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Cultural Competence in Hadassah Mount Scopus – Free Interpretation Service for Patients and more

Please see the Hadassah Medical Center press release from today:

17/03/2011

Free Translation Service for Hadassah’s Patients

For the past few months, Arabic and Russian-speaking patients at Hadassah-Mt. Scopus have been able to avail themselves of a free and professional translation service, thanks to the collaboration between the Hadassah Medical Organization, the Jerusalem Foundation, the Jerusalem Intercultural Center and volunteers from the community.

Research has shown that a language barrier between a patient and a physician often impedes care and treatment – the physician does not fully understand the patient’s complaints and the patient does not fully understand the treatment guidelines.

A generous donation from the Jerusalem Foundation enabled the establishment of B’sfatcha Center (In Your Language Center). Prof. Leon Epstein, Director Emeritus of the Hadassah-Hebrew University Braun School of Public Health, initiated the project, which is headed by Gila Segev of Hadassah’s Department of Social Services, and staffed by 30 trained volunteer medical translators.

A similar service will be soon been established at Hadassah-Ein Kerem.

Indeed, in September Hadassah Mount Scopus began training Arab and Russian-speaking volunteers to become medical interpreters. The JICC provided the volunteers with a 5-day medical interpretation course and helped in recruiting the volunteers and in establishing the service, together with the dedicated staff of the hospital. To date, there are 34 volunteer interpreters who are available for daytime rotations. The interpreters serve in the gynecology, emergency and internal medicine departments, where they are most needed, but can be requested by telephone to help out in any area of the hospital. In November, the first month the interpreters were made available at Hadassah, there were 83 requests for their services. By January the number had risen to 121. In the beginning of February the total number of requests reached 300.

Hadassah created a wonderful clip about the service (in Hebrew only):

Original at:http://youtu.be/RB8gHYG8W6M

Version with English subtitles (thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation):

Original at: http://youtu.be/yecOi2BiDjE

At the same time, we provided training workshops to around 80 hospital staff members about the uses and capabilities of these interpreters, as well as about principles and practical tools of cultural competence.

jicc2017-05-02T07:53:56+00:00March 17th, 2011|Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Identity Groups and Conflicts, New Immigrants, Palestinians/Arabs|

Silwan Well-Baby Clinic (Mother and Baby Centre) – March 2011 – Success!!

Be aware, this is a proud blog entry! The persistent efforts we made since the beginning of 2009 to re-open the Silwan Well-Baby clinic was for us a symbol for our unique work approach in Jerusalem. And now, that these efforts were successful, we feel that it helps us make the case for our approach. During this period of time, we have seen more successful examples for our way, but still, the success with this clinic is for us a milestone.

And now – to the details.

When we began our first steps with the community leadership of Silwan in the beginning of 2009, the issue of the Well-Baby Clinic was central. This critical service had been closed at the end of 2008 and some 100,000 people (including 15,000 babies and toddlers aged 0 – 5) were left without any way to receive in their neighborhood immunizations, track the children’s growth or development, check up on parents’ functioning, etc. Israel is very proud of its well-baby clinic system, in which 97% of all babies in Israel aged 0 – 5 are served. In east Jerusalem, only one-third of all children get to the few Israeli government operated Well-Baby Clinics. Another third receives vaccinations at alternative institutions such as the Red Crescent, UNWRA, etc., and no one knows what happens to the remaining third. After the Well-Baby Clinic was closed in 2008, due to budgetary cutbacks and after a problematic implementation, the densely-populated area of Silwan was left without any type of preventative health service for young children – not public, not alternative – a difficult setback for the health and development of small children in the area. Some of the parents were taking the infants to clinics outside the neighborhood, but many did not…

Following this development, it was only natural that we come into the picture. We described our work model in east Jerusalem in a short article. It is based on the principle of finding paths to dialogue based on enabling both residents of east Jerusalem and the bodies responsible for the relevant services to achieve tangible results. The JICC is not an advocate of the residents, nor are we are a PR company for the institutions. Our assumption is that, in many cases, more than are usually obvious, all sides are interested in finding solutions, and different obstacles (cultural gaps, political/social tensions, etc.) prevent both sides from finding a solution. Our job is to bridge these gaps and overcome these obstacles.

