Jewish-Palestinian/Arab | The Jerusalem Intercultural Center

Have You Studied the Other’s Language Today? News Article on Israel’s Channel One News

Did you know that our Arabic for communications program is one of our longest-running programs? It’s been operating almost since our establishment in 1999. One could even say we were before our time….

Well, the time for studying the other’s language has certainly come, and this past Sunday one of our veteran teachers and her class were featured on the Channel One evening newscast, the prime time of Israeli television. Here’s the link to the video, in Hebrew:

This class was one of one of twelve (12!) that studied Arabic this year, in levels 1 – 5, 180 students in all! Practically, it means that we are definitely the largest Arabic school in Jerusalem, and maybe the largest in Israel. We’ve just begun pre-registration for next year, and already have more than 150 people signed up. We’re expecting a total of 250 students next year, a new record!

You can contact us to receive a registration form, or click here for the registration form in Hebrew. But hurry, to make sure you have a space!

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation for their continued support of this program.

Naomi Roff2017-05-02T07:09:59+00:00June 10th, 2016|Blog, Courses, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish-Palestinian/Arab, Language Center, Palestinians/Arabs|

“A Different Day in Jerusalem” – Painting the Town Tolerant on Jerusalem Day

Thank you Jerusalem. Thank you Jerusalemites. You helped us to re-claim Jerusalem Day via a variety of activities designed to promote tolerance, and we lit up the city!

Finally, a day that enables us, Jerusalemites, to respect one another and for us all to have a voice. Indeed, with all the sensitivities surrounding this day, Jerusalem Day is the most important time to emphasize the need for a more tolerant Jerusalem for all the various identities and groups living here. It was about Jews and Arabs, Jewish denominations, Christians and Muslims, transgenders, asylum seekers and refugees, Jewish Olim, etc.

“Tarbuth” tour on the Haredi-non-Haredi seamline

It was a tidal wave of tolerant events in Jerusalem. More than 50 projects, programs, initiatives, events, concerts, tours, activities, discussions, readings, yoga and more, all showing respect to other people in Jerusalem. Tens of thousands of people (probably even more, but who’s counting?) were exposed to and participated in lectures, tours, discussions and events; saw us and our signs and exhibits on the streets, heard us on the radio, debated with us, read about us in the newspapers and on Facebook.

Most important – it was not just us – it was a mass effort of vastly diverse people and initiatives. The many events were produced and organized by many groups of activists all around the city who responded to our call and made it happen. We helped, mentored, supported, integrated, solved issues, coordinated the combined internet site, Facebook event, flyer etc. We worked really hard…. but most of the energy was put out by the hundreds of activists who did the work. It is extremely important, since this makes it sustainable (people are already sure that it will become an annual tradition…) and also because it means that the success belongs not to us, but to all the residents of Jerusalem.

“Another Day in Jerusalem” Flyer

We started on Saturday afternoon, with a different tour of Katamon, as well as a tour on Jerusalem’s seam line between east and west.

A Different Katamon

Later on, we heard doctoral student Eran Tzidkiyahu and journalist Elhanan Miller at the Nocturno Cafe, discussing the national influences of local ideologies. Here’s a video of that event (in Hebrew):

After stopping for coffee we moved on to Zion Square, where Speaking in the Square held their famous debate. The debates were about the Temple Mount, Jerusalem Day parades in the Muslim Quarter, and dividing Jerusalem with walls. There were people representing the entire political and religious spectrum, and the energy was incredible! Throughout the night several hundred people passed by, stopped for a few minutes, and listened, spoke, discussed, debated. All in a very Jerusalemite way, respectfully.

Speaking in the Square

“It was fascinating to see people from very different political and religious views sit down and debate the issues in a constructive and respectful way,” said Daniel, an onlooker. “Wonderful to see great positive energy pushing back at the too often feelings of despair.”

The next morning we were on Israel Radio’s Reshet Bet drive time morning show, “Seder Yom with Keren Neubach,” together with representatives from the Yerushalmim Movement and Machon Shacharit, who also participated in A Different Day in Jerusalem. Here’s the link to the interview. It was also posted on Shacharit’s Facebook page (in Hebrew):

At 11, we went to a Ju Jitsu workshop entitled, “The Connection between Mediation, Ju Jitsu and Acceptance of the Other,” which was held together with Mosaica – The Center for Conflict Resolution by Agreement and the Jerusalem School of Traditional Ju Jitsu.

