Effective Activism

Part of learning about how to make Jerusalem a clean city is also learning about what works. One of the goals set out in the Little Prince’s one-year anniversary celebration last July was to learn from other successes. And Rishon Lezion is ranked the cleanest city in Israel according to national indicators.

Jerusalem residents and city officials learning from Rishon Lezion

So we went to Rishon Lezion to learn what they do well.

We went with a group of Municipality officials – both elected and professional – including David Zohar, a city council representative from the Haredi Degel Hatorah party.

We discussed the actions that the Rishon Lezion municipality takes in order to keep its streets clean – the amount of resources it dedicates to the field, the number of sanitation works, the number of overseers, the level of enforcement, (They give out 4,600 tickets each year, just to people who don’t clean up after their dogs!)  – all of which are significant, and significantly higher per capita than many cities in Israel, including in Jerusalem. There is a great deal of planning and strategic thinking, both within municipal departments and in cross-department cooperation. Residents are also considered full partners in the effort to keep Rishon Lezion clean. As a result of hard work and careful planning and cooperative work, the Director of Rishon Lezion’s Environment Division has been able to instill a sense of pride among sanitation workers, which is rare for that municipal branch. There is even a mechanism for measurement and reward for outstanding workers.

It was fascinating and inspiring. Next step – Jerusalem!

Here’s what the Playback Theater had to say (at the Trash Party we had recently) about the comparison between Jerusalem and Rishon Lezion (Hebrew):

Many thanks to the Rayne Foundation for their support of the Little Prince. And to the Jerusalem Foundation for its support of activism throughout Jerusalem.

Congratulations Little Prince! As a result of all its hard work, the new city administration has chosen a Clean City as a main, central objective! This means that all Department Directors are now busy writing work plans on how to implement Clean City programming in their departments – from sanitation to city beautification, enforcement to education, welfare to culture, public buildings, and more. In addition, the Municipality has received an additional 52 million NIS to the Clean City budget, and Mayor Lion is addressing the target of a Clean City from a range of angles – not only garbage collection, but also public gardens, courtyards, enforcement, supervision, education and awareness-raising, improving infrastructure, improving procedures, and more.

Celebrating Clean Targets in Jerusalem

We had to celebrate that accomplishment. So on February 4, we rented a party room at the Inbal Hotel, with a rich variety of refreshments. Activists from the Arab, Haredi and ‘general’ Jewish sectors spoke about their experiences thus far, and their visions for the future. We also invited the Playback Theater, which gave a fantastic performance! Who knew trash could be so funny?

Here’s a taste of the performance (Hebrew):

Many thanks to the Rayne Foundation for its support of the Little Prince. And to the Jerusalem Foundation for its support for encouraging activism in Jerusalem.

We’ve described here and here some of our latest efforts to make Jerusalem a clean city, thanks to the efforts of the Little Prince – Cleaning Up Jerusalem Together initiative.

Last Friday, on February 22, 2019, Shlomi Buchnik published this opinion piece on the MyNet web site, which is associated with the popular Ynet web site. You can read the Hebrew here. As we can read, the buzz of the Little Prince is deep into this new municipal administration! Hope the buzz will turn into actual outcomes in the streets soon!

Here’s an English translation of the piece:

Three Months after Leon was elected, I feel Positive Winds of Change from Safra Square

The truth is, I did not believe any of the promises of Moshe Leon’s election. I must admit there is something in his clean vision that even bored me. But perhaps after Barkat’s dramatic roller coaster, this silence is blessed.

I remind you of my sins today: I did not believe any of the promises of the municipal elections that accompanied us in the past year, and especially not those of Moshe Leon. I read them with a mocking smile. After every promise I hastened to explain why I did not believe them. I could not believe it when he talked about free parking, and certainly not the one that promised to improve cleanliness. I did not think he would get rid of garbage in the streets, and it seemed absurd to me that he would evacuate garbage daily in areas where people go out.

I must admit that there is something in Leon’s clean vision that even bored me. How do you compare the excitement of Formula 1 or the Marathon to thrill of an empty trash can? In my shallow eyes, I preferred the approach of his predecessor, Nir Barkat, who sometimes did not seem interested in the daily troubles of the Jerusalem resident, but at least he gave us the feeling that we live in a European capital.

