Blog | The Jerusalem Intercultural Center

Celebrating the Interpreting Team Along the Way

We’ve mentioned here and here the wonderful work that Sha’are Zedek Medical Center has done recently in developing its culturally competent services, from training all new staff in the principles of cultural competency, to training a dedicated team of bi-lingual staff, whose mother tongues are Arabic, Russian and Amharic, to help ease communication between patients and doctors. These interpreters are already on staff at Sha’are Zedek, and have volunteered to help patients speaking these various languages. Our Dr. Michal Schuster, together with lecturers Beni Asegie, Tania Voinova and Salih Sawaed, trained them in a special course in medical interpreting.

Interpreters and training staff at Cinema City

On Tuesday, November 27, we all said thank you.

In the Cinema City VIP room

This special event – for both the medical interpreters and the cultural competency instructors who run the regular workshops at Sha’are Zedek – was held at Cinema City. The event began in Cinema City’s VIP room and included a pampering breakfast and other goodies, as well as a lecture by Michal, followed by the movie Bohemian Rhapsody in one of the complex’ theaters. Appropriate to the setting, Michal spoke about how interpreters (oral translators) are presented in movies, TV shows and in literature – how they view their role, and how society views their role.

Part of Michal’s talk

Many thanks to all the volunteers, who endeavor to make patients’ experiences more comfortable, who do this with love and dedication in addition to their regular hospital positions. Many thanks to Sha’are Zedek, for its efforts to train its staff in cultural competency – and equally as important, to recognize their contribution. And of course, many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation, which has been our strategic partner in Cultural Competency since its establishment more than 10 years ago.

Here’s what Michal had to say about the meeting (Hebrew):

Naomi Roff2018-12-08T17:53:08+00:00December 8th, 2018|Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services|

Living Safer, Living Longer – Expanding Our Ranks

We’ve described here and here our Living Safer, Living Longer program, which helps young families and older adults be safer and healthier. Last year we developed four Volunteer Lead Teams – two in the Haredi sector, one in the ‘general’ Jewish sector (religious and secular) and one in the Arab sector.

Dr. Jonathan Scholdenfray speaking about home accidents

Last week, on Wednesday, November 29, we expanded our ranks, opening up a second Non-Haredi-Jewish Volunteer Lead Team, which will help to improve health and home safety among Jerusalem residents. These volunteers are mostly from Gilo and Arnona. They are secular and religious, men and women, and a range of ages and professions, from a nurse to a lawyer to a former school principal to a real estate agent to social workers and more. Interestingly, there are 3 married couples in this group. We originally spoke to the wives (independently of one another) about joining the Volunteer Lead Team, and in all 3 cases, the women thought that it was very important that their husbands join as well.

The first step in developing the Volunteer Lead Team is the training, and Wednesday was the first meeting. Opening the meeting was Dr. Yonatan Schuldenfrei, from the Pediatrics Department at Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus, who spoke about household accidents that bring children to the emergency room. What an interesting – and important – subject.

Wishing many hours of learning and meaningful work for the new team!

Naomi Roff2018-12-08T17:50:30+00:00December 6th, 2018|Blog, Living Safer Living Longer|

Learning from Cultural Competency in Design and Business for Health Care

What’s the most usable cup? What is the most communicative object?

At first glance, these are the most banal questions. But when an answer needs to be given, neither the questions nor the answers are trivial.

Yifat Keinan speaking

And the following questions might seem slightly more relevant for our coordinators for cultural competency in health care systems:

What’s the connection between a charm bracelet and child vaccinations? And why do older Haredi women come to physical therapy sessions with baby carriages?

Different characteristics of cups and glasses, which can be quite important to the end user

On Thursday, November 22 Iifat Keinan-Guy, industrial designer and lecturer in the Inclusive Industrial Design Department at Hadassah Academic College in Jerusalem, spoke to our forum of Jerusalem-based Cultural Competency Coordinators in health care. Ifat’s research focuses on rehabilitative environments in medical centers and treatment and advancing rehabilitation through design.

Difference in design, up close

In her presentation, Ifat opened up a window to the deliberations and brilliant ideas for medical devices, in which end-users are involved in the design. And a perfect example is the Immunity Charm, the answer to the charm bracelet question:

It was a fascinating meeting. And we discovered yet again, the importance of meeting and exchanging ideas and knowledge, for the benefit of patients throughout Jerusalem. The meeting’s 12 participants wasted no time, and took advantage of this opportunity to begin discussing a variety of partnerships and research ideas that would further the issues covered.

