Identity Groups and Conflicts | The Jerusalem Intercultural Center

Petition! Santé Israël Website – Example of Helping French-Speakers in Israel in Healthcare

“For years, the Pharmadom Foundation has helped the most vulnerable populations in Israel to seek and support emerging or not covered by government requirements. This is what led us to recently create the Santé Israël (“Health Israel”) website, which has quickly established itself as a valuable tool to help French Olim to navigate the Israeli health system.”

This is what the Pharmadom Foundation said about our Santé Israël website in a recent petition that seeks to enable French-trained pharmacists to practice in Israel without being required to take certification examinations.

Pharmadom petition site

Santé Israël was launched in September 2015, and was developed thanks to a partnership with Pharmadom. Santé Israël is a mobile-friendly website makes Israel’s health care system accessible to French speakers. The site offers comprehensive explanations about Israel’s health care system, which is vastly different from that of France, as well as its four main health funds.

We’re happy to be a prime example of their work. Many wishes for success with the petition!

Many thanks to the Pharmadom Foundation for their ongoing support of the project. The Pharmadom Foundation works under the auspices of the Foundation of French Judaism (FSJU) and the Rashi Foundation.

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

Neighborhood Tolerance Team in Baka’a Gets Underway

What is common in the following experiences?

“The train (on the old Ottoman line) was our alarm clock – when it went past our house every morning at 7 am, mom knew it was time to get up and get ready for school.”

“We rode our broken scooter to the YMCA to get into the Hapoel soccer game at halftime, with sunflower seeds in hand. We came back on foot, tired but happy, scooter in tow.”

“We didn’t lock our doors then. We knew everyone’s family backgrounds: Kurdish, Iraqi, Turkish, Moroccan. We didn’t know what “Ashkenazi” (Jew of Eastern European descent) or “Mizrachi” (of Middle Eastern descent) was. We were one big family.”

“The jelly cake at the Smadar Cinema, and Chechik who would stop the movies in the middle to yell at us to be quiet. We also learned to smoke at the Smadar Cinema.”

At the Smadar Cinema

These are all common experiences that were shared last week at the Baka’a Neighborhood Tolerance Team’s first meeting. Dozens of residents came to listen and to tell stories about Baka’a of yore, from the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s. The stories brought together new and veteran residents, young and old families as well as students, in reminiscing about Baka’a’s fascinating past.

Baka’ah meeting

In such a diverse neighborhood it was important to bring the unique texture of the neighborhood to the fore. We have found in our work to promote tolerance in Jerusalem, that tolerance is not only something that must be practiced toward the far-away ‘other’ – Arabs, the Ultra-Orthodox. Tolerance begins in our neighborhoods, with our neighbors, in the local supermarket and post office, in the way we treat other people. The first step in treating them in a tolerant manner is to get to know them on a more personal basis. Thus, the fascinating stories of neighborhood veterans were a perfect way to launch the Baka’a Neighborhood Tolerance Team.

Sharing experiences

Many thanks to the UJA-Federation of New York for their support of this program.

If you want to see some videos from the event, here they are:

Naomi Roff2017-05-02T07:50:36+00:00February 17th, 2016|Blog, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, New Immigrants, Promoting Tolerance in Jerusalem|

Healthcare Certification Training: Taking Stock

Over the past few weeks we’ve gotten some great news – that 6 more occupational therapists who took our course passed the Ministry of Health certification exam, and several more were very close. As the results continue to come in, we thought we’d take stock over the past 4 years of the program. We’ve really come a long way:

The program has increased the number of certified Arab paramedical professionals in East Jerusalem exponentially. Since it began in 2012, nearly 70 nurses, occupational therapists, and physical therapists to pass their Israeli certification exams. This includes 37 nurses, 24 occupational therapists and 6 physical therapists. Beforehand, only 1-2 would pass each year in each discipline. It would have taken many years to achieve these results otherwise.
The program has enabled us to more clearly map the situation of different paramedical professions in East Jerusalem, contributing to the knowledge of training in the Jerusalem area. As we developed courses for different disciplines, we have gained an in-depth knowledge of the state of diverse fields in East Jerusalem. This is the first time ever that any type of mapping has been done, and this information is now available for the first time to health care and educational institutions, as well as the Israel Ministry of Health.
The program has raised awareness both among Palestinian institutes of higher education and health care institutions in East Jerusalem as well as Israeli Ministry of Health. When we began the program, there was little compliance and even less awareness about the need and benefits of having staff that have passed the certification exam in their fields. Today, all the major health care institutions in East Jerusalem, Palestinian universities, as well as Ministry of Health, better understand this need. We believe this understanding will lead to an improvement in health care in East Jerusalem.
The program has opened a large window of opportunity for Arab women paramedical professionals to improve economic opportunities. After they pass their certification exams improves their access to employment rights, which includes an increase in pay and employment conditions.
As a result of the program, the JICC has earned a prestigious reputation for offering high-quality courses. Since we began these courses, graduates of the physical therapy and occupational therapy courses have had high rates of success in passing the certification examinations. As a result of this success, graduates, and even expectant graduates, of the different Palestinian universities have requested to register for courses well in advance.
Our reputation proceeds itself in expanding to new disciplines. As a result of the success of graduates of physical and occupational therapy, graduates of other paramedical professions – speech therapists and medical laboratory technicians – have requested we develop courses, which are now in various stages of development. Thus, we have expanded our offerings from two to six (also including physical therapy, speech therapy, medical laboratory technicians and medical Hebrew). We are also in regular contact with the medical faculty of Al-Quds University, ready to assist if needed.

A meeting of the nursing course

We’ve just started a new course for physical therapists, and are developing courses for speech therapists and medical lab technicians. We’ll keep you posted on further updates.

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

Naomi Roff2016-02-20T08:37:40+00:00February 15th, 2016|Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Cultural Competence in the Workplace, Employment, Employment Accessibility, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Palestinians/Arabs, Supporting employment in East Jerusalem|

Continuing to Build Community by Solving Problems in Gilo

Extension of the light rail to Gilo is a good thing, right? Or will it just bring years of disruptive construction and lost income for local businesses?

These were some of the issues that we’ve been having in Gilo, together with professionals from the Gilo Community Council and the staff of the transportation master plan.

We’ve been helping the staff from the Gilo Community Council lead the process with local residents for the past few months. Residents first learned about the new line that is being built to Gilo and how it will affect their everyday lives. They also met with staff from the transportation master plan, and presented them with their questions and concerns. And last week, on February 2, residents had an opportunity to submit their objections to the current plan.

Helping to write objections

We’re not talking about objections to the overall concept of the construction of the light rail. These objections were more like specific requests on how to improve the way the rail is built (in stages, instead of all at once), the placement of electrical lines, objections by local businesses on how to minimize the damage during and after construction, etc. We helped the process by making this event a one-stop shop – the room was divided into a number of geographical and other areas, and professionals were on hand for consultation and help in writing up the objections. A lawyer was also there to sign the objections before submission. Most importantly, residents of Gilo felt they have the power to influence the construction of the light rail line. And they have the power to influence other areas of their lives as well.

Writing and submitting objections

Since this process is long-term (given previous experience, it could go on for a decade), the partnership we’ve all been working toward is also a long-term partnership, one based on mutual respect and a desire to respond to residents’ real needs. In this process we’ve built up a community that communicates with each other – on Facebook, through the community newspaper, and more – and solve problems together, in real time. We’ll keep you posted on the continuing developments.

Naomi Roff2016-02-13T14:40:14+00:00February 10th, 2016|Blog, Deliberative Democracy, Effective Activism, Gilo, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, New Immigrants|

Qualifying Paramedical Professionals, Improving Health Care in East Jerusalem

Slowly but surely, we’re helping to improve health care, accessibility to health care, and paramedical professionals’ workers rights in East Jerusalem.

Yesterday we began a second course to train physical therapists to pass the Israeli Ministry of Health certification examination, which will take place in May 2016. This is part of our larger program to train recent graduates of paramedical professions to pass the Israeli Ministry of Health certification exams that we’ve been developing since 2012. Since the program began, we’ve helped some 70 nurses, occupational therapists, and physical therapists to pass their Israeli certification exams, when it would otherwise have taken many years to achieve these results.

This success has brought brought additional development – in light of the success in the first three fields. we were asked to develop courses for medical lab technicians and speech therapists. We’re in the process of doing so, and will be sure to provide updates here.

Physical therapists course

We have 20 physical therapists in the current course. Last time we were very successful – 6 passed, on a test that is considered very difficult even in the original Hebrew. We wish them success, Bi-najah, Be-hatzlaha!

