Jewish Religious Denominations | The Jerusalem Intercultural Center

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|

Continuing to Develop Jerusalem Railway Park

We began our involvement in resident initiatives along the Jerusalem Railway Park more than two years ago, together with the Baka’a, Ginot Ha’Ir and Gonenim Community Councils and a number of local organizations and active residents. This was very soon after the entire length of the Park, which runs from the First Train Station near the city center south toward Malcha and out of the city, had opened.

Since then, the Railway Park has become one of the liveliest centers of activity in Jerusalem. Each month more initiatives are developed to enhance life in, on and along the park. Some examples include: MusiKatamon:

MusiKatamon Festival in August 2014

Meeting Point: Under the Bridge (Meaning, under the overpass that leads from the Katamonim neighborhood to Beit Safafa.) Led by the Muslala Group, but included a broad range of local institutions:

Meeting Point: Under the Bridge, Spring 2015

Chalk Festival, also in 2015:

Chalk Art Festival April 2015

Reading Station, an old bus stop that had been re-configured with bookshelves. People drop off and take books freely. (The video is in Hebrew)

BaRakevet (both “At the train” and “Train Bar”) Community Cafe

We continue to accompany the leaders of these initiatives, many of which are resident-led. On April 5, we held a meeting for all those interested in developing new, and refining older, ideas and initiatives. There were some 20 active residents there, some who had initiated the idea of the park, some who are operating social initiatives in the park, some were residents who live along the park, and others were youth from the Telem Scouts movement, from all over the city.

Meeting to discuss resident initiatives

At first we heard some updates of existing initiatives – BaRakavet, Reading Station, local treasure chests (places where people drop off unwanted items and pick up stuff for free). We also discussed several new initiatives – meetings with senior citizens, corner for petting and adopting pets, musical Kabbalat Shabbat at the Reading Station, jam sessions for Jews and Arabs, juggling and music at the Reading Station, a second-hand swap, and more.

Developing ideas, finding partners

Good luck to all the initiatives! We’ll keep you posted here on their development…

Naomi Roff2017-05-02T07:17:57+00:00April 13th, 2016|Blog, Deliberative Democracy, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, Larger Baka Community Council, New Immigrants|

New Neighborhood Tolerance Team in Talpiot!

How do you celebrate Shabbat? Tell us your Shabbat story…

Telling different Shabbat stories

This is what the newly-formed Talpiot Tolerance Team did in their opening event, which took place on Friday afternoon, April 1.

Event with Jerusalem’s diversity

Shabbat means different things to different people. For a short time on that Friday afternoon, Ultra-Orthodox (Chabad), Ethiopian, secular and traditional Jews all experienced together their own Kabbalat Shabbat, enjoying the traditions as well as their own interpretations.

Traditional taking of Challah before baking Challot

Advertisements to this event were prepared in Amharic as well as Hebrew, and there was a true Jerusalem mix of people at the event.

Amharic poster

The Talpiot Tolerance team is one of a growing network of Neighborhood Tolerance Teams that are being formed throughout Jerusalem. Each team is acting independently, and advancing tolerance in ways that the team members feel are most appropriate for them. There are currently teams in French Hill, Abu Tor / Al-Thuri, Katamonim, Katamon-German Colony, Baka’a, Rehavia, Nahlaot, and more are being formed each week.

Everyone’s hands knead the Challah

Many thanks to the UJA-Federation of New York and the Jerusalem Foundation for their support in promoting tolerance in Jerusalem.

Many forms of Challah

Here are some more pictures from the Facebook post on the event from the Hebrew-language Jerusalem Tolerance Facebook group:

Naomi Roff2016-04-15T11:16:48+00:00April 10th, 2016|Blog, Ethiopian Jews, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, New Immigrants, Promoting Tolerance in Jerusalem, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

Blue Line Blues – Public Discussion about New Light Rail Line in Gilo

We’ve talked before about planning light rail lines in Gilo. There’s going to be both the Green and the Blue lines there when the project is finally finished, so there are several processes taking place at the same time.