At the beginning of 2009, we turned to the professionals in the Municipality, who are responsible for Well-Baby Clinics in the city, and they agreed immediately in principle that the Well-Baby Clinic should be re-introduced. At the same time they also pointed out a long list of difficulties: from funding, which is supposed to come from the Israel Ministry of Health; finding a suitable place in Silwan, one that is both the right size and in the right location, that does not infringe on any building codes, and whose owners are willing to rent to the Jerusalem Municipality (no small challenge); successful marketing the service, since poor marketing in which many of the residents were put off from using the service was one of the main reasons the old clinic had been closed. On the other hand, the Silwan Valley Leadership Committee, which we helped to establish and mentor, expressed much interest in helping the process move forward.

We were on the cusp of success in late 2009 as the Well-Baby Clinic was placed in the 2010 municipal budget, thanks to a process that included all the relevant professionals as well as politicians in the Municipality, and community professionals and institutions. Unfortunately, in the last few days of 2009, right before the 2010 budget was approved, it was taken out, to our grave disappointment. We described our disappointment here in this blog. This reaction rippled into an article in Ha’aretz newspaper, which is quoted in the blog entry from 2009.

Yet, as we noted even then, we continued to work toward the goal that was common to all partners. Throughout an entire year, we made sure that the process was progressing – the Municipality turned to the Ministry of Health, the residents strengthened the request with a letter of their own, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) reminded the Municipality and the Ministry of Health of their legal obligations. As a result, budgets were retained from the Ministry of Health, and the residents and the Municipality set out to find a suitable location in the neighborhood. Such a place was found, all the legal and technical aspects were worked out, and last Thursday, on 10 March 2011 a lease was signed between the building owners and the Municipality, and today the process of adapting it to the needs of the Well-Baby Clinic has begun.

We are celebrating with our many partners on the lease signing. In addition to the leaders from East Jerusalemand the professionals at the municipality and the relevant NGOs, this success could not be achieved without the help of the Goldman Fund and the Jerusalem Foundation. Our work requires precise application of efforts made by our staff to facilitate these unique processes in the city of Jerusalem – and thanks to these funding organizations, we can do it well.

But we are of course not resting. We need to make sure that it won’t take a long time to ready the building for use, to hire professional staff, that the service starts on the right foot with successful marketing efforts augmented by the residents, and more. In parallel, we need to begin the process of opening an additional Well-Baby Clinic in northeast Jerusalem, which is also in desperate need. Fortunately, we are more familiar with the process and with our partners, who will be happy to help us in this endeavor.

And of course, the Silwan Valley Leadership Committee, that can celebrate its success on this issue, continues to work on many different and varied issues in which municipal and national services need to be improved – garbage removal, road improvement, planning and construction, and more. Despite the political question as to the future of Jerusalem, east Jerusalem residents must have adequate municipal services. The alternative is unthinkable

jicc2014-04-09T17:50:38+00:00March 13th, 2011|Blog, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Inter-Cultural Community Dialogue, Jewish-Palestinian/Arab, Palestinians/Arabs, Silwan Community Dialogue|

The official directive of the Israeli Ministry of Health on Cultural Competence is now formal!

Congratulations! We are proud to announce that the official directive of the Ministry of Health that deals with cultural competency in the health system in Israel has finally been published!

Link to the directive (Hebrew).

For a number of years the field of cultural competency has been backed by the weight of law abroad, albeit in varying ways and degrees of obligation. Thus, for example the “National Standards on Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS)” require health care institutions in the USA to maintain standards of language accessibility, and to be subject to government inspection. In Israel, on the other hand, any implementation of cultural competency measures depends on the goodwill of decision makers in the system. This directive changes that.

