Identity Groups and Conflicts | The Jerusalem Intercultural Center

MiniActive Women – Intensive and Unrelenting Activism for Change

Unrelenting Creativity – that has been the modus operandi of the MiniActive network since its establishment in 2012. And today, three years on, MiniActive women are continuing to find original ways to deal with a challenging situation. Garbage collection in East Jerusalem, always a sore spot, has become even more problematic over the past few months. The women still call the 106 municipal hotline, but many garbage piles remain.

Refusing to give up, the women changed their tactic. Since October, MiniActive women have engaged in a “We Don’t Want to Live in Garbage” campaign on their Facebook page. Each day several pictures of overflowing garbage ticks and makeshift garbage dumps are uploaded to the MiniActive Facebook page.

Original Garbage Receptacle

These are often shared by the 0202-A View from East Jerusalem Facebook page, that translates Arabic-language Facebook and Internet posts into Hebrew, which reaches a number of prominent journalists and local politicians. While collection has improved somewhat, we will continue putting pressure on service providers to provide fundamental services to East Jerusalem residents.

MiniActive Anti-trash Campaign, from January 19

May future news bring pictures of Jerusalem’s beauty – and not of its filth.

Naomi Roff2016-01-31T20:19:23+00:00January 29th, 2016|Blog, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, MiniActive, Palestinians/Arabs|

Window to Mount Zion – Solidarity in the Face of Adversity

We usually like to post positive news here, but in the Jerusalem everyday reality, not all is positive. This past weekend, in the middle of the night, the walls of our neighbors on Mount Zion, the Dormition Abbey and both the Armenian and Greek cemeteries, were littered with anti-Christian graffiti. (Click here for the news story from the Jerusalem Post.)

Graffiti on Dormition Abbey

In addition to across the board condemnation by both Jewish and Arab Israeli leaders, we, the residents of Mt. Zion, thanks to the Window on Mt. Zion project, released the following statement:

Dormition Abbey statement

“We, the institutions, organizations and individuals residing on Mount Zion, harshly condemn the writing of anti-Christian hate slogans on and around Christian sites on Mount Zion – Jerusalem, which took place tonight, January 17th 2016.
The vandalism included curses and violent threats. We, residents of Mount Zion, call on the public to preserve the security and mutual respect of the Holy Places to all religions on Mount Zion. When one of these places is desecrated, it affects not only the site itself, but also all other holy sites on Mount Zion. In addition, these repeated acts of desecration undermine the delicate fabric of coexistence in the Holy Land in general and in the Holy City of Jerusalem in particular.

On behalf of:

* The Diaspora Yeshiva on Mount Zion
* The Armenian Patriarchate, Armenian Cemetery on Mount Zion
* World Benei-Akiva on Mount Zion
* The Christian Department, the Ministry of Interior Affairs, the Room of the Last Supper on Mount Zion
* Arik Pelzig – Harp of David on Mount Zion
* The Dormition Abbey on Mount Zion
* Dr. Zigmond Zigler Cohen, Mount Zion resident
* The Jerusalem University College on Mount Zion
* Custodia Terra Sancta, Ed-Cenaculum Franciscan Monastery on Mount Zion
* The Jerusalem Intercultural Center on Mount Zion

This is probably the first time in the long history of Mt. Zion (at least 1000 years of inter-religious conflicts!) that a joint statement of the resident institutions of the mountain issued a shared condemnation against the desecration of a holy site on Mt. Zion! So, while we’re deeply saddened by this incident, as well as other tragedies that have happened in the past few days, we are proud of the Window on Mt. Zion program, which has enabled us to reach this unprecedented collaboration.

We’re operating the Window on Mt. Zion program in cooperation with Search for Common Ground’s Jerusalem office, thanks to a grant from the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). This amazing program has raised, in a few months, awareness about the different and varied religious sites on Mt. Zion – Christian, Muslim as well as Jewish – to thousands of people, young and old, Israelis and tourists, Jews, Christians and Muslims. The goal – to make Mt. Zion a place that welcomes people of all backgrounds and faiths to the very special sites that are of utmost importance to people of all faiths throughout the world.