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation for its continued support of Cultural Competency over the years.

Here’s our own Michal Schuster’s Facebook post (in Hebrew):

Naomi Roff2018-12-08T17:30:43+00:00December 3rd, 2018|Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services|

Third Annual Tolerance Week Hits the Streets

Some would say that it’s almost part of the daily conversation about Jerusalem – how much tension there is here, how difficult it is here, how divided it is in every direction. And then, in the middle of the election campaigns, despite all sides were pulling in different directions, we continued our tradition of Tolerance Week – an entire week of events dedicated to advancing tolerance.

Mention of Tolerance Week in a local Hebrew newspaper

We asked the general public to become a part of a wave of change and independent action. And the public has spoken – more than 30 initiatives, and many more events that popped up, that painted Jerusalem tolerant during our third annual Tolerance Week, between 16 – 23 of November. Initiatives ranged from “Jerusalem Mosaic” at the Old Yishuv Court Museum, a journey to 19th century Jerusalem within the Old City walls, to a Jerusalem Hyde Park, where a range of speakers spoke about a variety of issues;

Jerusalem Hyde Park

Climb4Change – mixed groups of Jews and Arabs demonstrating rock climbing in the Hinnom Valley. This event was produced in cooperation with hostels for mental illness in East and West Jerusalem.

Climb4change

Learning sign language, together with a teacher and student at the Kiach (Hattie Friedland) School for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired;

Learning sign language

Singing in the Garden, sing-along together with Israel Elwyn, which is a special needs village. The whole evening was produced at the Elwyn village.

Singing in the garden

The Meeting Place discussion in Zion Square focused on the tensions in the city as a result of the mayoral elections, and how we can continue working to make the city better together even if we are different. There were also events by the ArtShelter Gallery, which targets Haredi artists. They held a tour in the neighborhood and also hosted an evening for women, Haredi and secular.

At the ArtShelter Gallery

Tours of the Old City, commemorating the Holiday of the Birth of Muhammad, in cooperation with the Open Holidays initiative.

Tour explaining the Birth of Muhammad

Here’s a full list of activities that took place. Here’s a full list of activities in English. Our Michal Shilor, Coordinator of our Grassroots Campaign for Tolerance, summed it up:

“This is an important lesson for us, as people, as a society, as part of the city. All that was needed was to lend a helping hand in calling for tolerance, and it can almost stand on its own. We invite you to lend a helping hand to such an initiative, when it crosses the street, daydreams on the bus, sits next to you in class, in the office or on a park bench, every day here in Jerusalem. To dare to peek on the other side of the wall (the wall in our hearts), and to connect.”

Here’s the Hebrew Facebook post summarizing the week:

And another one too:

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation, the Leichtag Foundation and Natan for their support of our efforts to advance tolerance in Jerusalem.

Naomi Roff2018-12-29T10:44:51+00:00December 2nd, 2018|Blog, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Palestinians/Arabs, Promoting Tolerance in Jerusalem|

A Decade of Cultural Competency – Digitization of Health Care and Other Worlds in Haredi Society

Today many people manage much of their health care needs electronically – over the Internet, through mobile apps and various social media. Medical information, consultation with doctors and nurses and making appointments – all of these actions are often done today online or via mobile apps. How does the Haredi population, which often eschews the open Internet, deal with these means of communication? How do they receive information, which many in the non-Haredi world have instant access to simply by filling out telephone numbers or e-mail addresses and receiving occasional updates?

Our fifth lecture in the celebrating a decade of Cultural Competency (see here, here, and here for former meetings) focused on the Haredi sector – how it relates to the Internet and social media, relating to the world of health care and others. The speaker was Shmuel Drilman, Haredi social activist and CEO of the Webetter digital company.

Shmuel Drilman lecturing

He spoke about how so much of our daily lives revolves around the Internet, smartphone apps and social media, from health care to a range of other services, and how the Haredi world – which is often closed to technological advancements – deals with the challenges of everyday life in the 21st century. He spoke about possible ways that the health care world can make information available to Haredi society, without compromising its online systems or the Haredi society’s cultural norms.

Many thanks to the ALYN Rehabilitative Hospital for their partnership and hosting of this series of lectures. And of course, many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation for its strategic partnership in cultural competency over the last decade!