The JICC pushed for instituting standards / requirements similar to practice abroad, starting in the summer of 2010. We drafted documents that helped the Ministry of Health in formulating the directive. For the first time, this directive delineates principles and standards for cultural accessibility in health care organizations and institutions on a national level. This will include translation services, education and training of medical staffs, environmental adaptations of the institutions, and more. Our documents, “Guidelines to Assimilating Approaches of Cultural Competency in Health Care Organizations in ISrael”, as well as a more detailed “Guide to Accessibility Manual”, helped in the process and are intended to serve as authoritative guides for professionals in Israel.

This directive is revolutionary on a national level, and signifies a change in policy for the entire health care system as well as each health care organization. It is based on our successes in Jerusalem, thanks to our collaboration with the Jerusalem Foundation, the New Israel Fund and Emun Hatsibur. Our task is not yet finished – we believe there will be a long, hard road ahead in engaging and assimilating all the different guidelines in the directive – for many of these changes require money and health care institutions’ budgets are already stretched too thin. But today we reached an important benchmark in creating an excellent point of reference in the area of fighting inequality in the health care system and working toward equal access and cultural competency.

Our next task is to work to assimilate the standards in health care institutions in the city (apparently we will need to help to do this beyond Jerusalem as well), and to integrate principles in the directive in other systems in Jerusalem (Municipality, National government, businesses, etc.). The health system is just the first that is internalizing this approach!

Link to the Jerusalem Post Article on the directive

PDF of the Jerusalem Post Article on the directive

jicc2016-10-02T14:33:43+00:00February 10th, 2011|Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services|

Cultural Competence in the Healthcare System in Jerusalem in 2010

One of our major projects this year has been cultural competency in the health care system. Cultural competency aims to help all cultures, ethnicities and faiths to have equal access to quality medical care. We do this by training medical translators, training medical and paramedical staff in cultural sensitivity, and adapting signage and other infrastructure to include the main required languages. Following are highlights of our 2010 activities:

Hadassah Medical Center – Mount Scopus

For the first time, we held a 5-day medical translation course for 34 volunteer translators.
We held cultural competence seminars for about 80 medical and paramedical staff in the emergency, pediatrics, gynecology and maternity departments.
Between November 2010 – January 31, 2011, nearly 300 requests for translation were registered.

Alyn Rehabilitative Hospital

We held 6 full-day cultural competence seminars for 120 medical and paramedical staff.
We added a new 2-hour introduction on cultural sensitivity to training for new staff.
We facilitated the opening of the first Muslim prayer room at a Jerusalem hospital in May.
We’ve ensured that all signs are now written in Hebrew, Arabic and English.
Thanks to our efforts, the more than 3,300 patients (including day and long-term) that Alyn admits each year are helped by more culturally sensitive staff.

Clalit Medical Organization

We held cultural sensitivity seminars for at least 100 medical and paramedical staff at primary care clinics throughout Jerusalem.
Thanks to our efforts, tens of thousands of patients of the 5 primary care clinics throughout Jerusalem benefitted from a more culturally sensitive staff.

Developing New Relationships

We held preliminary discussions with Bikur Holim Hospital and Kfar Shaul Mental Health Center to introduce a comprehensive cultural competency programs.
We drafted Guidelines to Assimilating Approaches of Cultural Competency in Health Care Organizations, as well as a more detailed Guide to Accessibility Manual, which will serve as authoritative guides for professionals in Israel.
We were involved in a process with the Israel Ministry of Health that led to a directive that will institute national standards for cultural competency in health care organizations throughout Israel. Published on 8 February 2011, it will signify a revolution in cultural competency in health care, both in acknowledgement of its importance and in practice in improved policy measures.

jicc2014-04-04T12:56:34+00:00February 10th, 2011|Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services|

The Arabic-Hebrew Studies Center in Jerusalem – the 2010-11 classes

This fall we have opened up 6 courses in Arabic: 2 in Level 1 (beginners), 2 in Level 2 (advanced beginners), 1 in Level 3 (intermediate) and 1 in Level 4 (advanced). Last year we had “just” 5 courses, and in the last years, because of the demand, we find ourselves expanding the number of courses every year.

