In the heart of East Jerusalem’s Jabel Mukabber neighborhood, a mountain of debris towers over the landscape, 875,000 cubic meters of construction waste, plastic, and hazardous materials piled high beside the American Road. For hundreds of families living nearby, this is not just an eyesore. It is a daily threat to their health, air, and quality of life.
The waste site, long neglected by authorities, emits toxic smoke that seeps into homes and schools, contaminating the air and endangering residents. “Children are developing respiratory problems and skin conditions. It is not just pollution, it is a crisis of neglect,” one local health official told us.
We could not remain indifferent. Guided by our mission to promote equity, safety, and wellbeing for all Jerusalemites, we brought together residents from both East and West Jerusalem to shed light on this urgent issue. Together, we organized two community tours of the waste mountain, drawing dozens of participants who came to see, listen, and stand together for change.
The visits created a shared sense of responsibility. Seeing the scale of the problem firsthand united residents from across the city, strengthening the call for immediate municipal action. “For the first time, people from both sides of the city stood together on that hill and said, this is unacceptable,” one participant reflected.
We also met with welfare and health officials, including representatives from Clalit Health Services, to better understand the impact on residents’ wellbeing. The findings were alarming, revealing growing rates of respiratory illness, rashes, and chronic conditions linked to long-term exposure to environmental pollution.
Thanks to the community’s persistence and our joint efforts, this issue is no longer seen as a local inconvenience but as a citywide environmental and public health priority.
We continue to work with our partners, residents, and local authorities to advocate for sustainable, long-term solutions. Our goal is simple, to ensure that every Jerusalem neighborhood enjoys clean air, a healthy environment, and a dignified quality of life.
In a city so often defined by division, our work in Jabel Mukabber shows what happens when people come together around shared concerns. It is a story of collaboration, empowerment, and hope.
Through community-led action, JICC proves once again that change in Jerusalem starts from the ground up, sometimes, quite literally, from the mountain beneath our feet.