Between Ju Jitsu, Mediation and Acceptance of the Other

After a short break, activities started up again in the afternoon. At 2:30 pm, our own Merav Horowitz, Director of the Window on Mt. Zion project, led a tour of Mt. Zion entitled, “Status Quo and Tolerance.”

Learning about relations between the religions on Mt. Zion

Meanwhile, downtown, the Ruach Nachon Mechina Post Secondary Leadership Academy stationed themselves opposite Safra Square, a key location that many tourists and visitors passed by as they made their way toward the Old City. They greeted the throngs of passersby with music, inviting them to share their visions and wishes for Jerusalem. They also led tolerance activities on the Jerusalem light rail.

With music and blessings for Jerusalem

For those wishing to send messages of peace to Israel’s neighbors, Hamabul Collective’s “Jerusalem Says Hello” project enabled them to do so.

A little later, events gained momentum and were happening simultaneously. Downtown, members of Tag Meir distributed flowers to Palestinian residents of the Old City. And huge placards of poetry in Hebrew and Arabic, written by Jewish Israeli and Muslim poets, and translated into the ‘other’ language, could be seen along Jaffa Road. Anyone and everyone walking or marching down Jaffa Road that day, saw those signs.

Jewish and Muslim poets for all to see

At the same time, in the south of the city, the Yerushalemim Movement held its Jerusalem Day Family Parade along the Jerusalem Railway Park. A thousand men, women and children celebrated the day. There was also a workshop for children at the Reading Station on the Railway Park, as well as a story hour operated by the Talpiot Tolerance Team.

Jerusalem Day Family Parade

As evening descended, events continued – multicultural parties, salon meetings, musical performances and concerts, including a “Chafla” at the Tahrir Bar and a discussion on: The Temple Mount: An Opportunity for Inter-religious Tolerance, with (newly sworn in) Likud MK Yehuda Glick and Yariv Oppenheimer, General Director of the Peace Now movement, moderated by veteran journalist Peggy Cidor.

Inter-religious Chafla at the Tahrir

Rounding out the evening was the event by 0202 – A View from East Jerusalem – which interviewed journalists from different sectors about their individual sector’s news coverage of Jerusalem Day. We heard the point of view of the local Palestinian population, the local Ultra-Orthodox population, the religious population and others. It was fascinating.

And this was just a sampling of the 50 events and activities that took place throughout the city. Here is a selected list of main events in English, and here is a complete list in Hebrew.

Our dedicated web site, jerusalemtolerance.org, also helped people know about and navigate the different events.

We received a good deal of press coverage as well. Some can be seen in previous posts we had here:

Another example was in the Ha’aretz daily newspaper. You can read in in PDF format here.

Elhanan Miller Haaretz article

We also appeared on the home page of the Washington Times! Here’s the link to the article. You can read a .pdf of the article here.

Washington Times front page

And, of course, in the Jerusalem Post, after as well as before the event:

Pride not Prejudice, Jerusalem Post

Did you see our Michal Shilor on TV describing “A Different Day in Jerusalem”? Here it is, in case you missed (in Hebrew):

And this was just a sample of the press coverage…

Many, many thanks to our partners in this project: UJA-Federation of New York, the Jerusalem Foundation, This is Jerusalem, Jerusalem Center for Young Adults.

Naomi Roff2017-05-02T07:11:23+00:00June 6th, 2016|Asylum Seekers, Blog, Christians, Effective Activism, Ethiopian Jews, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, Jewish-Palestinian/Arab, New Immigrants, Palestinians/Arabs, Promoting Tolerance in Jerusalem, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

Toward an Alternative Jerusalem Day – Call for Programs on Diversity

Jerusalem Day. This year it comes out on Sunday, June 5. What a better opportunity to discuss about the city we love? One day to reflect on its history, its peoples, its diversity. Well, not so easy….