The groups meet on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the newly renovated JICC building. This year, the participants enjoy the new heating and air-conditioning systems, audio-visual capacities for learning, new furniture and more. Following the renovations, we have now a much more adequate second floor for the courses – more space options for the classes, less noise and interruptions between the groups, and even more restroom stalls…

The goal of the courses is to train professionals who need to use Arabic in their professional capacities to communicate on a reasonable level, and the curriculum is designed for this purpose. Classes include a large component of discussions and listening to songs and other verbal material to practice. “After only 4-5 lessons, the teacher gave us a 30-minute lecture in Arabic – on the teacher’s family, on their pilgrimage to Mecca, etc. and we understood everything!” exclaimed one participant.

This year we have more than 70 participants – students, professionals and activists who come into regular contact with Arabic-speaking residents and who need it to communicate with them.

“I enjoy the course immensely,” said another participant. “I don’t believe I’ll ever be fully fluent, but it does definitely help me to understand Arab culture and history. I am now more aware of the presence and (or absence) of Arabic all around me – on signs, in stores. It is also very interesting for me to see the similarities between Arabic and the language found in Jewish sources.”

More on the JICC courses can be found in the blog post from last year.

jicc2014-04-09T17:42:30+00:00February 7th, 2011|Blog, Courses, Language Center|

Promoting Healthcare Cooperation through Cross-Cultural Dialogue of Jewish and Arab doctors in Jerusalem

On Thursday, January 13, after long and intensive preparation, we had the first of 10 meetings of the cross-cultural dialogue group of health professionals in Jerusalem. Thirty participants, 19 Jews and 11 Arabs, met for the first time at Hadassah Mount Scopus hospital. The participants included doctors from Jerusalem hospitals (Hadassah Mount Scopus, Hadassah Ein Kerem, Shaare Tsedek, Bikur Holim, Al-Mukassed and more), HMOs (Clalit and Maccabi) and also from the Red Crescent.

Doctors East and West Jerusalem Seminar – meeting 1

The group heard an introduction to medicine in East Jerusalem from Dr. Nafiz Nubani, Deputy Director of the Jerusalem District of the Ministry of Health. We then had a presentation by Dr. Maurit Be’eri, Deputy CEO of Alyn Pediatric Hospital, on the process of increasing cultural competency that the institution has been undergoing with the assistance of the JICC. Thanks to the simultaneous translation, we could have the talks in Arabic and Hebrew, respecting the mother tongues and identities of all the participants. The next meetings will deal with the treatment process from the primary clinic in east Jerusalem to the hospital and back, cultural competency in the context of Islam and East Jerusalem, becoming acquainted with healthcare models that were used in other places, and more. One of the meetings will be dedicated to touring clinics in East Jerusalem.

Dr. Morit Beeri, Deputy CEO of Alyn Pediatric Hospital, speaking to the Doctors Group

Dr. Maurit Beeri, Deputy CEO of Alyn Pediatric Hospital, speaking to the Doctors Group

We put intensive effort into creating this group; indeed, it was a challenge we wanted to invest in. At the beginning of the process, we intended to hold a group for a variety of medical professionals – doctors, nurses, administrators, pharmacists, etc. People with whom we consulted had two assumptions. One was that doctors would not be interested in a group like this and would not register for it because they are too busy. The second was that doctors would not come to a group that includes people from other professions… We took the risk – we decided to limit the group to doctors and to try anyway – we knew that if we succeed, these doctors will be the best agents of change in the health system. The 30 doctors who came to the meeting, most of whom senior physicians in the health system in East and West Jerusalem, showed us that we were correct in our strategy.

Intensive staff efforts were required for this group to materialize and then to crystallize. Hadassah agreed to notify its entire doctors’ mailing list about it. HARI (Israeli Doctors Histadrut/Union) distributed notices about the group to all the doctors in Israel (16,000 doctors). The surprising result was that there were many who called and asked for details. Tal Kligman, the project manager, worked with the entire project team to create engaging content for the meetings, including cultural competence issues and strategies, best practices for interaction between diverse staff members, and more. Much work was invested in creating contents and structure that would be effective and relevant for all participants, Arabs and Jews, and be appealing to them. Tal spoke with each of the participants a few times. An evaluator was selected for the process and began his work.