Here’s the Facebook post on the meeting:

Naomi Roff2018-12-01T12:45:57+00:00November 26th, 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|

The Jerusalem Covenant – Ensuring that the New Mayor and City Council See All Jerusalemites

Jerusalem’s mayoral elections are over. There are those who are happy, there are those who aren’t. Two grueling rounds of elections, after (for some) months of campaigning. But what’s for sure, now it’s time to get down to work. We mentioned here about the Jerusalem Covenant, a document that was signed by all Jerusalem mayoral candidates before the first round of elections. We also reported about the exciting event we held with all the mayoral candidates before the first round.

Ofer Berkowitz and Moshe Lion, running in the second round of Jerusalem’s mayoral elections

Now it’s our – and your – turn to make sure that those who signed live up to their promise. We’re planning a post-election event we’re planning to make sure that the new City Council and mayor act in the residents’ interests. Leading up to that, we’ve made a little video (in Hebrew) emphasizing this need:

We plan to make sure that the Jerusalem Covenant was not only full of pre-election promises, but a real guide for the new mayor and City Council. Our Michal Shilor, coordinator for our Grassroots Campaign for Tolerance, wrote this opinion piece (in Hebrew) on MyNet, the local online news site for Jerusalem news, operated by the Ynet platform:

Now it’s our – the activists’ – turn to show that these elections didn’t break us, nor did they split us apart. We will continue to do our part so that City Council members will understand that we, the residents, own the keys. We need to be partners in everything that goes on here, every day. And our collective voice demands – put shallow identity politics aside and let Jerusalem, in its wealth of diversity, to develop…If we stand up and continue to work, we’ll forge a path for all Jerusalemites across the spectrum, together.

Our director, Hagai Agmon-Snir, also wrote about this on Mynet, two days before the second round:

The Jerusalem Covenant proposes a new language. It talks about a flourishing and developing city, benefiting all its residents. It seeks to recognize that Jerusalem has a cooperative good, far beyond identity politics. The Jerusalem Covenant entrenches that approach that there can be social solidarity in Jerusalem – and that it really is important for the modern orthodox population that life be good for the Ultra-Orthodox, for secular Jews, and for Arabs. (You can change around the order of the different groups if you like.) It says that in a city like Jerusalem, resident involvement is a resource that the Municipality needs to encourage, and not to discourage. And of course, it expects the Municipal leadership to be human, fair, decent, mentchadik.

Journalist Peggy Cidor quoted Hagai in this Jerusalem Post article, which speaks about what the new mayor should do in his term:

HAGAI AGMON-SNIR, director of the Jerusalem Intercultural Center on Mount Zion, emphasizes the need to include civil activists, valuing them “not as annoying individuals but rather as partners for the sake of the city.” He says that new approaches to some of the major issues in the city are required.

“The status quo has become a way to freeze everything and prevent any initiative. We, at the Center, have been working on a new pact that will provide the tools necessary to promote more understanding, more options and opportunities to meet the needs of all the sectors. That is what this city needs now.”

We’ve already had a number of city council members, from a range of parties and lists, sign the Covenant, from the Ultra-Orthodox Agudat Yisrael

Agudat Yisrael signing the Jerusalem Covenant

To the left-leaning secular Meretz party.

Meretz signing the Jerusalem Covenant

Many thanks to the Leichtag Foundation, Charles and Lynn Shusterman Family Foundation, the Natan Fund and the Jerusalem Foundation for their support for our efforts to increase tolerance in Jerusalem.

Naomi Roff2020-06-18T04:34:45+00:00November 22nd, 2018|Blog, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Promoting Tolerance in Jerusalem|

The Little Prince – Putting a Clean City at the Top of the New Mayor’s To-Do List

One of our goals in the Little Prince is to put the issue of cleanliness in the city on the public agenda throughout all Jerusalemite neighborhood, of any identity group. As we’ve seen in the recent elections and the agendas of the different candidates, in local as well as national news, we’ve definitely been successful on that front.

Moshe Lion signing the Cleanliness Platform

Our director, Dr. Hagai Agmon-Snir, was quoted by journalist Peggy Cidor in this Jerusalem Post article after the election.

“This issue cannot be ignored any longer and needs the immediate attention of the new mayor.” Agmon- Snir calls for “a bold decision to give the residents of this city real, professional and efficient municipal services, and a major effort must be made to implant the understanding in all municipality employees that this is their mission.”

One of the central issues on the plate of the newly-elected mayor, Moshe Lion, is the city’s cleanliness, as described in this Ynet article (in Hebrew).