Learning about the blue line

The Blue Line will run from Gilo to Ramot, and meet up with the Green Line, which will also run between Gilo and Mount Scopus. On March 21, some 20 residents, staff of the Gilo Community Council, staff from the transportation master plan, and the regional planner from the Municipality came together to discuss the new line, its planning principples, and to raise different concerns. Residents received all the relevant information and asked important questions. We were there to facilitate the process and help the Gilo Community Council staff.

Light rail illustration

This was the first meeting regarding the planning of the Blue Line, after we began the process of being involved in the Green Line.The first step in the Green Line process was submitting dozens of objections and requests for changes to the existing plan. Residents will be involved in all the steps along the way, until the Green and Blue lines are actually running, some 10 years from now. We’ll be ready to help the Community Council staff help them throughout the process.

Event poster

Naomi Roff2016-04-09T11:00:42+00:00April 4th, 2016|Blog, Deliberative Democracy, Effective Activism, Gilo, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations|

Just in Time for Springtime! Planning New Playgrounds in Gilo

Just in time for springtime – we’re helping residents and professionals plan more playgrounds.

After the outstanding success on Afarsimon St., we, together with the Gilo Community Council staff, began an additional public process of planning public playgrounds in Gilo. This time, it’s on Harduf St.

Meeting in Gilo

Unlike the first playground, this time the initiative for the playground came from a Gilo resident, who complained to the local city planner about the noise that was coming from a neighboring playground. This began a long process in which the planner went through the appropriate channels in the Municipality while the resident recruited additional community members willing to fix the playground. On March 21, 18 residents, half of them children, as well as the Gilo Community Council staff and the regional planner from the Municipality, began planning a new playground. Residents raised ideas and discussed their needs, and drew up and prioritized design principles. The children actively participated in the discussion, in a most productive and inspiring way.

List of design principles

Examples of some of the principles:

Appropriate for ages birth – 12
Landscaping appropriate for senior citizens
Planning that prevents crowds gathering
Multi-purpose equipment (e.g. one piece of equipment that includes ropes and swings and bridges, etc.)
Hourglass clock to time turns on the different equipment
Expanding the playground instead of passageways
Planting to enable shaded areas
Soft, environmentally-friendly pavement

The list will be sent to the Municipality and will form the basis for its planning. The next meeting will take place with residents and Municipality representatives in the playground in order to present a number of alternatives and to reach agreement on the best planning for the playground.

It was a fascinating and effective meeting, and we are proud to be assisting the Gilo Community Council staff and residents in this process. Next month – a similar process on Shamir St.

Naomi Roff2016-04-09T10:59:02+00:00March 31st, 2016|Blog, Deliberative Democracy, Gilo, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, New Immigrants|

Window to Mt. Zion – Remembering Jerusalem’s Poor on Mount Zion

The Window to Mount Zion project, which we’re implementing together with the Search for Common Ground Jerusalem Office thanks to a grant from the USIP, seeks to document important events from all three monotheistic faiths.

The 7th of Adar – March 17, 2016 – Moses’ date of birth and death – was the memorial service for Jerusalem’s poor. Because Moses’ place of death is not known, this date was chosen for the memorial service at the Sambusky Cemetery on the slopes of Mount Zion. The Sambusky Cemetery contains the graves of thousands of Jerusalem’s poor, who have been buried there over the past several centuries. These were Jews who could not afford to be buried at the Mount of Olives Cemetery. Thus, the poor from a variety of ethnicities were buried one alongside the other, in a place that has all but been forgotten. This is the second year in a row that the Reishit Jerusalem organization has been organizing a memorial service for Jerusalem’s poor each year on the 7th of Adar. It is also working to renew the cemetery.