At this point, after one meeting, our feeling about the implementation is that it is very successful. It is very important to note that without the funding of the Beracha Foundation, this group could not take place. The investment of staff time and effort, the intense facilitation, the simultaneous translation etc. – all these made the recruitment of the doctors possible and optimized the impact of the process. As a result, senior doctors on both sides (including the director of Hadassah Mount Scopus hospital, heads of departments, heads of HMO teams, deputy general of the Ministry of Health Jerusalem District and others) have enrolled. We believe that this high-profile group will create a network of Arab and Jewish doctors in Jerusalem that will be helpful (together with the JICC’s efforts in the field) to improve equality in medicine in Jerusalem. The JICC has a mission to make Jerusalem a culturally competent city, and this group of doctors will definitely help us in this mission, thanks to the process they will get through in these meetings.

jicc2014-04-09T17:29:21+00:00January 13th, 2011|Blog, Courses, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish-Palestinian/Arab, Palestinians/Arabs|

The Jerusalem Foundation’s quarterly publication (December 2010) focuses on the JICC

We at the Jerusalem Intercultural Center have had a very close and fruitful relationship with the Jerusalem Foundation since day 1. Indeed, they were among our founding partners and continue to be one of our important strategic partners today. In 2003, in recognition of our expertise and experience, we and the Jerusalem Foundation formulated a strategy that responds to the diversity challenges in the city. A critical element includes leading new initiatives that seek to train strong leaders and agents of change, who will be able to lead widening circles of children, youth and adults – each in their own context – toward a livable future in Jerusalem, regardless of future political realities. This has included training grassroots and project leaders, providing language and communication skills and acting as a resource for all. This past summer the Jerusalem Foundation also renovated our historic building on Mt. Zion, enabling participants in our programs to enjoy our special facility with modern comforts and safety.

Jerusalem Foundation Windows December 2010 – Cover

This December’s edition of the Jerusalem Foundation’s quarterly publication, Windows, featured its leading coexistence projects, nearly all of them under the leadership of the Jerusalem Intercultural Center. The articles focus on our community work in East Jerusalem, our Cultural Competence in Health Program and our annual Speaking Arts Conference. These are, of course, are just a few examples of the work of the JICC in Jerusalem. On the cover, there is a picture of our building, newly-renovated by the Jerusalem Foundation through the generous support of Professor Dr. Jan-Philipp Reemtsma, the Hamburg Foundation for the Promotion of Science and Culture.

We appreciate this partnership with the Jerusalem Partnership and are excited to see it grow.

Link to the Windows publication (Acrobat – PDF) – click here.

For Acrobat 5 compatible version of the publication (in case the above does not open properly) – click here.

jicc2014-04-09T17:27:47+00:00December 23rd, 2010|Arts, Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish-Palestinian/Arab, Palestinians/Arabs, Silwan Community Dialogue, Speaking Arts Conference|

Speaking Arts 2010

We held our 7th Annual Speaking Arts Conference on November 24 – 25 in Jerusalem, thanks to the continued support of the Jerusalem Foundation and the Dear Foundation of Switzerland. A record-breaking 72 artists – actors, dancers, musicians, from all over Israel and Palestine – participated. “This is the first time I’ve heard Hebrew in an everyday context,” said a participant from Nablus. “and not from a soldier at a checkpoint.”

After an opening session with contact improvisation expert Noam Carmeli, the participants split up into master workshops according to discipline. Actors and theater professionals worked with veteran actress Salwa Nakara; musicians worked with internationally-renowned musician Sameer Makhoul; and dancers worked with dancers and choreographers, Raba’a Mourkous and Ilanit Tadmor. All worked with the theme Quiet, which was the theme of the entire conference. “Quiet is what allows us the freedom to create, to dream,” said the JICC’s conference organizer, Hanan Ohana

This year for the first time the artists took greater advantage of Jerusalem’s rich cultural resources, holding many activities at venues outside the Jerusalem International YMCA. The dance workshops were held at the studios of the internationally-acclaimed Vertigo Dance Troupe in downtown Jerusalem. The music workshop held its second day at the Paley Arts Centre in east Jerusalem. On Wednesday evening, Arkady Zeides performed his dance performance, Quiet, to conference participants and guests at the Lab theater and performance space in southern Jerusalem.

