jicc

A strategic group on Ultra-Orthodox – non-Ultra-Orthodox relations in Jerusalem – May 24, 2009

Today we convened once again for the meeting of Jewish Jerusalemite leaders that discuss and negotiate a strategic approach to relations between Ultra-Orthodox and non-Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem. The meeting took place at the office of the Municipality Engineer, with 15 participants – municipality council members, high-level Rabbis, and non-Ultra-Orthodox leaders and professionals.

The meeting focused mainly on housing issues in Jerusalem, and the feeling was that the group had an important breakthrough. In previous meetings we understood that demographic changes in different neighborhoods create most of the tensions. The main way out is to find proper solutions for expansion for both Ultra-Orthodox and non-Ultra-Orthodox populations, while minimizing co-living in the same neighborhoods. The religious autonomy required in Ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods, and the extremely different perspectives that the two groups hold on the character of the public sphere, require separation between the communities as much as possible. The main solution for the short term is the creation of 15,000 new apartments for each of the two populations, in different parts of the city. Obstacles for moving forward with this solution exist and important questions and issues were raised.

Yet, additional housing is only part of the solution. While the Ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods are very appealing to the Ultra-Orthodox Jews, many non-Ultra-Orthodox residents do not find their neighborhoods attractive, leading them to decide to leave the city. Frequently they sell their apartments to Ultra-Orthodox Jews and then again mixed neighborhoods – with their many tensions – are created. An integral part of the solution must be the effort to make these neighborhoods more attractive in terms of culture, improved services etc. The Ultra-Orthodox members of the group said, to the surprise of some other members, that they are willing to support such processes, in order to keep the non-Ultra-Orthodox residents in the city.

At the conclusion of the meeting the participants felt that we made an important step forward and they are now looking forward to our next steps.

jicc2014-04-07T19:51:44+00:00May 24th, 2009|Blog, Citywide Religious Denominations Dialogue, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Inter-Cultural Community Dialogue, Jewish Religious Denominations, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

Cultural Competence Training – Alyn – May 18, 2009

Today we held the third Cultural Competence training to a group of staff members in the Alyn hospital in Jerusalem. This training is part of our efforts, together with the Alyn Hospital’s management, to transform Alyn into a cultural competent hospital, the first of its kind in Israel. The work with Alyn is a component of the Jerusalem Cultural Competence in Health Project initiated by the Jerusalem Inter-Cultural Center and the Jerusalem Foundation.

Alyn training May 2009

Towards each training in Alyn we interview several intended participants and based on their input we adapt the case studies that will be used in the training to the needs of the specific clinic. Today for example we added an extra focus on Ultra Orthodox patients and invited experts in the field to share their knowledge. We also improved two of the learning modules by using more dialogues for analysis and real-life stories. Thus the modules became more interesting and interactive.

Alyn training may 2009

jicc2014-04-07T19:26:12+00:00May 18th, 2009|Blog, Courses, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Ethiopian Jews, Outside Jerusalem, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

Diversity SWAT Team Webinar 1 – London!

Our new series of webinars is dedicated to what we call “Diversity SWAT Teams”. We brought together Rabbi Bob Kaplan from the JCRC-NY, Alex Goldberg from the London Jewish Forum and Hagai Agmon-Snir from the Jerusalem Inter-Cultural Center, to detail the ways by which they effectively manage cross-cultural community conflicts in their respective locations. These three organizations perceive such interventions to be part of their role.

Alex Goldberg at the Diversity SWAT Team Webinar

Today we had the first webinar in the series. Alex Goldberg presented the approach the London Jewish Forum is implementing in London and other British cities. Mainly he focused on how they engage the government, police, businesses, civil society and NGOs in their processes. Following the presentation, the two other panelists, Rabbi Bob Kaplan and Dr. Hagai Agmon-Snir, added their perspectives on the issues and raised questions that may help in this inter-city learning.

For us at the JICC, this series is very important. Increasingly we find ourselves involved in creating and training Diversity SWAT Teams in mixed cities in Israel, together with local municipal agencies.

You can find the presentation and additional information (also about the next webinars in this series) online at the NYJEE site.

jicc2016-11-18T15:29:08+00:00May 13th, 2009|Blog, Diversity Swat Team Webinars, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Inter-Cultural Community Dialogue, New-York Jerusalem Experts Exchange - NYJEE, Outside Jerusalem|

Ethiopian Community, Talpiot, May 13, 2009

A month ago, we updated on our efforts, together with Mosaica, to train establishment agencies, such as the Community Council, the Welfare Department, the Absorption Authority etc., to work with the Ethiopian community in the Talpiot neighborhood. Since then, we met again with representatives from the community, from organizations that advocate for them and from establishment agencies.