As our own Michal Shilor recently said in the local Kol Ha’Ir newspaper, “Over the last few years we are witnessing more and more incidents of hate and violence on Jerusalem Day… I’m excited to be a part of making this city more tolerant …on this tension-filled day. Most of us are looking for a different way to mark Jerusalem Day, one that respects and marks Jerusalem’s political, social and cultural diversity.”

Jerusalem day is the most important time to emphasize the need for a more tolerant Jerusalem for all of the various identities and groups living here. This year, we will re-claim Jerusalem Day through a variety of activities designed to promote tolerance – “A Different Day in Jerusalem!“

Jerusalem Day 2016: A Different Day in Jerusalem

Together with a number of major partners in Jerusalem – This is Jerusalem, the Jerusalem Foundation, the UJA-Federation of New York, the Jerusalem Young Adults Center and more – we have lined up cross all sectors and groups – religious, secular, men, women, all languages and faiths, political right , left and center. The idea – to encourage a broad range of initiatives engaging a wide variety of populations and to flood the city with activities marking Jerusalem’s diversity.

Practicing effective dialogue in Zion Square

Thus far we have a long list (more than 40), and the list is growing. Events will be taking place all over the city, from Saturday evening, June 4 through to Sunday evening, June 5. See the map of all the events:

Map of events

To further these events and develop new initiatives, we held an Open Space Technology meeting on Sunday, May 15. Already-registered initiatives refined their programs, and new initiatives were presented.

Reporting vandalized sign to be fixed

In all, 10 initiatives were discussed. They included an inter-religious study session of religious texts, reporting defamed signs throughout the downtown Jerusalem area, educational activities in schools, an Effective Dialogue workshop at Zion Square, cleaning the roof of a multi-cultural art studio, panel discussions, and more. They were added to a growing list of events designed to highlight Jerusalem’s diversity. A full and updated list can be found on the event’s web page:

http://www.jerusalemtolerance.org

Different types of activities listed on the site

And here’s the Hebrew invite to the Open Space Technology Facebook event.

And here’s the Hebrew invite to the “A Different Day in Jerusalem” Facebook event.

Naomi Roff2016-06-12T11:33:18+00:00May 18th, 2016|Asylum Seekers, Blog, Christians, Effective Activism, Ethiopian Jews, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, Jewish-Palestinian/Arab, New Immigrants, Palestinians/Arabs, Promoting Tolerance in Jerusalem, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

Creating a Different Jerusalem Day – “a Different Day in Jerusalem”

As our name states, we’re all about Jerusalem. Especially about Jerusalem and all its cultures, ethnicities, religions, nationalities. On this upcoming Jerusalem Day, we, together with a number of prominent Jerusalem-based partners seek to show this love for Jerusalem, in a way that is different than what has developed in recent years. We were recently featured in an article in the local Kol Ha’ir newspaper. Click on the picture for the PDF version:

The Hebrew article, from Friday, April 15

The Hebrew article, Friday, April 15

In the article, Michal Shilor, our coordinator for the Grassroots Campaign to Promote Tolerance in Jerusalem, said,

“Over the last few years we are witnessing more and more incidents of hate and violence on Jerusalem Day. Many of the events that take place in the city do not leave room for most of the city’s residents to mark that day in a tolerant manner, and I, like many residents of the city, hide away at home or leave the city on that day in order to get away from the blatant racism that is expressed in the streets on that day. This year, I’m excited to be a part of making this city more tolerant in general, and on this tension-filled day in particular. Most of us are looking for a different way to mark Jerusalem Day, one that respects and celebrates Jerusalem’s political, social and cultural diversity – and now we have a chance.”

This initiative, called, “a Different Day in Jerusalem“, is a collaboration between the Jerusalem Intercultural Center, This is Jerusalem, the Young Adults Center and the Jerusalem Foundation. It is supported by the UJA-Federation of New York .

There’s already a long list of projects and programs taking part in the day’s events. On Sunday, May 15 we’ll be holding an additional Open Space Technology meeting to garner even more.

Here’s the link to the Facebook event (Hebrew).

And this is the link to the internet site that features all the events of “a Different Day in Jerusalem“.

Mark your calendars for June 5. It’s going to be something special!