The next day, an Ultra-Orthodox Jewish leader, Nahum Shlezinger, came to Mount Zion just to apologize in the name of Judaism, and to tell the Christians that the anti-Christian graffiti is not the Jewish way. Helped by the excellent cooperation between the local police and the church – as a result of our efforts, the connection was made and the dialogue between the Jewish leader and the Christian representative happened. You can see it here and on a Facebook post on the Window on Mount Zion Facebook page:

May we continue to bring only good news.

Naomi Roff2016-10-21T09:08:50+00:00January 20th, 2016|Blog, Christians, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, Mount Zion, Palestinians/Arabs, Promoting Tolerance in Jerusalem, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

First Ever Arabic-language Horticulture Therapy Course through MiniActive Women

We’ve been excited about the opening of the first Horticulture Therapy Course to take place in the Arabic language, in cooperation with the David Yellin Academic College of Education, for awhile. We’ve had to make some changes adjust to the ‘situation’ – the course was originally supposed to take place at the College in the west Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hakerem. But because it was difficult for many participants to leave their neighborhoods in general, and to leave their neighborhoods for west Jerusalem neighborhoods was even more difficult, we moved the course to a school for special education in Beit Hanina – the largest school for special education in East Jerusalem.

Learning Practical Part of Horticulture Therapy

Learning Practical Session of Horticulture Therapy

At the end of the course in May 2016, participants will practice what they learned by starting a therapeutic garden with the children. The course has been meeting for just over a month – and it was definitely worth the wait! Thus far they’ve gone from the beginning stages (above) to planting (below) –

Planting

To composting as well.

Composting in the course

We can hardly wait to see the fruits of their labors – as well as their work with the children afterward. Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation for its continued support of MiniActive.

Naomi Roff2016-01-31T20:20:55+00:00January 15th, 2016|Blog, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, MiniActive, Palestinians/Arabs|

MiniActive Professional Development – Hebrew Courses

An integral part of the MiniActive network is to be in touch with municipal workers and officials. Much of the initial contact (calls to the 106 municipal hotline) is in Arabic, but the women found very quickly that in order to ensure that their complaints are followed through they must also have written and verbal contact with Hebrew speakers. This was no small obstacle, since many of the women knew very little or no Hebrew whatsoever.

Enter the ‘Speaking Hebrew’ project, a group of volunteers who seek to teach Hebrew to Arab women from East Jerusalem, with the classes taking place at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem – Mount Scopus campus. We began working with the project last year, and this year we’ve reached record numbers! Four classes – 130 women – are studying Hebrew in 3 levels, and there is an additional class taking place in Sur Baher.

In class

It is sometimes challenging to enable the groups of 15 – 20 Palestinian women to pass the security guards at Hebrew University on Mount Scopus, but we – and they – have been undeterred by these temporary obstacles.

At the University gates

Naomi Roff2018-09-01T07:30:36+00:00January 8th, 2016|Blog, Courses, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Language Center, MiniActive, Palestinians/Arabs|

Continuing to Be at the Forefront of Cultural Competence Training: Now for the Immigration Authority vis a vis Asylum Seekers

There are some 50,000 asylum seekers in Israel who come from African countries, mainly from Eritrea and Sudan, and some 2,000 in Jerusalem. Currently, Israel’s policy toward this population is very harsh, with a stated goal of detaining as many men as possible and encouraging them to leave the country. On the surface, then, it would seem to be the last place to hold cultural competency training. And yet, hold that training we did. Together with the Center for International Migration and Integration (CIMI), we helped write a training handbook about Cultural Competency for those coming from Eritrea and Sudan in Israel (in Hebrew, here, and here is the link to the actual document). We also held a series of training workshops, the last of which was held on December 30, 2015.

We held workshops for all those who come in regular contact with asylum seekers. This included RSD workers (Refugee Status Determination) – those who decide if and when to grant refugee status; Enforcement – those who grant visas and evaluate the statuses; and those who expel asylum seekers from Israel. The workshop on December 30 was for department supervisors.