Additional distinguished presenters at the conference included Eyal Danon, curator and director of the Israeli Center for Digital Art in Holon. He lectured to dancers and actors on Thursday morning on using the arts to advance a political agenda, based on his experience on the project, Liminal Spaces. Shmulik Hadjes, of the Psik Theater, gave a workshop on commedia dell’arte (characterization using masks), in which the theater troupe specializes. Raida Sa’adeh, Director of the Paley Arts Centre, lecturer at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design and internationally-recognized artist in her own right, spoke to the music group about the state of the arts in East Jerusalem.

The peak of the Conference was the closing concert, performed by Mira Awad and Shlomi Shaban. Both artists brought their own unique music, and their own unique musical virtuosity, to a wonderful joint collaboration, in their first time performing together. This was covered in the press (see examples, with some video clips here and here).

Here is an article that appeared in the English version of Ha’aretz newspaper on December 3, 2010 (click here for PDF version) ; Hebrew version (PDF)

Article on Speaking Arts at the December 2010 edition of the Jerusalem Foundation Windows magazine (PDF – Acrobat version)

jicc2014-07-11T09:09:38+00:00December 3rd, 2010|Arts, Blog, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish-Palestinian/Arab, Palestinians/Arabs, Speaking Arts Conference|

Prepare Jerusalem for peace now – an Article

We just published an article at the Jerusalem Post and Search for Common Ground (SFCG) News service, focusing on the need for preparing today Jerusalem for potential peace scenarios. Here are the links and the text:

The Jerusalem Post (English).

PDF (English).

Hebrew, Arabic.

Text:

Prepare Jerusalem for peace now
June 26, 2010

By HAGAI AGMON-SNIR

Last month, a Home Front Command exercise was carried out in Israel. The emergency systems were tested for their response to various scenarios in case war breaks out. That same week, someone jokingly disseminated a message on the Internet regarding an emergency exercise that would be carried out to test responses for when peace breaks out. In this imaginary exercise, calming sirens would be sounded and the general public would be required to respond to the cheerful scenarios that may unfold in this new and unfamiliar situation.

In Jerusalem, the idea of preparing for peace should not be a topic of jokes. We are so preoccupied with the struggle over what the city would look like following a permanent status agreement that we are ignoring the fact that present-day Jerusalem is declining before our eyes, becoming a city in which life would be difficult even when peace finally arrives.

In east Jerusalem, Palestinian children suffer from a severely underfunded public education system. As a result, most will not find employment that can afford any kind of social mobility.

Health issues – such as development checkups – are often neglected, and health problems that should be addressed in childhood will become a future economic and social burden, even in times of peace.

Chaos in the material aspects of life is sorely evident in east Jerusalem, where things like dense construction around roads which preempt any future expansion and collapsing sewage systems are creating an irreversible reality on the ground. The poverty and neglect in east Jerusalem will not only cause hardship for the Palestinians living there but will also affect the Jews in west Jerusalem whether the city remains united or divided, because if the city remains united, the need to rectify these problems would affect the funding for the western neighborhoods; if it is divided, poverty and neglect in the east would quickly become fertile ground for crime and terror against the Jews in the west of the city.

In west Jerusalem, the nonharedi Jewish population is dwindling. The city does not attract an economically strong population or young people who are not haredim, as there a few job opportunities. It remains very attractive to the haredim for religious reasons, but they are economically weak. The deterioration of west Jerusalem is bad news for everyone: A Jerusalem that is home to large populations that are economically weak will be a miserable city for all those still left in it.