Naomi Roff2016-05-21T08:15:04+00:00April 19th, 2016|Asylum Seekers, Blog, Christians, Effective Activism, Ethiopian Jews, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, Jewish-Palestinian/Arab, New Immigrants, Promoting Tolerance in Jerusalem, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

Cultural Evening for Arabic Language Students

On Tuesday, April 12, we held yet another evening of culture – a lecture by Mr. Omar Othman, renowned teacher of Arabic and well-known author Arabic-language books, of for our students of Arabic. For the first time, this lecture was geared to our students in levels one and two. (Previously, events were held for more advanced students.)

Omar Othman

Mr. Othman has been teaching Arabic for some 40 years to non-Arabic and non-Hebrew speakers. In simple language (for the students), he told fascinating stories of his life. The 45 students listened, enraptured, throughout the entire presentation and discussion.

Students in the audience

He told about his childhood in Beit Safafa, and how his family moved to Bethlehem as a result of the 1948 war. He and his 5 brothers stayed with their mother in Bethlehem while his father traveled to Jordan to work. In 1951 his father returned to Bethlehem, and after much effort, they returned to their family home in Beit Safafa. At that time he went to work in the Mahane Yehuda market as a porter and selling vegetables and herbs in order to help his family’s income. He told about his determination to continue his studies and how, together with his cousin, he traveled from Jerusalem north to Tira in order to become accepted into a high school and how he returned once a month to see his family. He told how he became a teacher in the village of Ein Rafa, a principal in Abu Ghosh (adjacent to Ein Rafa), and at the same time how he finished his B.A. at the Hebrew University and even continued his studies.

Omar eventually returned to teach in Beit Safafa and became the principal of its high school, one of the few in Jerusalem that teaches both the Israeli bagrut track as well as the Jordanian tawjihi track for matriculation (prevalent in East Jerusalem). In 1991 he retired and began teaching Arabic and writing Arabic language instruction books.

“Omar has dedicated much of his time and energy in teaching the Arabic language, and his story inspired us all,” said Orna, one of the participants.

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation for their continuing support of this program.

Naomi Roff2016-06-12T11:15:12+00:00April 18th, 2016|Blog, Courses, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish-Palestinian/Arab, Language Center|

Ha’aretz Coverage of Zion Square-Tolerance Square Planning Meeting

Speaking in the Square has made the national news again! On March 22, the Zion Square – Tolerance Square planning meeting, which we wrote about here, was covered by the Ha’aretz national newspaper in English. Click here to access the entire article.

Here are some excerpts from the article, written by Eetta Prince-Gibson:

“Imagine Zion Square in the future,” the facilitator asks the group. “What is happening in your ideal square?”
Seated at tables stocked with play dough, building blocks and Lego pieces, they shout out their answers.
“It’s filled with light and there are lots of children,” says a woman who appears to be in her 20s, in jeans and high boots.

“I hear a mishmash of languages. Yiddish, too,” says a young man in tight skinny striped pants.
“Fruit trees!” “Light and shade!” “Lots of different things happening all at once!” people call out.
“It’s a Hyde Park!” says a middle-aged-looking man in the black velvet kippah, white shirt and black pants garb of the ultra-Orthodox.

In early March, a group of 50 or so Jerusalemites of different ages, political affiliations and religious persuasions met to articulate their vision for Zion Square, the central square in downtown West Jerusalem. Uniting them is their deep commitment to the vision of Jerusalem as a thriving city that derives from its history, sanctity and modern creativity.

These activists, representing a large, loose coalition of organizations, ad hoc movements and individuals, have been meeting for informal dialogue every Thursday night in Zion Square for over a year and a half, since extremist right-wing violence began to spread through downtown Jerusalem during the days of the Israel-Gaza conflict in the summer of 2014.

In response to their activism, the Jerusalem municipality has determined that, as a major component of its call for a competition for a planned redesign of the square, Zion Square will be turned into “a place that promotes connections, tolerance and mutual respect.”

