mentalization – understanding everyone’s viewpoints, needs and wants. Acknowledging the complexity of the situation, and even going through the process, helps to ease tensions, explained Irit Hovitz Fleishman, MSW, Founder and CEO of Grand Staff, which helps organizations and businesses manage greatly diverse staffs. Irit was the guest lecturer at the quarterly meeting of Jerusalem-based Cultural Competency Coordinators that took place on March 7, 2018, at the JICC.

Learning new tools for cultural competency with Irit Hovitz Fleishman

There were representatives from ALYN, Hadassah (Mount Scopus and Ein Kerem), Sha’are Zedek hospitals; the Jerusalem Center for Mental Health; Leumit and Meuchedet HMO’s; and even the newly-appointed Cultural Competency coordinator for the Yehuda Abarbanel Mental Health Center in Tel Aviv. Each representative was asked to bring a few case studies that required cultural sensitivity. The encounter was dedicated to learning Irit’s unique method of multi-cultural management, as well as learning practical methods by examining the case studies.

Examples included:

Maintaining volunteers from many cultures
Sensitivities to status and the boundaries of different positions
Cultural adaptations of staff events and holiday-time presents
Dealing effectively with political tensions resulting from outside events
Managing staff meetings, dietary restrictions (Kashrut, Halal), fasts, holidays (and vacation time)

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation, which has been a strategic partner in Cultural Competency since its inception.

Naomi Roff2018-04-14T08:51:47+00:00March 12th, 2018|Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Identity Groups and Conflicts|

From Tolerance Week to Martin Luther King – A Winter Wonderland of Tolerant Holidays

We reported before about the last Jerusalem Tolerance Week, the 8 days in mid-November with over 30 initiatives trumpeting tolerance in the city.

Well, it didn’t end there. As November blended into December, the new month brought with it a slew of activities where tolerance triumphed, from the Ethiopian Sigd to Christmas at the YMCA and on Mount Zion to a multi-cultural Hanukkah candle-lighting to the 7-week Holidays from Within Festival, which featured events celebrating Sigd, Hanukkah, Christmas, the Birth of the Prophet Muhammad, and Novy God (their Festival was covered in Hebrew on YNET).

Winter holidays, promoting tolerance

All the events basically fit celebrated one of these five holidays:

1.The Ethiopian Jewish holiday of Sigd (see here and here for more details):

November 16: A guided tour of the official Sigd ceremony at the Promenade in East Talpiot
November 16: Sigd Celebration at Beit Avi Chai
November 19: Ethiopian art workshop with the Ethiopian community of embroiderers
November 20 & 22: Sigd celebrations with Israeli families of Ethiopian descent
November 21: Ethiopian cooking workshop
November 22: A neighborhood Sigd celebration in Kiryat Hayovel, including a Museum in a Suitcase
November 22: A Story along the Way

A family celebration of the Sigd holiday

2. The birth of the Prophet Muhammad (see here for more details):

November 29: Celebration in Ein Rafa
December 1: Lecture on customs and traditions in Islam
December 1: Festive tour of the Muslim Quarter
December 3: Home hospitality (in the YNET Hebrew article you can see a video about this event)

3. Chanukah (see here for more details)

December 12 – 20: Nightly pluralist candle lighting in neighborhoods throughout the city
December 12: Candle lighting with ‘Hamiklat’ Haredi art gallery
December 13: Candle lighting with a Haredi family
December 13: Inter-religious candle lighting and Christmas party in French Hill
December 14: A Jerusalem dreidle-scavenger hunt, followed by a Chanukah party
December 15: Visit to the Karaite community in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City
December 15: Visit to the Messianic Jewish community in the Old City
December 18: Chanukah photography tour
December 18: Inter-religious candle lighting at the First Station
December 19: Tour of Meah Shearim
December 20: Haredi – Secular Chanuka encounter

Learning about different Chanukah traditions

4. Christmas (See here for more details)

November 26: Decorating the Jerusalem International YMCA’s giant Christmas tree
December 15 – 17: Christmas Bazaar
December 22: Tour of the secrets of the Jerusalem International YMCA
December 22: Tour of the Christian Quarter of the Old City
December 24: Christmas Eve concert
December 24: Volunteering at the Christmas Even mass at the Dormition Abbey
January 6: Tour of Orthodox Christian sites in preparation for the Orthodox Christmas

Christmas at the Jerusalem International YMCA

5. And Novy God, the Russian New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day celebration. (See here for more details.)

December 27: Lecture on the history of Novy God
December 28: Tusovka Novy God Celebration

And of course we can’t forget the Kids4Peace winter event, that celebrated all the events together.

What was the impact of these events? Kehilat Zion, which participated in the inter-religious Chanukah candle-lighting at the Train Station, summed it up like this:

We wanted to take all of the little lights that throughout the year so many partners are working to shine, and to empower them together on one hanukkiah of hope in the public sphere.

Because in Earthly Jerusalem, something different is possible, and most of us choose to act different and to light hope. Together with communities of men and women from different neighborhoods, religions, and cultures who are joined in the belief in a Jerusalem of alliances and mutual caring; communities of individuals and groups who work and believe in a Jerusalem of good neighborliness and of friendship.

This, despite a group of hate-shouting youth who tried to disrupt the ceremony. Here’s the full Facebook post:

Kehilat Zion spoke specifically about Chanukah, but this is what we’re aiming for year-round. Over the 7-8 weeks, between Sigd and Orthodox Christmas, there were so many events (we counted some 50) it was hard to keep track. Well over 1,000 people, from all religions, all cultures, all languages. But also all Jerusalemites. Thank you Jerusalem for showing, yet again, your true colors of diversity. And thank you to the UJA-Federation of New York and the Jerusalem Foundation for helping us – and helping them- make it all happen.

Naomi Roff2019-11-16T11:37:53+00:00March 10th, 2018|Blog, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Promoting Tolerance in Jerusalem|