The training workshop was based on the basic introductory workshop to Cultural Competency that was developed for the health care industry, and adapted it to the needs of the immigration authority. It was not always easy. There were those who understood the need for cultural competency training – the great differences in language, religion, and culture between Eritrea and Israel – and the need to be sensitive to these differences. There was also sometimes a basic difference in understanding of terminology: Many of the NGO’s who work with asylum seekers speak of them as ‘asylum seekers’ who have rights that need to be obtained and services that must be delivered. However, the official terminology of the authorities is that of ‘infiltrators’ or ‘illegal migrant workers,’ which carries a whole different set of connotations. Despite this gap, CIMI, which works to help asylum seekers obtain their rights, has a strong working relationship with the authority. In addition, there are already a number of components of cultural competency at the facility where visas are checked – the announcement system and signs are translated into Tigrinya, asylum seekers are given special consideration during the month of Ramadan, and more.

CIMI Training handbook

The training handbook, written together with CIMI, was an important achievement. (Front cover pictured above.) This was the first time ever that such a comprehensive document was written and published. The handbook contains information about both Sudan and Eritrea, why they came, and cultural characteristics (concept of time, methods of communication, challenges in their community in Israel, and more). May this handbook serve the workers well.

In addition to workers from the immigration authority, we are working together with CIMI with a range of professionals – local police, municipal community and social workers in both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and more – to improve the cultural sensitivity of services to workers from Eritrea and Sudan.

Naomi Roff2016-02-01T17:33:18+00:00January 8th, 2016|Asylum Seekers, Blog, Cultural Competence, Identity Groups and Conflicts|

MiniActive – Empowering Arab Women by Cultivating Community

The MiniActive network of over 1,000 Arab women in East Jerusalem has made a name for itself in empowering the community to demand services (see here and here). At the same time, empowerment is building community in a variety of ways, including enriching and fun activities. The MiniActive network has an abundance of those as well. Here are just a few examples:

A group of 20 women has been participating in a baking course. They’ve been learning a wide variety of decorating techniques, from whipped cream to fondant and its multiple possibilities. Nothing like a Spongebob Squarepants cake – Yum!!!

Sponge Bob cake and emoticons

There is also a crochet group, as well as a makeup class.

Learning to Knit & Crochet

And finally, the women have also been able to enjoy trips outside of Jerusalem. In November, we took 100 women on trips up north, to Acco and Rosh Hanikra. Just look at the views they enjoyed…

Group picture Rosh Hanikra

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

Naomi Roff2016-02-01T17:44:13+00:00December 31st, 2015|Blog, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, MiniActive, Palestinians/Arabs|

Training the Trainers in Cultural Competency – Reaching the Peak of Project Development

We’ve been working in Cultural Competency for a long time – 8 years to be exact. Our work has run the gamut of both deep and broad – our work at the ALYN Rehabilitative Hospital in Jerusalem included not only training all personnel in the principles of cultural competency, but also ensuring that signs and forms were translated into a number of languages, as well as enabling medical interpretation in a number of languages. Our work with the Israel Ministry of Health led to the directive that required all health care institutions to become culturally competent. We worked in individual clinics and HMO’s on the national level. We’ve been developing, together with the Bar Ilan University Department of Interpreting and Translation, training films and a training guide to use with the films. The guide was recently completed, which led us to the next natural step – a training the trainers course.

Training the Trainers Class Picture

The course was a 5-session workshop – 40 academic hours – that ran from November 5 – December 3, 2015. It included 15 participants from all over Israel, including 5 Jerusalem representatives – from ALYN, the Jerusalem Center for Mental Health, Hadassah Mount Scopus, Hadassah Ein Kerem and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Participants came from a wide variety of fields within the health care system – social work, occupational therapy, nursing, admissions officers, instructors in nursing schools and more. Two participants had already been our students – in medical interpreting courses for professionals in mental health fields.

The course was based on the short movies and the instruction handbook that were produced over the last two years. The course included skills on how to facilitate training workshops, cultural competency workshops that are based on the movies or on case studies that the participants bring with them. The course was such a success that we are already planning the next one – hurry and sign up, before it is full!

