Blog | The Jerusalem Intercultural Center

MyCity App – Helping the Little Prince to Keep Jerusalem Clean

It’s been two years in the making (see this post from August 2017 to read about its roots), but the MyCity app is finally here!

You, too, can download MyCity

The idea for the MyCity app was born two years ago, during a #MadeinJLM #HackJLM hackathon event. At the all-night event, activists from the Little Prince, together with a ‘group of techies’ as we called them then, teamed up to sketch out an idea. The breakthrough that night was the understanding that the app must be as simple as possible (the KISS approach). While other apps, including the Municipality’s, were time-consuming and complicated (requiring a lot of text about location, personal details, a long form, etc.), MyCity was to be as simple as the conventional camera app. You point at the target – a pile of garbage, a garbage can that is overflowing, etc., and click. The app does the rest: it sends the picture to the server with the coordinates, time and the identity of the already registered sender.

It took a while to find the entrepreneurs who would make it work, but now, a beta version of the app is here! One of the important uses of this application is for a series of pictures. You can be walking on the street or in the park and just point-and-click at every point-that-should-be-cleaned. The server can make this series of pictures into one report (“list of problems on X street, or in Y park) that can be sent to the relevant municipality official. Another interesting use is when you pass the same filthy spot on your way to work or school every day, you can take a picture each day. The server is able to create a time-based report, (“Corner of X and Y streets, from October 1 – 31”) which can also be reported to a municipal official, asking for a sustainable systemic response. The Municipality’s app can’t – there you need to file separate reports for each location and time and fill a form before sending. There is no way to understand the context of the report – the other parts of the park or the history of the spot. Even before this novel app was out, you could see Jerusalemite activists creating ‘garbage stories.’ (Want to see examples of successful local ‘Garbage Stories’? See this post about MiniActive’s successes in East Jerusalem.)

Here’s the Facebook (in Hebrew) post from the Little Prince Facebook group:

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation and the Rayne Foundation for their support of the Little Prince.

Naomi Roff2020-02-29T12:57:49+00:00February 15th, 2020|Blog, The Little Prince - Cleaning Jerusalem Together|

Atta’a – Fighting for Children’s Health Care Rights

Every day Atta’a helps adults and children access – and fight for – their rights. Many times the stories are heart-wrenching. Here’s one of them.

Illustrative picture by pikrepo

A social worker from Hadassah Mt. Scopus contacted us (Atta’a is in contact with all social workers in Jerusalem hospitals) to help her with an urgent case she has in connection with the National Insurance Institute (NII).

There is a 7-year-old patient who underwent one operation and who needs to undergo another 2. However, NII decided that his parents are not eligible for health insurance because they couldn’t prove that they live in Jerusalem (a pre-requisite for Palestinians to receive Jerusalem resident status, only after which they can receive health insurance). Without health insurance, the parents were asked to pay NIS 200,000 to continue for the second operation, with the final bill potentially reaching NIS 300,000. As with many Palestinian families in East Jerusalem, this is a poor family with no way of paying such huge sums of money. The social worker helped the family to submit all forms and documentation to prove that they do indeed live in – and have never left – Jerusalem.

Since time is of the essence the social worker called Atta’a on behalf of the family in order to speed the process up.

We asked the social worker to prepare a report on the family and its situation. We also asked the surgeon to prepare a report on the child’s medical condition. Together with all the documents proving that the family lives in Jerusalem Atta’a went directly to the NII Director in East Jerusalem and the Director of the Residency Division (with whom Atta’a has a good working relationship) to request that they expedite this family’s case. The good news is that the family was granted residency status after only a week, and that from here on out they will be covered by health insurance, including one of the operations.

The bad news is that this took place on January 30, 2020, after the boy had already had two operations. By law this means that the family still had to pay for these first two operations, which were very expensive. Legally, after the NII decision, all additional matters must be appealed through the court system. Atta’a referred the family to another organization that can help them with these legal matters. We wish them the best in getting access to this coverage.

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation for their continued support of Atta’a.

Naomi Roff2020-02-28T16:37:41+00:00February 11th, 2020|Attaa, Blog|

Window to Mount Zion – Prayer for Church Unity

Every year on January 30, representatives of different Christian denominations meet in the Cenacle – Room of the Last Supper, on Mount Zion. Since the beginning of the Window to Mount Zion project our volunteers have been active in making sure that this special ceremony takes place without any problems. You can read about ceremonies from previous years here, here, and here.