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

Naomi Roff2016-02-20T08:38:00+00:00February 8th, 2016|Blog, Education, Employment, Employment Accessibility, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Palestinians/Arabs, Supporting employment in East Jerusalem|

Residents of South Talpiot – Taking Charge of their Future

Deliberative democracy means enabling all residents, regardless of socio-economic or ethnic background, to take part in changing their future. Such processes can take place in rich neighborhoods, poor neighborhoods, and everywhere in between. Over the past few years we’ve indeed run the gamut of neighborhoods – from Baka’a to Arnona to Gilo, Romema and Kiryat Hayovel. Now we’re concentrating on South Talpiot.

Community Meeting in South Talpiot

South Talpiot has a very interesting mix of populations. There are many veteran immigrants from Middle Eastern countries. There is a large contingent from Ethiopia (the Municipality built a special community house for the Ethiopian community a few years ago). There are those who are a bit better off who have moved into recently-built hi-rise apartments, and more. There are those who are recognized by the local welfare office and are used to receiving services. Very few are used to having a say in determining what kind of services they will receive. Very few are used to being active and having a voice in the future of their neighborhood.

Discussing specific initiatives

We’re starting to change all that. On February 3, the Greater Baka’a Community Council, together with the local welfare municipality branch and with our assistance, held a first social entrepreneurship meeting in South Talpiot. We were nervous about how many people would come – in the end there were 80 of us! This included the entire spectrum of diversity of residents – the true meaning of what deep democracy processes are trying to accomplish. And just as often happens in Open Space Technology meetings, the issues addressed – all pertaining to everyday life in the neighborhood – also ran the gamut – from physical and environmental development of the area, neighborhood approach to urban renewal, finding solutions to parking issues, activities for children, and much more!

A total of 11 initiatives were discussed, and we’ll be following up with them, together with the community social worker and other professional staff from the Greater Baka’a Community Council. Congratulations to all involved on a fabulous jump-start!

Naomi Roff2016-02-13T14:14:44+00:00February 6th, 2016|Blog, Deliberative Democracy, Ethiopian Jews, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, Larger Baka Community Council, New Immigrants|

Cultural Competence at the National Insurance Institute in East Jerusalem

Would you believe that the East Jerusalem branch of the National Insurance Institute (NII) is becoming culturally competent? Yes, this is the same Israeli bureaucratic welfare institution that’s gotten a bad name for its being cumbersome and unwelcoming, especially for the city’s Arabic speakers. Being an Israeli institution in East Jerusalem these days, especially if people are looking to you for support, is also rather difficult.

This is where we salute the branch’s workers, especially the upper management, who recognized the complexity of this situation, and sought to better accommodate the public they serve. Several months ago we were approached by the director of the East Jerusalem branch to develop a system of cultural competency. This is the first cultural competency work that has been done in any NII branch throughout Israel.

East Jerusalem National Insurance Institute

Over the past year we’ve been meeting with and observing different staff members, adapting our training modules to the particular model of the NII. Last week (January 27) we had our first training session with the workers. Much of the session focused on social-political tensions in interactions with clients. Many of the workers were happy to have gained tools to enable them to do their jobs better.

This session was the first, and we’ll continue to follow up and mentor the management and workers. One of the subjects of future workshops will be ‘Linguistic Simplification,’ which means to simplify the often jargon-laden text of NII forms into simpler language that non-native speakers can understand. In fact, the West Jerusalem branch liked the idea too, and soon we’ll be giving a workshop on Linguistic Simplification for the West Jerusalem branch as well!

Stay tuned for further updates from the National Insurance Institute – Jerusalem.

Naomi Roff2016-11-25T13:54:09+00:00February 4th, 2016|Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Government Institutions, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Palestinians/Arabs|

Arabic Classes Live Arabic Culture

Last night, our Arabic classes not only practiced their Arabic, we opened a window to the richness of Arabic culture. We hosted author Sheikha Haliwa, who read from a number of her poems and stories. She told her life story – about growing up in an unrecognized Bedouin village near Tivon that was destroyed by the government in 1991, about studying in junior and senior high school at a Christian school in Haifa, and about her marriage to her cousin in Jaffa, where she currently lives.

Sheikha Hilwa speaking

We had about 40 of our students in levels 3-5 attended the amazing evening.

Enraptured audience

These evenings have become an integral part of our Arabic classes. You can read here about last year’s program. We can hardly wait for the next one, scheduled for the end of February! These evenings during the year are for our more advanced students, and we’re planning a special tour in May for our beginning students.