She goes on to describe the history of Zion Square, especially since the summer of 2014:

But by July 2014, during the heat of the Gaza war known as Operation Protective Edge, the square had been largely claimed by a right-wing extremist group, Lahava, which bills itself as the “organization for the prevention of assimilation in the Holy Land.” Dressed in black and yellow shirts, they would march repeatedly through the square, waving large flags, handing out stickers “don’t even think about a Jewish girl” in Hebrew and Arabic, and accosting anyone they perceived to be Arab, members of the LGBT community, or “leftists.”

“We realized we had to try to take back the square,” recalls Michal Shilor, 23, an activist in what was to become “Talking in the Square,” [translation of the group’s Hebrew name, Medabrim Bakikar, what we call Speaking in the Square] a group of volunteers operating with the support of the UJA-Federation of New York and the Jerusalem Foundation. “But we also realized that many of the kids in Lahava were alienated kids who were looking for something to belong to. So we decided to engage them.”

Facilitated by the Jerusalem Intercultural Center, “Talking in the Square” [Speaking in the Square] developed a routine, coming into the square on Thursday nights, a favorite night for Lahava activities, offering to engage Lahava activists – and anyone else who happened upon the square – in thoughtful dialogue. Gradually, over the year, and very much under the radar of the media, they became recognized as a permanent, and calming, feature.

Activity in the Square

But then came the murder of Shira Banki, a 16-year-old high school student at the Gay Pride Parade in late July 2015.

“We felt we were choking,” recalled Shira Katz-Vinkler, CEO of the Yerushalmim Movement. “Something so horrific was happening in Jerusalem and in all of Israeli society, and we knew we could not continue with ‘business as usual.’”

And somehow, Katz-Vinkler continues, “we all knew that the activity had to concentrate in Zion Square. Maybe it’s a way of expressing that ‘from Zion shall go forth Torah,’” she adds, citing a phrase from the books of Isaiah and Micha.

On August 1, thousands of Jerusalemites turned out in Zion Square to a vigil, headed by President Reuven Rivlin and with the participation of prominent rabbis from all the different religious streams, including the ultra-Orthodox, representatives of the LGBT support organization Jerusalem Open House, and others.

Recalls Weil, who had been at the Pride Parade, “I came to that vigil sad, broken. Yet, strangely, I came away feeling a sense of hope, based on the recognition that we can only heal if we all come together.”

After Banki died, the Yerushalmim Movement, together with Talking in the Square, spontaneously decided to observe the traditional seven-day mourning period in the square. They have continued to be there, every Thursday night, ever since, in an effort to rebrand the square as tolerant turf.

Fast forward to February 2016. The Jerusalem Municipality issued a competition to re-design Zion Square. The Mayor was persuaded to dedicate the square to dialogue and tolerance, and any design must include elements that promote these concepts. The article continues:

“The design of the square will be a real challenge,” says Roi Lavee, an architect employed by the municipality as a planner for the city center. “On the one hand, we want the square to be comfortable for everyone – Arabs, Jews, religious, secular, young, old. It is also a commercial space, and we want it to be a space that gives expression to the arts and creativity. It’s a huge project – but I believe that Jerusalem is up for it.”

Stay tuned for more developments on the planning and design of Zion Square. Here’s the post to the article via Facebook:

Naomi Roff2016-04-01T15:01:13+00:00March 25th, 2016|Blog, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, Jewish-Palestinian/Arab, Palestinians/Arabs, Promoting Tolerance in Jerusalem, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

Happy First Birthday 0202 – A View from East Jerusalem!

“I can’t believe it’s been a year. One year ago this week, after hard work on a ‘pilot’ 0202 Facebook page, Eran and I pressed ‘publish.’ Almost simultaneously, we began to receive ‘likes.’ We quickly passed the 100, 200, even 500 marks, until we crossed the 1,000 “like” in 24 hours! And then 0202 became an astronomical wind storm.”