Rabbi Ya’akov Nana

This year, alongside Israel’s Chief Rabbi and Jerusalem’s Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Ya’akov Nana, the gabbai of the Sephardic synagogue on Mount Zion and a guard for the President’s Room there, also said a memorial prayer. His grandfather is buried in this cemetery, but he was there for the first time in his life in October 2015, as part of a tour of Mount Zion that the Window on Mount Zion project held as part of the Open House Jerusalem festival. Because this area was for years considered no-mans land, and in a dangerous area, his family was never able to say Kaddish, the memorial prayer. This year, Rabbi Nana was able to say Kaddish not only for his grandfather, but for all of Jerusalem’s poor.

Here’s a video of part of the tour (in Hebrew):

Naomi Roff2017-05-02T07:40:21+00:00March 29th, 2016|Blog, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, Mount Zion, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

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|

Window to Mt. Zion – New Torah Scroll at David’s Tomb – Documenting Events for Jews as well as Christians and Muslims

Window to Mt. Zion seeks to document all groups’ activities on Mt. Zion – Jewish, Christian, Muslim – and to help make sure they take place safely. Thus, they were present on March 16, 7 Adar (acknowledged as Moses’ birthday), when a new Torah scroll was placed in the synagogue at David’s Tomb. It was the first Ashkenazi Torah Scroll to be place at David’s Tomb.

Celebrating Worldwide Shema-Saying at the Tomb of David

The event started at Jaffa Gate, as a parade of people made their way to the foot of Mt. Zion. There, hundreds of people joined in joyous “Worldwide Shema-Saying” ceremony, even in the pouring rain. Rabbi Dov Lior, the Rabbi of Kiryat Arba, and Rabbi Reuven Elbaz, a member of the Torah Scholars’ Council (Shas leadership) and the Rabbi of the Or haim Yeshiva, both spoke and led the prayers. Here’s a video from that ceremony:

The crowd then proceeded to accompany the Torah scroll to David’s Tomb. There, the police and the organizers went to great lengths to keep the festivities orderly, to prevent overcrowding and to make sure the keep the participants safe. The scroll was placed in the ark in David’s Tomb, amongst a great deal of dancing and singing. ‘Window on Mount Zion’ volunteers were there to document it:

Naomi Roff2017-05-02T07:45:07+00:00March 20th, 2016|Blog, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, Mount Zion, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

Santé Israël – Creating Both Real-life and Virtual Community

Santé Israël isn’t just a web site – albeit an incredibly rich, information-laden web site – anymore. It is also creating real-life community. We’ve already rolled out the web site and Facebook page, and the next step is to create a real-life community surrounding the virtual one for French-speaking immigrants – one that will better enable access to Israel’s health care system and improve the community’s health care.

Since the beginning of March we’ve been bringing the electronic information to the people. We began in Bayit Vegan. Sante’s coordinator, Marie Avigad, introduced the web site to a group of 15 – 20 women. The women were very enthusiastic and interested in the web site, for themselves as well as for friends and relatives here, as well as those in France. They asked about different aspects relating to Israeli health care – prescriptions, referrals, hospital and outpatient coverage, payment for ambulance, emergency medicine hubs, medical interpretation, what the site tells about the different HMO’s.

Sante in Har Homa

The hit of the evening – an information sheet about how to prepare for a trip to the doctor, as well as the link to the WAZE social GPS app that is embedded in the site. Thus, a patient can be guided to the nearest clinic / hospital via WAZE, via the site. At the end of the evening, the women asked how to put a shortcut to the site on their cellphone screens so they always have it handy.

Our next stop was Har Homa. There, the evening included not only an introduction to Sante Israel, but also a lecture by nutritionist Yael Sayag-Shofen from the Maccabi HMO, who spoke about the myths of nutrition, or how to promote good health thanks to a truly balanced diet.

Yael Sayag-Shofen, nutritionist

This project has been made possible thanks to the Pharmadom Foundation, which works under the auspices of the Foundation of French Judaism (FSJU) and the Rashi Foundation.

Naomi Roff2018-06-04T04:48:50+00:00March 18th, 2016|Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, New Immigrants, Santé Israël - French internet platform on the Israeli healthcare system|

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|