A unique church ceremony

This year, again, our volunteers were there. Here’s a description from one of them:

A Hassidic, Lithuanian, Reform, Conservative, Ashkenazi, Sephardi Jew met in one synagogue for joint prayer.
– Sounds like a joke? or the coming of the Massiah?
It turns out that for Christians it already exists. This week there is an annual ceremony – the Prayer for Church Unity in Jerusalem. Every day of the week there are prayer ceremonies, and all Christian communities pray together – Greek Orthodox, Anglican, Armenian, Lutheran, Latin, Orthodox, Ethiopian. On Thursday, January 30, joint prayer was held at the Cenacle – the Room of the Last Supper on Mount Zion. Organized prayer is allowed in the Cenacle only five times a year. Because of the sensitive location, just above King David’s tomb, volunteers from the Window to Mount Zion are there to explain and keep order. Unexpectedly, an ultra-Orthodox man, a doctoral student in philosophy at the Hebrew University, who had heard about the event, came to experience it for himself.

Ceremony open to everyone

Here’s a short video clip of how it looks and sounds:

And here’s her Facebook post, in Hebrew:

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation for its support of Window to Mount Zion.

Naomi Roff2020-02-24T05:49:07+00:00February 7th, 2020|Blog, Mount Zion|

Cultural Competency with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority

The Israel Nature and Parks Authority seeks to protect Israel’s treasures of nature, landscape, and heritage, and strives to connect people to these places.

But how do you do this effectively, with Israel’s vast diversity of populations, communities, languages and cultures?

Community and volunteer coordinators – Israel Nature and Parks authority

This was the subject of our Orna Shani Golan’s discussion with professionals from the Israel Nature and Parks Authority on January 20. More than 20 community and volunteer coordinators convened in the Afek National Park training class for the first time for a cultural competency seminar.

The coordinators meet people from a wide range of communities on a daily basis, and try, in varied ways, to connect them to values of nature and its preservation. These intercultural meetings often raise dilemmas that the coordinators discussed in the meeting. Examples included issues of language – when there are classes of Jewish students and classes of Arab students – what language will the meeting be conducted in? How do you hold a joint march when a religious school refuses to walk in mixed groups of boys and girls and demands that the secular school to march with boys and girls separately? And what to do with an employee who doesn’t discuss these disagreements about different adaptations with his or her supervisor?

These and other dilemmas dealing with the relationship of the Nature and Parks Authority, which is responsible for nature conservation, nature preserves and national parks, and advancing values of nature preservation in Israel, to the community and to all communities are Israel, must be handled in a culturally competent manner in order for the Authority’s efforts to be effective. This is especially important for communities that live close to nature reserves and whose traditional way of life – hunting, fishing, collecting wild plants, and more – might harm the flora and fauna of the reserves. At the meeting, the coordinators and supervisors spoke with Orna, Director of our Cultural Competency Desk, about the insights that arise from a meeting that uses culturally competent tools, and different tools that can be applied to their work. Some examples of tools included:

How to work correctly with cultural generalities (without sinking into stereotypes);
Understanding cultural values, and using cultural axes to improve inter-cultural communication;
The 7-stage model of deepening dialogue based on the explanatory model of Prof. Arthur Kleinman.

In addition, participants learned about culturally competent tools for community work that were developed by our director, Dr. Hagai Agmon-Snir and Dr. Orna Shemer, of The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

We seek to hold additional meetings with the staff of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, according to region, which will help staff respond effectively and in a culturally competent manner to issues and dilemmas that arise from their everyday work.

orna2020-02-22T07:00:45+00:00February 4th, 2020|Blog, Cultural Competence|

The Little Prince Activist Receives Mayor’s Prize for Involved Citizenship

Yet another accomplishment for the Little Prince – Cleaning up Jerusalem Together. This time, one of our leading activists, Ronen Weil, was recognized by the Mayor, in a special prize awarded to local residents and activists who volunteer to improve their immediate surroundings.

Mayor Lion and all prize winners, courtesy of Municipality Spokesman's Office

Mayor Lion and all prize winners, picture from Municipality Spokesman’s Office

This news was published in both national and local Jerusalemite news sources, here and here, respectively. The official statement praised Ronen, for his:

Extensive contribution to the neighborhood of Homat Shmuel (Har Homa) in the areas of physical infrastructures, transportation and cleaning up the city. Ronen is part of the Little Prince – Cleaning Up Jerusalem Together project.