DESPITE ALL these threats to the future of the city, too often Jerusalem’s municipal decision-making process is shaped by considerations that contradict local interests and cater to global politics. One example is Jewish construction beyond the Green Line. The construction in Ramat Shlomo in north Jerusalem and in Gilo in the south made headlines across the world. Yet, anyone who has taken part in Israeli- Palestinian negotiations on Jerusalem knows that in any reasonable scenario, these neighborhoods will remain on the Israeli side. Moreover the construction in these neighborhoods is of high importance to the Jewish sector in the city, since construction for haredim in the north and for non- Orthodox in the south decreases the need for the haredi population to move into the secular neighborhoods in southern Jerusalem.

Reducing this pressure would strengthen west Jerusalem and this in turn, would benefit the residents in the east. Whether Jerusalem is united or divided, economic and employment cooperation between the two parts of the city keeps them intertwined and interdependent.

However, as Israel refuses to differentiate between legitimizing the building in Gilo and legitimizing the settling in the heart of the Palestinian neighborhoods, the Palestinians and the rest of the world do not make this distinction either. The world hears about Jews who enter homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood after its Palestinian inhabitants are evicted. The result: worldwide political pressure to stop the construction in Gilo and Ramat Shlomo, the same construction that can contribute to the prosperity of the city.

Israel, in response, toughens its stance on Palestinian construction in Silwan. This brings only harm to all the residents of Jerusalem Almost 800,000 people live in Jerusalem, from a variety of religions, nationalities, religious outlooks and ethnic groups. When peace comes this diversity can turn into a wonderful resource for anyone who is interested in visiting or living in Jerusalem – if only we could save the city from its current decline.

For this to happen the decision-making process on the municipal level must shift to a professionalism dedicated to improving services for all the residents of the city, one that sets aside global considerations. A greater focus on these issues at the municipal level will make Jerusalem friendlier to its inhabitants. And paradoxically, focusing on its own population’s needs can help turn Jerusalem, even in the eyes of the world, from a political burden into a universal resource.

The writer is the director of the Jerusalem Intercultural Center and can be reached at hagai@jicc.org.il. This article is published in conjunction with the Common Ground News Service and forms part of a special series on Jerusalem.

jicc2014-10-08T19:44:13+00:00June 26th, 2010|Blog, Cultural Competence, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Inter-Cultural Community Dialogue, Jewish Religious Denominations, Jewish-Palestinian/Arab, On Jerusalem, Palestinians/Arabs, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

The Jerusalem Arabic-Hebrew Study Center – End of the 2009-10 classes

This week marked the conclusion of most of the JICC’s Hebrew and Arabic language courses for 2009-2010. The Hebrew-Arabic Study Center provides languages courses in Hebrew and Arabic to promote efficacious and positive communication between Arabs and Jews in Jerusalem.

The Hebrew-Arabic Study Center programming is made possible through the partnership of the Jerusalem Foundation, and thanks to their support our courses are offered to the public at a heavily subsidized rate.

This year we held five Arabic courses (Palestinian dialect) for Hebrew speakers: two for beginners, two intermediate level groups, and one for advanced learners. Demand for Arabic language courses is high in Jerusalem; all of our courses operated at capacity this year, with 13-15 students in each course.

This demand is sparked in part by the unique approach of our programming – intensive language acquisition with an emphasis on the needs of professionals working with Arabic speakers in the city – answering an increasing demand for Arabic skills. The high quality of our two devoted teachers, Suha Kadri and Saida Rubhi, is another primary reason for courses’ success. Registration for 2010-2011 is already almost full …

Final Field Trip of the Advanced Arabic Course

At the same time, the JICC, together with the Kesher organization, provided Hebrew instruction for Arabic speakers. Our Hebrew language course was the first of its kind specially tailored to meet the unique requirements of parents of special needs children. Today, Jerusalem-based institutions providing medical and support services to special needs children are very Hebrew-centric. These parents joined this adapted course to help ensure that they could properly communicate with their children’s Hebrew-speaking medical professionals and caregivers and access the best possible services for their families.

jicc2014-04-09T17:21:30+00:00June 24th, 2010|Blog, Courses, Language Center|

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