Thus describes Michal Shilor, founder and volunteer director of “0202 – A View from East Jerusalem.” She goes on to describe how the page came about:

It all started in November 2014 when I found myself asking on Facebook if there’s a place that can give me a real peek into East Jerusalem – without Jewish left or right-wing commentary, without the filter of someone who is not a local resident. What does the East Jerusalemite see when she wakes up in the morning? What really happens at the checkpoints, in education, during arrests, at cultural centers? What do East Jerusalemites talk about in general, the regular people – not only political activists and not those who are better known than others? At the time I could only get the answers from Facebook pages in Arabic, or Jewish pages that either a) only gave part of the story, according to a certain political agenda, or b) always, always, always presented their understanding of the situation (also according to their political agenda). I then began a journey of meeting everyone who deals with East Jerusalem, I ran from meeting to meeting, from page to page. I very quickly found very good people to be on our advisory committee, and found a small staff from East and West Jerusalem who’d volunteer to take part of this journey. Throughout the year I’ve been amazed at the willingness, the professionalism, the patience and the dedication of each and every one. Today we are 22 Israelis and Palestinians, and I appreciate and thank each and every one.

Here’s her original post in Hebrew

The post was a promo for the first birthday party event that was held on Wednesday, March 9, at the Tmol Shilshom cafe in Jerusalem.

A full house at Tmol Shilshom

The room was filled to capacity – some stood outside, others were turned away. What a wonderful way to spend a birthday.

Michal and the 0202 page

The evening included guided readings of different posts that have appeared on the 0202 page – not just what the words mean, but also explanations behind them and related stories. Some of the 20 Israeli and Palestinian translators and editors, as well as those on 0202’s advisory board, led the audience through the posts.

Lior explaining a post

We also had experts in the field, such as Ami Metav, was was responsible for the Temple Mount and the Old City for the Israel Ministry of Defense, and is today a project manager and coordinator in East Jerusalem for the Municipality.

Ami Metav

We also welcomed Hatem Khweiss, Chief Editor of the Palestinian news web site HON.

Hatem Khweis

The evening was recorded by the Microphones for Peace Internet radio show, as well as on video.

For those of you who are unfamiliar, this is how the page looks in Hebrew. Today it has more than 15,000 likes, including senior municipal officials, journalists from major news outles and researchers, and is constantly growing.

0202 Hebrew

A few months ago, thanks to a grant from the Leichtag Foundation, we were also able to open an English site.

0202 – A View from East Jerusalem

We, Michal and the rest of the 0202 team wish to express our deep gratitude to everyone who came. As we wrote in our Facebook post:

Thanks to everyone came to speak and to listen, to congratulate and to celebrate with us 0202’s first birthday! We were especially excited about the open, innovative, and sensitive discussion that took place throughout the evening between East and West Jerusalem, between eastern and western Jerusalemites, between the men and women who came to hear, to listen and to expand horizons. We had no idea we could create such a face-to-face discussion at this time, and we’d thought we’d be able to do so on the Internet. We’re astounded that this type of discussion could happen now, face-to-face, only one year after launch. Thank you.
We were happy and amazed by the amount of people who came, and by the number of people who were forced to wait outside or to leave because the event was full. We promise to have a similar event soon.

And here’s the post to the event album:

And a video of the entire event (in Hebrew):

Naomi Roff2017-05-02T07:44:42+00:00March 11th, 2016|Blog, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish-Palestinian/Arab, Palestinians/Arabs, Promoting Tolerance in Jerusalem|

Window to Mt. Zion – Keeping the Mountain Clean of Hateful Language

It all began with this Facebook post:

Post about stickers on a tourist sign

A January 7 Facebook post about a number of stickers that covered Arabic writing on a Mt. Zion vista.

Later in January, hateful graffiti was sprayed on the Dormition Abbey, the Armenian Cemetery and the Greek Seminary. The Municipality cleaned up that graffiti immediately, but left other racist graffiti and stickers that had been placed there at different periods. Some of them even covered up signs to important Christian or Muslim tourist sites or routes.

Vandalized sign

Windows to Mt. Zion volunteers (this is our project, together with Search for Common Ground and support from USIP – read more about it here) rose to the task, and since then has been reporting these nuisances to the Municipality. Thanks to these reports and the dedicated work of our regional supervisor, the stickers and graffiti were cleaned up.

Clean signs

Mt. Zion is now sticker-free! But our volunteers are still around, in case more hateful stickers are being seen on this lovely and sensitive site!