He takes great care in bringing about changes in the neighborhood public sphere that will benefit the residents, while ensuring that all tasks and projects are completed and seen through to fruition.

At the ceremony, Mayor Lion said:

The city of Jerusalem is the only city in the country where almost one in every three residents volunteers, for the betterment of the entire society, for his or her neighborhood, for weakened populations, for animals, and more, and we have that to be proud of. Jerusalem’s unique mix that makes it unique in Israel and the world. Together and apart they are what make Jerusalemites better and more caring people. Thank you, each and every one of you. Because of you we have such a great city.

Thank you, Mayor Lion for those inspiring words. Congratulations Ronen and all of the activists in the Little Prince!

Many thanks to the Rayne Foundation and the Jerusalem Foundation for their support of the Little Prince.

Naomi Roff2020-02-22T06:59:56+00:00February 2nd, 2020|Blog, The Little Prince - Cleaning Jerusalem Together|

MiniActive Working with our Friends from Natan

MiniActive and our friends from Natan have been partners for the past few years. We enjoy updating them with reports and periodic updates, but it’s really not the same until you see it with your own eyes.

Working with our friends from Natan

So we were very happy to share MiniActive experiences with our friends from Natan this past week.

Building the flower bed

We hosted them at the community garden at the Central Arab Library in Wadi Joz, where our MiniActive Youth often work.

Everyone helping to put it together

They did a great job of building a flower bed and planting beautiful flowers.

Planting a beautiful flower bed as well

Thanks so much to our friends from Natan! You help make MiniActive the success it is today.

Naomi Roff2020-02-08T10:57:43+00:00January 30th, 2020|Blog, MiniActive|

Window to Mount Zion – Annual Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony on 10th of Tevet

Part of Window to Mount Zion’s mission is to share and raise awareness about the unique and emotional events that take place on Mount Zion by all different communities. Its Facebook page recently shared the emotional ceremony that took place at the Chamber of the Holocaust, which is operated by the Diaspora Yeshiva.

Holding an annual ceremony at the Chamber of the Holocaust

As a part of our virtual tour of Mount Zion, we have made a clip about the Chamber:

Every year, on the tenth of Tevet on the Hebrew calendar, the Diaspora Yeshiva holds a traditional ceremony in the Chamber of the Holocaust, the first commemoration of the Holocaust that was built after Israel’s War of Independence, soon after the Holocaust. This year, rabbis and yeshiva students gathered and prayed in memory of those who perished in the Holocaust.

Every year, Nechama Cohen, daughter of Rabbi Dr. Samuel Zangvil Kahana, who was Director-General of the Ministry of Religion in the late 1940’s and founded the Chamber of the Holocaust, is invited to the ceremony (she also appears in our clip on David’s Tomb). Nechama gave a heartfelt speech, reminding us of the special context of Mount Zion and its proximity to David’s Tomb. Nechama recounted from her memoirs, as a child in the early 1950s, how Holocaust survivors who immigrated from Europe would visit David’s Tomb, which at that time was the holiest place within the borders of the young State of Israel, and, with the help of her father, created such a touching and human memorial to those who perished.

Nechama Cohen giving an emotional speech

Today the Chamber of the Holocaust holds a double memory – the memory of the six million who died in the Holocaust, as well as the memory of those who remembered – the survivors who arrived in Israel immediately after the war and sought to establish an intimate and traditional monument in memory of their disappeared communities. Thanks to the Diaspora Yeshiva for leading the emotional ceremony.

Here’s the post in Hebrew from the Window to Mount Zion Facebook page:

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation for its support of Window to Mount Zion!

Naomi Roff2020-02-08T10:55:49+00:00January 25th, 2020|Blog, Mount Zion|

MiniActive – Now, Learning English

We’ve described here and here about how the MiniActive volunteers enjoy learning Hebrew, and how they’ve found it very useful in their everyday lives.

Learning English, close to home

Now, in cooperation with the US Embassy in Jerusalem, MiniActive women are also learning English! There are two courses, with 12 women in each course, one intermediate level, one advanced level. These courses will meet 11 times, and at the end, participants will be able to speak English.