Some of the Training Participants

Today we held the first cultural competency training for representatives of agencies that work with the Ethiopian community, focusing on cross-cultural communication. We learnt about the communication style of Israelis and compared it with the communciation style of Israeli-Ethiopians. In fact, Israeli-Ethiopians tend, as all multi-identity individuals (or, in other words, every individual…), to use both systems of communication, even though they seem to contrast with each other.

Dr. Hagai Agmon-Snir at the training

We invented a case study specifically for this training about an Ethiopian community leader who gets in conflict with the establishment over community issues. It was striking, but not surprising, to see how much the participants identified with the case study, feeling that the story resembles many of the incidents they encounter daily. We began analyzing the case and many issues were raised. On our next meeting we will have to think about solutions – how does one crete a bridge between these two cultures.

jicc2014-04-07T19:21:14+00:00May 13th, 2009|Blog, Courses, Cross-Cultural Communication Trainings, Cultural Competence, Ethiopian Jews, Identity Groups and Conflicts, New Immigrants|

Lod – Cultural Competence Training to Service Providers

As an outcome of the work of Lod’s Multicultural Forum, a first training on cultural competency for service providers has begun. This is probably the first training of this kind at the national level.

Today’s meeting, the first in the series, was facilitated by Najuan Daadleh and hagai Agmon-Snir from the JICC. The meeting with attended by 15 participants coming from various departments of the Lod municipality, the local employment service, non-profit organizations, community centers and more.

The first two meetings focus on cross-cultural communication and an introduction to cultural competency. Additional meetings will provide models for better communication with a client of a different cultural background, using interpretation, adapting a service to various client groups, and other relevant topics. Case studies and simulations will enhance the learning process.

jicc2014-04-07T19:19:14+00:00April 2nd, 2009|Blog, Courses, Cross-Cultural Communication Trainings, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in the Workplace, Outside Jerusalem|

Cultural Competence Training – Ir Ganim Clalit Clinic (part 2) – March 23, 2009

Today we held the second part of our first workshop on cultural competency in serving the Ethiopian community in Jerusalem. The training was delivered to all staff members of the Clalit Primary Care Clinic in the Ir Ganim neighborhood.

Michal Schuster at the Second workshop in Ir Ganim Clalit clinic

This time we focused on the use of interpreters (telephonic and face-to-face) in the clinic, as well as learning how to work with a cultural liaison. The Ir Ganin clinic employs a part-time Ethiopian Cultural Liaison, funded by the Ministry of Health. We used simulations to improve the learning process.

Using a cultural liaison in a simulation

Building on the positive feedback we have received, this training will be provided to the other clinics that serve Ethiopian population in Jerusalem.

A nurse participating in a simulated case

jicc2014-04-07T19:16:21+00:00March 23rd, 2009|Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Ethiopian Jews, Identity Groups and Conflicts, New Immigrants|

Ethiopian Community, Talpiot, March 12, 2009

We continue with our efforts, together with Mosaica, to create better dialogue between the Ethiopian community in Talpiyot and the many agencies that serve them. Although some achievements were made (reported in previous posts), the main difficulty of lack of trust and understanding still persists.

Today we (Mosaica and the JICC) had a meeting with most of the establishment agencies, community council, welfare department, absorption authority etc., were we presented our analysis of the situation, including three major challenges. According to our analysis the main problem is the proliferation of agencies that work with the residents concurrently and with no coordination between them. This can be harmful in any place, but it is worse when serving the Ethiopian community, which finds it hard to navigate the Israeli system. The second challenge is the cross-cultural communication, which is not working well due to the different value systems of the cultures involved. The last pressing issue is the tendency of the Ethiopian community to attribute the behavior of the agencies to racism. The fact that almost all professional staff members are not Ethiopian, and that they have never learnt how to work with the Ethiopian community, does not make the situation easier.

Our suggestion was to provide cultural competence trainings to the agencies that work with the Ethiopian community, as well as train the community leaders to deal with the agencies who serve them. We are pleased to report that the agencies accepted our proposal and a few dates were secured for trainings. In parallel, we will meet with the leaders of the Ethiopian community to talk with them about this new proposal.

jicc2014-04-07T19:14:12+00:00March 12th, 2009|Blog, Courses, Cross-Cultural Communication Trainings, Cultural Competence, Ethiopian Community - Talpiot Community Dialogue, Ethiopian Jews, Identity Groups and Conflicts, New Immigrants|

Cultural Competence Training – Ir Ganim Clalit Clinic – March 2, 2009

Following a strategic planning process for adapting Clalit’s clinics to Ethiopian patients, we held today the first workshop on cultural competence in serving the Ethiopian community in Jerusalem. The work with Clalit is a component of the Jerusalem Cultural Competence in Health Project initiated by the Jerusalem Inter-Cultural Center and the Jerusalem Foundation. In this project we aspire to make the Jerusalem district of the Clalit HMO much more culturally competent.