The problem is that, like Cinderella, at midnight (and perhaps a little before) we returned to reality. Barkat did invest in a revolutionary program to clean up the city, but the Machane Yehuda Shuk remains dirty. The ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods were filthy, and the garbage activists were often forced to replace the Jerusalem Municipality. When a Jerusalemite wanted to solve the local garbage problem, he preferred to turn to the Little Prince and Jerusalem of Garbage, groups that the residents established to solve the problem.

This week I sat down to talk to an old friend who has been an activist for clean streets even longer. In recent years, the conversations with him were stinking, literally and figuratively. They dealt with the sorry state of municipal garbage, which bothered him more than the access highways to the city or the housing problem. “I live in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood and feel that I live in a perpetual garbage dump,” he always said.

This week my friend smiled when he talked about the garbage situation in the streets. This hasn’t happened in a decade. He explained that since Moshe Leon was elected, the response to sanitation complaints has changed. He has been invited to meetings that deal with the subject in local community centers, and even takes care of dog feces. “Do not be mistaken, there are still quite a few things to do, but I feel that if we continue like this, we’re moving in the right direction,” he explained to me.

City sanitation workers speak enthusiastically about the changing atmosphere. They tell of direction from above that cleanliness is more important than anything. Some explain that Nir Barkat began this last year, but everyone is aware that Leon accepts no compromises. “In the past month, we have been cleaning areas that we have not been in for years. We’ve found trash that’s ten years old,” said one of them.

Leon’s hundred days of grace ended this week. I promised myself that I would not criticize him during this time. I was convinced that at the end of that time I would stand with a bag and criticize him for everything he’s done. Like many of the city’s residents, I was afraid as well. Less because of an increasing religiosity of the city and the alliance with the ultra-Orthodox, and more because of fears of ethical practices.

Today, three months after he was elected, I can say that I feel positive winds of change from Safra Square, especially in the area of cleanliness. There are no strikes that threaten the Finance Minister, no struggles with the heads of community centers, and even the mini-drama in the Shuk ended long before it was exciting.

Moshe Leon still isn’t a visionary. He has no dreams that will excite the Jerusalemites. It’s also clear to me that three months is too little time to completely believe in him, and I promise to be there to make sure he does not fall and does not tire of keeping his morals. But perhaps after the dramatic roller coaster provided by Barkat, this silence is blessed. And perhaps this is our opportunity to give a first and clean opportunity to Moshe Leon.

Many thanks to the Rayne Foundation for their support of the Little Prince, as well as to the Jerusalem Foundation, for their support in developing activism in Jerusalem.

Today, thanks to the day-to-day work of the Little Prince, garbage is high on the public agenda. In the recent municipal elections, all the mayoral candidates spoke about garbage, and what they’d do to clean up the city. The national news site YNET surveyed different cities in Israel, and Jerusalem was found to be the dirtiest city in the country.  Indeed, one of Mayor Moshe Lion’s main campaign promises was to clean up the city.

Kiryat Menachem December 24

We’ve been there along the way in encouraging residents to take part in cleaning up their city.  With assistance from active resident Dan Krakow, the record-holder in complaints to the 106 municipal hotline, as well as from Efrat Givaty and Moshe Cohen, we’re establishing Garbage Commando units throughout the city. These are active residents, who care about their physical surroundings, who are organizing within their own neighborhoods to flood the 106 hotline with requests to clean up the city, and to be there to follow up to ensure that the complaints are actually taken care of.

We had our first meeting in Old Katamon. You can read about it here.

We’ve since had meetings in Baka’a

Baka, on December 11

Here’s the clip of Gilo resident Dan Krakow, coined “King of the 106 Municipal Hotline” providing tips to residents:

In Kiryat Menachem

Improving strategy in Kiryat Menachem

And in the Gonenim.

Talking garbage in Gonenim on December 30b

Dan has introduced us to how the municipal complaint system works, who is in charge of what, the most effective ways to follow up and with whom, and how to take things to the next level.

Everyone has been very enthusiastic and are excited to get started. Neighborhoods next in line – Gilo and possibly the Bucharim neighborhood.

Many thanks to the Rayne Foundation for their support of this program, and to the Jerusalem Foundation for their support in advancing cross-cultural activism in Jerusalem.

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.