Naomi Roff2016-12-21T13:11:51+00:00March 9th, 2016|Blog, Christians, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, Jewish-Palestinian/Arab, Mount Zion, New Immigrants, Palestinians/Arabs, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

Painting Zion Square the Colors of Tolerance – Permanently

Zion Square as a Tolerance Square in Jerusalem? A few years ago this might have seemed like a ridiculous notion to many, since this square has its history of violence, hatred and racism. Today, thanks to the Speaking in the Square initiative, other groups and supportive municipal officials, it is becoming a reality.

In mid-February the Municipality announced an architectural competition to redesign and re-brand Zion Square as a Square for Tolerance and Dialogue. The new design must include elements that advance tolerance and mutual respect. At the request of the competition organizers, Speaking in the Square, the Yerushalmim Movement, and other Zion Square activists met on Sunday, March 6 to brainstorm design ideas for the new Zion Square.

Recognize Zion Square?

This was a very important meeting, attended by some 30 activists from a range of initiatives. Deputy Mayor Tamir Nir, as well as city council member Aaron Leibowitz also took an active part in the meeting.

Discussion including Deputy Mayor Tamir Nir

The ideas suggested ran the gamut – from ensuring comfortable seating and lighting to make it comfortable and welcoming at night, as well as shaded areas to make it comfortable during the day. It should be handicapped accessible. It should be open to allow large numbers of people to congregate – for performances, shows, exhibits and more – but also enabling more intimate gatherings to emphasize its pluralist nature. It should be dynamic, and enable different stories and narratives to be told, both at different times and simultaneously. It should welcome everyone and push away no one.

Building Tolerance Square together

The meeting including brainstorming visual concepts to match the design theories – the most colorful part of the evening.

Giving design concepts a structure

We’ll keep you posted as the design process moves forward.

Hard at work

Leading up to the brainstorming meeting, Ossnat Sharon, among the leaders of Speaking in the Square, was interviewed on the Hebrew blog site Ashpaton:

“I’ve been going to demonstrations since I was about 12 years old,” tells Ossnat Sharon, But being in Zion Square, participating in dialogue “was a moment of revelation for me. Something happened there that I’d never seen happen. I mean, I saw something happening in the public space that was effective. In [regular] demonstrations, on both the right and the left, people are shouting at each other, each in his own camp. In the end the police go in some direction, and that gives everyone an excuse to go home, since you can’t stand and shout all night…On that night [the first night I participated in Speaking in the Square] we did something that changed the atmosphere in the Square. We began talking.”

Many thanks to the UJA-Federation of New York and the Jerusalem Foundation for their support of our efforts to promote tolerance in the public sphere in Jerusalem.

Naomi Roff2017-03-21T10:56:17+00:00March 8th, 2016|Blog, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, Jewish-Palestinian/Arab, Palestinians/Arabs, Promoting Tolerance in Jerusalem, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

Sweet Tea with Mint – Cultural Event for Students of Arabic

“The first time I was introduced to the children’s stories in Sweet Tea with Mint and Other Stories, I was enchanted.” This is how Dr. Marcelo Menachem Weksler, Director of the Department of Primary Education at Kibbutzim College, opened his article on the book, Sweet Tea with Mint and Other Stories on the Okets blog site. (Click here for the entire article.)

Book cover

Last week, on February 29, the JICC was filled to the gills as students in our levels 3, 4 and 5 of Arabic for Communication courses listened to Afnan Abu Taha and Bilal Arshid, speaking in Arabic, describe the book and its authors. They are members of the Hagar Association, which operates a binational, bilingual elementary school in Beer Sheva. Members of the Association, and which also published the book.

Listening to Jewish and Arab authors

The book features six stories, three written originally in Hebrew by Ronit Chacham and three originally written in Arabic by Hadeel Nashef, Al-Tayeb Ghanayem, and Sheikha Hussain Haliwa. These stories were then translated into Arabic and Hebrew, respectively. Stories in the book focus on Jewish, Muslim and Christian holidays. Happy reading!

Filled to the gills

Stay tuned for more of the Arabic classes’ cultural events.

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation for their continuing support of this program.

Naomi Roff2016-03-11T19:30:15+00:00March 7th, 2016|Blog, Courses, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish-Palestinian/Arab, Language Center|

Previous 234 Next