“Throughout the election campaign Moshe Lion, presented his goals and plans for the upcoming years. One of the central problems concerning Jerusalemites is the city’s cleanliness…Lion declared that he will keep the Sanitation and Beautification [City Council] posts, and will work to add 300 sanitation and gardening workers to the Municipality’s rosters. He even promised that he would tour the city on a regular basis, just like Jerusalem’s legendary Mayor Teddy Kollek, and would establish a Cleanliness Patrol that would answer to the Mayor, in order to keep tabs on the cleanliness of the city.”

Lion was also quoted in the local Hebrew-language Jerusalem newspaper’s Kol Ha’Ir web site:

“Jerusalemites deserve to get the best sanitation services, levels that we haven’t seen in recent years. I walk a lot around the city, take walks in the morning, and see the state of the city. The city needs to be clean. I’m passionate about it. I want the city to look different, and for everyone to benefit.” He added, “I intend to crack down on fines for…littering and creating environmental hazards. Jerusalem needs to be clean.”

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

Naomi Roff2018-12-01T12:41:35+00:00November 19th, 2018|Blog, Effective Activism, The Little Prince - Cleaning Jerusalem Together|

MiniActive – Beginning a Successful Year Studying Hebrew

This year, for the fifth year running, MiniActive women are studying Hebrew. The Hebrew they learn will enable them to better navigate municipal and other public bodies, helping them to better self-advocate for their rights to a clean Jerusalem, for proper education, and much more.

MiniActive women studying Hebrew

This year, some 130 women and youth are studying Hebrew, in our long-standing cooperation with the Lissan organization. Most classes take place at the Hebrew University Mount Scopus campus.

Different levels, beginning, intermediate, advanced

Look how much fun they’re having!

Different ages, younger, older – all learning to communicate with the ‘other’

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation and Natan for their support of MiniActive.

Naomi Roff2018-12-01T12:51:16+00:00November 7th, 2018|Blog, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, MiniActive, Palestinians/Arabs|

Little Prince – We’re Talkin’ about a Garbage Revolution

At the JICC, it is our mission to ensure that residents from all Jerusalem communities are equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to effect change, on a local and larger level. The Little Prince – Cleaning Up Jerusalem Together seeks to do this, focusing on cleaning up Jerusalem. This past week we had two such opportunities – and we raised public awareness along the way.

The Jerusalem Garbage Commando

Last Friday (October 26) we held the first of a series of ‘expert training’ meetings, which aim to engage residents to become a part of the Garbage Commando. Gilo resident and the official record-holder for reports to the 106 municipal hotline (where you report excess garbage and other hazards), Dan Krakow, explained the ins and outs of reporting hazards, whom to turn to in the Municipality, and more. This was the first such meeting, and we intend for there to be many more. The meeting was covered in the local Hebrew Jerusalem newspaper, Yediot Yerushalayim (article above).

Little Prince activists not only made news locally – they were also in national news. The article pictured below, “Rich Trash, Poor Trash,” (see here for the article in Hebrew) which was published on the national news web site YNet, describes the gap in response time between rich neighborhoods and poor neighborhoods after trash and other hazards are reported. In [the well-to-do] neighborhood of Ramot, hazards were cleared away only 1 /2 hour after being reported,” notes the article. “While in the [less well-to-do] neighborhood of Nahlaot…reports from October 9th had still not been handled.”

What’s for sure is that Little Prince’s activists, from all sectors and all groups in Jerusalem, will keep on the watch to make Jerusalem a clean city.

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation for its support of our effective activism efforts and to the Rayne Foundation for its support the Little Prince initiative!

Naomi Roff2019-11-16T11:19:42+00:00November 4th, 2018|Blog, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, The Little Prince - Cleaning Jerusalem Together|

The Jerusalem Covenant – All Mayors for All People in Jerusalem

We believe that the gospel will come from Jerusalem – how to operate a complex city, with diverse populations living side by side, even if not always together, but in peace with and with compassion for my neighbors from other groups and identities.

Hard at work at the Inbal Hotel on October 28

On Sunday, October 28, a day and a half before the mayoral elections, we held a special meeting for future City Council members and residents from the entire spectrum of Jerusalem to discuss practical implications of the Jerusalem Covenant, and its future influence on our city and our everyday lives. Over 70 people gathered at the Inbal Hotel, and we talked, political opponents and people from all sectors of society. We discussed a range of issues in respectful manner. We reached a number of practical understandings that we believe will guide the future City Council in their work for Jerusalem – and for all Jerusalemites – on an everyday level.