Each learning at her level, toward a better future

This is the first time MiniActive is participating in the courses, and the first time that they’re taking place outside the US Embassy or any of its Jerusalem branches. Good luck to all the participants!

Thank you to our partners for this opportunity!

Here’s a post in Arabic from the MiniActive Facebook page:

And of course, many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation and to Natan for their support of MiniActive!

Naomi Roff2020-01-17T10:39:52+00:00January 21st, 2020|Blog, MiniActive|

Garbage as Art in the Public Sphere

As a result of the Little Prince – Cleaning Up Jerusalem Together, in cooperation with local residents and the Jerusalem Municipality, it is now so much more pleasant to throw the garbage in the trash.

Into the mouths of cats

Residents of the Pat neighborhood, who came together to promote neighborhood cleanliness, at first wanted to replace the big (and ugly) garbage receptacles with smaller, more aesthetic bins. Because all the bins are slated to be replaced by underground receptacles in the near future, the Municipality did not approve the residents’ request.

Jerusalem skyline on a garbage receptacle

Serious activists don’t give up, so the residents made another suggestion: Let’s decorate the bins to make it more fun to throw away the garbage! Then we can encourage people to throw garbage into the bin and not leave it on the ground around it. And, together with local artists, bins in the Pat neighborhood look like this:

Your nearby garbage bin, wrapped as a present!

The result: here’s a look at the first bins that have been transformed with adorable graffiti paintings!

Monstors are eating my garbage!

After the success of the first bins, the residents are calling on the rest of Jerusalem to join in and bring color to the public space.

A number of local artists, each wtih different styles

We can definitely call this a garbage revolution!

Here’s a post from the local community center’s Facebook page, where even Mayor Moshe Lion took notice:

Here’s a second post, with pictures of more receptacles:

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation and the Rayne Foundation for their support of the Little Prince.

talkligman2020-01-17T10:37:35+00:00January 19th, 2020|Blog, The Little Prince - Cleaning Jerusalem Together|

The Little Prince 2019 – Taking Stock, Looking Forward

We recently took stock of everything that happened in 2019 as a result of the Little Prince’s activities, and see what been happening! Here’s a partial list.

Moshe Lion as a mayoral candidate, after signing the Clean City platform

In 2019:

The Jerusalem Municipality cleared over 1/2 million tons of garbage!!
More cleaning workers were added – 500 subcontract workers will be added to the street-sweeping system by the end of next year.
More street-sweeping vehicles and cranes – the Jerusalem Municipality bought new vehicles for every area of the city.
The Enforcement Division began giving reports for throwing trash in the street, for leaving garbage bags outside the bins, construction waste, garbage from businesses, those who don’t clean up after their dogs, and more. (Until 2019, the Enforcement Division had not given any reports for garbage issues!)
About 20 neighborhood groups of residents working for cleaning the neighborhood were established.
Some neighborhoods were assigned special days to clear landscaping waste and large furniture. By the end of next year, all neighborhoods will have been assigned a fixed day.
Garbage began being collected on Saturday nights all over the city!
Containers and trash cans have been upgraded in many neighborhoods.
The first part of a Clean City Campaign began (in cooperation with residents).
The first garbage parade was held in cooperation with residents and the Municipality.
During the summer months, there were over 140 educational activities in the gardens and parks.
Educational programs on keeping streets clean began to be implemented in schools and kindergartens in all educational systems (religious, secular, ultra-Orthodox and Arab).
Trash cans were decorated with colorful paintings.
Private open spaces: In the 2020 work plan, some of the private open spaces will be cleaned by the Municipality (depending on their size and type). All residents will receive notifications before areas close to them are cleaned.
Residents and professionals forums were set up with senior operations manager and several active work groups.

There’s going to be so much more in the upcoming year …. You could say that the city is still dirty, that there hasn’t been any change. But you can also say, look how far we’ve come and how much we’ve achieved.
Happy New Year to everyone
* Pictured: Moshe Leon holds the Little Prince’s cleaning platform – October 2018.

Here’s the post that was published in the Little Prince Facebook group:

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation and the Rayne Foundation for their support of the Little Prince.

Naomi Roff2020-01-10T21:15:40+00:00January 15th, 2020|Blog, Effective Activism, The Little Prince - Cleaning Jerusalem Together|

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