This specific workshop was delivered to all staff members of the Clalit Primary Care Clinic in the Ir Ganim neighborhood. The clinic serves 450 Ethiopian families, most of which arrived to Israel about 10 years ago. Our approach to cultural competence trainings, based on international experience, is to provide tools that will be relevant to other cultures in the neighborhood as well. Yet, in this training, emphasis was given to the unique Ethiopian case.

First workshop in Ir Ganim Clalit clinic

The Jerusalem Inter-Cultural Center has developed a training based on a series of case-studies. Some of the cases are raised by the participants themselves and others are formulated specifically for the training and presented by the JICC staff with the help of a professional medical actress. In Ir Ganim we were happy to work with an artist, Ethiopian by origin, that played the patient in these case simulations. Through the analysis of the cases, the participants learn relevant models and tools: how to create better patient-provider inter-cultural communication, cross-cultural communication tools, best ways to work with interpreters and tele-interpreters and, importantly, how to deal with culturally-oriented political issues that may divert the staff from its professional work. Our experience shows that in Israel, probably more than in other Western countries, political issues related to racism, religious coercion, and other inter-group tensions, may create major challenges to the staff.

Medical Ethiopian professional artist in the Ir Ganim training

The second part of the training in Ir ganim will take place on March 23. In the meanwhile, the feedback provided at the end of the training indicated that this was a very important and fruituil training experience. We all look forward to the next meeting.

Our next step following the training in Ir Ganim is to provide similar trainings in the rest of the Clalit Jerusalem district clinics serving the Ethiopian community.

jicc2014-04-07T19:11:01+00:00March 2nd, 2009|Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Ethiopian Jews, Identity Groups and Conflicts, New Immigrants|

Cultural Competence Training – Alyn – February 25, 2009

Today we held the second Cultural Competence training to a group of staff members in the Alyn hospital in Jerusalem. This training is part of our efforts, together with the Alyn Hospital’s management, to transform Alyn into a cultural competent hospital, the first of its kind in Israel. The work with Alyn is a component of the Jerusalem Cultural Competence in Health Project initiated by the Jerusalem Intercultural Center and the Jerusalem Foundation.

The training, developed by the Jerusalem Inter-Cultural Center, uses cases raised by the participants, as well as case-studies simulated with the help of a professional medical actress. Through the analysis of these cases the participants learn models for better patient-provider inter-cultural communication, cross-cultural communication tools, best ways to work with interpreters and tele-interpreters, and ways to deal with culturally-oriented political issues that may divert staff from its professional work. Our experience shows that in Israel, probably more than in other Western countries, political issues related to racism, religious coercion and other inter-group tensions, may create major challenges to the staff.

The feedback at the end of the training was excellent. Specifically we realized that some changes we made following feedback from the last training significantly improved the effectiveness of the workshop. As the training workshops are part of an institution-wide program, we will continue to mentor the participants in their efforts to assimilate cultural competence tools in the hospital.

jicc2014-04-07T19:08:49+00:00February 25th, 2009|Blog, Courses, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services|

Tsur Baher – educational issues – February 24, 2009

To continue the community process around education in Tsur Baher, we had today a special meeting in the village. All relevant stakeholders were present – school principals, Ministry of Education inspectors and Municipality officials including the head of the Municipality Education Department and Pepe Alalo, Jerusalem Mayor Deputy who is responsible for Education in east Jerusalem. Mr. Alalo, who was elected in November, came to learn about the process and its potential outcomes. Also in attendance were formal representatives of Tsur baher village, and representatives of the JICC and the Jerusalem Foundation.

To be honest, we were disappointed with the meeting. We felt that even though many promises were made by the municipality last December, not much has been done since then. The excuses of some of the municipality and government officials made the impression that the commitment to make a sincere change in Tzur Baher is lacking. We all understood that the head of the municipality education department must make a considerable effort in order to recruit his staff into the process. Otherwise, our more than a year old pilot project will lead us nowhere.

It is our role at the JICC to facilitate such community dialogue processes. Regression is to be expected at some points during such initiatives. It is our duty to help the sides see when is the process at risk, and we did just that at the meeting, ensuring that meetings will be conducted in the coming days to find out how can we put this important process back to track.

jicc2014-04-05T18:02:30+00:00February 24th, 2009|Blog, Education, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Inter-Cultural Community Dialogue, Palestinians/Arabs, Tsur Baher Community Dialogue|

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