Naomi Roff2016-01-01T14:32:24+00:00December 13th, 2015|Asylum Seekers, Blog, Christians, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Academic Institutions, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Cultural Competence in the Workplace, Ethiopian Jews, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, New Immigrants, Palestinians/Arabs, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

MiniActive Youth, Striving for Normalcy in Abnormal Times

The past few months have been difficult for us all in Jerusalem, with its uncertainty, violence, increased army and police presence. For the Palestinian population, add to this riots, police raids, roadblocks at entrances to Palestinian neighborhoods that severely limit movement, including extreme difficulty in getting to work or school, especially if they are outside of the neighborhood. In short, life in East Jerusalem these days is quite far from being a bed of roses.

Through it all and despite it all, our MiniActive network for Palestinian women continues to be a ray of light. Throughout the despair, MiniActive continues to empower women to stand up for their rights and create change. Throughout the trials and tribulations of this difficult time, the MiniActive network of women has stayed strong, continuing to fight for cleaner streets and other services, continuing to educate women in practical skills from leadership to the environment to Hebrew language that will help them to gain access to critical services, continuing to provide enrichment activities for its members, from exercise to dessert making (hmm, interesting correlation…) to computers to trips to Acco, Haifa, Tiberias.

MiniActive Facebook campaign – “We don’t want to live with garbage!”

And remarkably, MiniActive Youth – our new extension for teenage girls from all over East Jerusalem that meets at the Abna al-Quds Community Center – has continued as well, and flourished. When things really started getting difficult, we thought that this might be time for MiniActive Youth to take a hiatus. “These girls can barely get to school, they can barely get out of their neighborhoods,” we thought. “How can they come from all over to Abna al-Quds?”

Group at Abna al-Quds Community Center

But in fact, they came, and they continue to come. Despite all the logistical challenges. Despite the fact that they are girls, which means they are traditionally considered weak and ones who must be looked after, making it more likely that their families would not allow them to leave their neighborhoods. MiniActive Youth symbolized for them a structure that they yearned for. It symbolized a state of normalcy that they craved. It was empowering them to be able to change at least their immediate surroundings and beyond – and because of that, they continued to come. We have a total of 25 teenage girls, from neighborhoods that include: Issawiya, Wadi Joz, Ras el-Amud, the Old City, Silwan, Abu Tor, Kufr Aqeb. They’ve already participated in a 6-session leadership course, where they learned how to plan and lead activities, follow-up, interpersonal communication, and more. Just this last week, they began a Hebrew course, to be given at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

In class

They will also take part in a course on the environment, and are working on a gardening project, in Abna al-Quds’ community garden. The theme – “Let’s eat locally” – growing vegetables in the garden. We’ll save you some cucumbers.

Working in the garden

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation and its donors for its ongoing support of this program.

Naomi Roff2015-12-18T19:13:41+00:00November 28th, 2015|Blog, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish-Palestinian/Arab, MiniActive, Palestinians/Arabs|

Toward Culturally Competent Employment Training and Placement

Cultural competency affects us all, nearly everywhere – in the health care system, in the welfare system, in the education system, and more. Issues related to cultural competency also come into play in employment training and placement, and we are proud to be a part of change in the system.

Be-Atzmi workshop

On November 10 we held an all-day seminar for the Be-Atzmi organization, which assists thousands of unemployed and underprivileged men and women every year to integrate, on their own, into stable and appropriate workforce opportunities. Since Be-Atzmi often works with populations on the geographic and socio-economic periphery – including Israelis of Ethiopian descent, the Ultra-Orthodox, and Arab populations – a culturally competent approach to employment training and placement can be critically important for the program’s successes. Thus, this year the organization dedicated its annual professional development seminar to cultural competency.

More of the workshop

The seminar was held for all workers who come in contact with clients from throughout the country – some 150 people – and was held at the Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yafo. The day included teaching the different skills required to deal with different issues in a culturally competent manner. These included, for example, cultural objections to going out to work, refreshments during the Muslim month of Ramadan in mixed groups, integrating husbands into decisions, etc. The seminar dealt mainly with ‘personal cultural competence,’ which means how cultural competency affects individual people. For instance, a case worker suggested what seemed to be a perfect job for a Bedouin woman – working as a maid in a hotel. The pay was above minimum wage, the wages included full benefits, and the hotel provided transportation to and from work. The one problem – in Bedouin society, working as a hotel maid is not something ‘good girls’ do. It is considered to be ‘working in the bedroom,’ just one step up from prostitution (!) The solution – all the job seekers must be interviewed to see what kinds of jobs they’d be willing to take, and it must be made sure that cultural and religious norms are not infringed upon.