The Jerusalem Covenant

What is the Jerusalem Covenant?

In this local election year, we felt that it is especially pertinent to put tolerance on the public agenda. Not only for all candidates to work to better all parts of Jerusalem, but also for them to see, hear and attempt to understand the needs of all Jerusalemites, no matter their political platform. For this purpose, we have created the Jerusalem Covenant. We brought the Covenant to all four mayoral candidates, who signed wholeheartedly.

All four mayoral candidates signing the Jerusalem Covenant

The Jerusalem Covenant has four parts:

As I begin my term as Mayor of Jerusalem, I promise to adopt the following four principles, which will help me as Mayor to see all Jerusalem residents, and to integrate these principles into all everyday activities of the Municipality:

See everyone. People from different groups need different services. Thus, Jerusalem will be adapted to the needs of all residents and welcoming to all people.
Listen to everyone. In Jerusalem, residents are involved and are an important source of varied initiatives. Thus the Municipality will encourage the partnership of residents. It will be transparent in its actions and will encourage respectful public discourse.
Leader of everyone. Jerusalem has national and international importance, and there are many social complexities among its residents. Thus, Jerusalem will be run in the utmost professional manner, for the benefit of its residents, not by political or identity-driven agendas.
Mayor of everyone. Jerusalem will blossom under a leadership that is respected by everyone. Thus, the city leaders will show integrity and fairness.

“See me” Jerusalem Covenant

We’ve been running a local ad campaign (see above), which also included a video (see further down this post). Since all candidates signed the Covenant, after the elections we aim to have it included on the front page of the coalition agreements, and to continually follow up with city council members to encourage them to operate according to the Covenant.

Ofer Berkowitz and Moshe Lion, running in the second round of Jerusalem’s mayoral elections

The October 28 event, with all the major mayoral and city council candidates and active residents from around the city, was a peak event. “It was pretty amazing that [many of the mayoral and city council candidates] sat together with residents and wrote our future together,” noted our own Michal Sherez Shilor, one of the event’s organizers. “It was an exciting demonstration of democracy that I’ve never seen before, and the best – and most natural – part, is that it took place davka in Jerusalem. Davka the place that everyone thinks is torn and divided, violent, angry; where each sector builds walls. It was amazing how each and every one – both residents as well as candidates – really focused on how he or she could make others’ lives better. To break out of his or her own personal box and think of others.”

Shaike El-Ami, Director of the Ginot Ha’Ir Community Council and one of the initiators of the evening, said, “That so many candidates came out – and just one and a half days before the elections – it was a miracle. It didn’t happen for no reason – it happened because people understand that something special is happening here.”

Journalist Peggy Cidor commented on Facebook, “These are really amazingly positive things….And flowers to you, the organizers…That is how you love Jerusalem.” She even opened her Jerusalem Post column, “This Week in Jerusalem” with a summary of the Covenant’s four principles (see here for the link):

A coveted covenant

A group representing several organizations in the city drew up a declaration of principles to guide mayoral candidates this year. Michal Shilor and Hagai Agmon-Snir of the Intercultural Center on Mount Zion played a leading role in the drafting of the document, whose four key principles are:

1) The mayor should take into consideration and provide for the needs of all residents in terms of municipal services. No resident or sector should be excluded.

2) The municipality should be attentive to initiatives promoted by activists, should encourage activists and include them in its projects.

3) The leadership should avoid being rooted in narrow political interests.

4) The mayor should seek to work with a large team that includes as many parties active in the city as possible.

Only candidates who accepted the covenant would get the support these associations; all four final candidates endorsed and signed it.

Fay Sukenik, one of the facilitators, noted, “To come together around joint needs – because in the end that’s what Jerusalem residents want. It was a fascinating evening. I was happy to take part!”

And here’s the Hebrew Facebook post summarizing the meeting:

As promised, here’s the video with a short but poignant message for the next mayor: “See us!”

Thank you everyone for your support and participation, and to the Leichtag Foundation, Charles and Lynn Shusterman Family Foundation, the Natan Fund and the Jerusalem Foundation for their support for our efforts to increase tolerance in Jerusalem.

Naomi Roff2018-12-05T05:27:55+00:00November 1st, 2018|Blog, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Promoting Tolerance in Jerusalem|

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