Thinking about studying Arabic? You’d better hurry – classes are already filling up fast for next year!!! This year we’re breaking records, with 180 students in 12 classes, over 5 levels. We’ve added a new teacher – Gali – to help out Anwar and Suha. We have classes going in the mornings and afternoons, most days of the week, and we’re already planning for next year. Many thanks for the Jerusalem Foundation for their ongoing support of this project.

Naomi Roff2016-02-07T16:50:26+00:00February 2nd, 2016|Blog, Courses, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish-Palestinian/Arab, Language Center|

Emergency Readiness Networks in Jerusalem – Expanding the Network

We’re proud to announce – another 3 neighborhoods (Old City, A-Tur (Mount of Olives) and Sheikh Jarrach) have finished their Emergency Readiness Network (ERN) training! A total of 64 Arab men and women are trained to be first responders in a wide variety of emergencies, such as fires, earthquakes, auto accidents, and more. Their role was and continues to be immeasurable in helping their local community, before the ‘official’ emergency responders are able to arrive.

The Old City Team

We now have a total of 11 ERNs, and we’re continuing to expand to more neighborhoods.

Training Exercise

We thought they’d be busy with a huge winter storm that passed over Jerusalem last week, just like the past few winters. In previous years the brutal storms – several inches of snow, cold temperatures, high winds – wreaked havoc on the physical infrastructure of East Jerusalem, which is weak to begin with. Each time, local ERNs worked round the clock to clear roads, distribute blankets, heaters and food, find solutions for those whose homes had flooded, rescue those who were trapped, take the sick to hospitals – in short, helping residents weather the storm as best as possible. Last week’s storm came and went without much fanfare, but we’re positive that the ERNs will be ready when it does.

Planning on map

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation and the Sobell Foundation for their support for this program.

Naomi Roff2016-02-01T17:52:14+00:00February 1st, 2016|Blog, Emergency Readiness Networks, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Palestinians/Arabs|

Continuing Pope Paul VI’s Tradition Peacefully on Mount Zion

“Veni, Sancte Spiritus/ tui amoris in eis ignem accende,” – Come Holy Spirit, hug your believers in the fire of your love

Last week our Window to Mount Zion volunteers were part of an extraordinary joint prayer service that took place in the Room of the Last Supper (read here in Hebrew about it) on Mount Zion. Held every year during the last week of January, this was an extremely diverse gathering – Ethiopians and Copts, Catholics and Orthodox, Romanian, Armenian, Lutheran and other communities; Priests, nuns, students of theology and many laymen, shoulder to shoulder to pray for the unity of the Christian church. All 150 of them praying for Christian unity. This is no small feat, given the centuries-old history of rivalry and worse between the different divisions of the Christian church.

The event was led by the Benedictine monks from the nearby Dormition Abbey (read here in Hebrew about it). They read from the Bible: Isaiah’s prophecy: “My House will be a house of prayer all peoples,” sang psalms, read from the New Testament as well. Sermons were given in Latin, German, French, English, Hebrew and Arabic, each one with a message of unity in faith, hope for a better world and a determination to stand together against difficulties along the way. Our Window on Mount Zion volunteers, in coordination with both the police and the monks leading the service, served as ushers and made sure the service proceeded smoothly. Both the police and monks were extremely grateful for our assistance.

The event ended with the Lord’s Prayer. As participants left, Jewish passersby, on their way to worship at David Tomb, greeted the Christians, creating an atmosphere of coexistence, mutual respect and cooperation. This is exactly the type of relations we are striving for in the Window on Mount Zion project.

How did this tradition come about? In 1964, Pope Paul VI made his first papal visit to the Middle East since the Middle Ages, during which he visited various Orthodox communities. In January 1964 he conducted an historic meeting with the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople, the first such meeting in 900 years! Since then, in an attempt to continue this improvement of relations, Christians around the world hold joint prayer services during the last week of January. In Jerusalem, this week was sealed with a joint prayer in the Room of the Last Supper, formally a neutral place, historically and religiously significant, and a sacred site to almost all the Christian communities in the city.

For a moment, it seemed as if Isaiah’s prophesy was coming true…

You can learn more about “Window to Mount Zion” in Hebrew at the site and at the Facebook Page .

Naomi Roff2020-02-02T04:02:48+00:00January 31st, 2016|Blog, Christians, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, Mount Zion, Palestinians/Arabs, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

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