Participant in workshop

Other issues that were discussed were interviews, and the different ‘western codes’ of what is acceptable and not acceptable to say in an interview, being on time, involvement of the husband in decision-making – there is a gap between what the facilitators are used to and what the clients need.

As a result of the positive feedback received by organizers and participants, we will also begin to work with Be-Atzmi in developing their organizational cultural competence as well. This means ensuring that all forms and informative publications and signage be produced in a number of languages to fit the clients’ needs, that different culture’s holidays are respected, etc. In short, it means making sure that the broader picture that is the organization thinks in a culturally competent manner.

Naomi Roff2015-12-18T19:06:31+00:00November 17th, 2015|Asylum Seekers, Blog, Christians, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in the Workplace, Ethiopian Jews, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, New Immigrants, Palestinians/Arabs, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

Window to Mt. Zion – Serving as a Microcosm for all of Jerusalem

Our home on Mt. Zion is a fascinating place. Our neighbors include the Dormition Abbey, the Diaspora Yeshiva, Protestant, Catholic, Jewish and Muslim cemeteries. We have Oscar Schindler’s grave (in the Catholic cemetery), as well as the home of renowned Israeli sculptor, David Palombo, who created the gates to Israel’s Knesseth building. And of course, the most important site on Mount Zion stands in the middle of the complex and it is the only site in the world that is holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam! For Jews and Muslims is it David’s Tomb. The Jewish King David who is also a prophet for the Muslims is believed to be buried in a cave under the building. For the Christians it is the Cenacle, better known as Jesus Last Supper Room. Holy for all three, but like the rest of the city – and even the region – much tension has arisen over the past thousand years around it. And also in the last few years regarding who visits what, and when, and to whom it all belongs. Seemingly a microcosm for all issues Jerusalem….

Christian cemetery

Tensions peaked in the fall of 2013 – the spring of 2014, as the newly-appointed Pope Francis sought to visit the Holy Land and was scheduled to visit David’s Tomb / the Room of the Last Supper. Jews protested, sometimes violently. We convened the residents of Mt. Zion, and amazingly were able to get everyone in one room, together with the police, to try and work out a solution. Thankfully, in the end the Pope’s visit was uneventful, but it uncovered a deeper problem Mt. Zion has been facing, and emphasized the need for action.

That is how the “Window to Mt. Zion” project came about. We partnered with the Search for Common Ground Jerusalem Office, which is also working on a registry for Holy Sites. This project seeks to raise awareness in the general public about Mt. Zion, hold regular tours of the chief sites and areas of Mt. Zion, noting any detail, any improvement or any physical attacks. As part of the project, a corps of 15 – 20 volunteers, in pairs, triplets and sometimes individually, tour the different sites around Mt. Zion, recording – and reporting when necessary – any interesting things they see. You can read their blog in Hebrew, here.

Inside a monestary

Last week, on Friday, 23 October, we had a kickoff event, as part of the Open House Jerusalem festival that took place throughout Jerusalem over the weekend. We set up a stand outside the Zion Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem, and offered a wide range of tours and lectures all over the Mount. We had tours of Mt. Zion from a Muslim perspective. We had tours of the recent archaeological excavations that are just outside the Old City walls. We had tours of the different cemeteries that populate the Mount. We told the fascinating story of our home and its famous mulberry tree. The Dormition Abbey and the Diaspora Yeshiva opened their doors to visitors as well. All in all, we told our story to 100 – 150 people throughout the day.

Information table, Zion Gate

Naomi Roff2017-04-07T14:37:00+00:00October 30th, 2015|Blog, Christians, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, Mount Zion, Palestinians/Arabs, Promoting Tolerance in Jerusalem, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

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