Palestinians/Arabs | The Jerusalem Intercultural Center

MiniActive Community Cleanup – Taking Responsibility for Your Own Street

Part of the guiding principle of MiniActive is that residents take responsibility for their own environments – neighborhoods, streets, schools.

Cleaning up our streets

As part of this effort, MiniActive has organized several community clean-ups.

Sweeping, collecting

Community cleanup number 2 took place on May 21 in Kufr Aqeb. The main participants – 20 teenage boys from a local school.

Organizing into teams

Many thanks to the school and its staff for their support!

Dividing up the equipment

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

Here’s the Facebook post in Arabic:

Naomi Roff2016-07-02T15:02:34+00:00June 2nd, 2016|Blog, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, MiniActive, Palestinians/Arabs|

“Jerusalem as a Culturally Competent City” Conference

In what other setting could you find the Jewish Mayor of Jerusalem introduced in both Hebrew and Arabic, followed by the President of the Jerusalem Foundation, herself addressing the audience in English, Hebrew and Arabic, followed by a Muslim Canadian keynote speaker of Pakistani origin? Only at the “Jerusalem as a Culturally Competent City” conference, which we hosted, along with the Jerusalem Foundation, at the Jerusalem Cinematheque on Tuesday, May 17.

It was the culmination of 10 years of working to advance cultural competency, together with the Jerusalem Foundation. What began as focusing on health care, at the ALYN Rehabilitative Hospital, at Clalit primary care clinics and at the Hadassah Medical Center Mount Scopus has blossomed into a concept that encompasses all fields and all sectors, in Jerusalem and throughout Israel.

Opening the conference in Arabic and Hebrew

Throughout the day over 300 people participated, listening to over 70 speakers. They came from all walks of life, from all different fields. We had professionals from the municipality, senior officials in planning, education, welfare and community life. We had researchers and leaders from colleges, universities and think tanks. We had active community residents. We had professionals from a wide range of NGO’s. We had the Israel Police and the IDF. We had Christian and Muslim Arabs, some residents of East Jerusalem, some not. We had secular, traditional, religious and ultra-Orthodox Jews. The entire day was conducted with Arabic, Hebrew and English on equal footing. (You can see the tri-lingual program here.) We had it all. We had Jerusalem in all its wonderful diversity.

The tri-lingual invitation

Throughout the day, we discussed ways that service providers, in all fields, can make their services equally accessible to all of Jerusalem’s populations, making them culturally competent. And on the residents’ side, we discussed ways that they can work to improve their own access to these rights and services, many of which are guaranteed them by law. We discussed strategies and challenges, and the process in between. It was fascinating, exhilarating and downright riveting.

Ms. Uzma Shakir, Keynote Speaker

Mayor Nir Barkat opened the conference, saying: “The starting point for any activity that we do in Jerusalem is the city’s unique DNA, which is unlike any other city in the world.” When the city was founded, more than 3,000 years ago, “its gates were open to everyone, all tribes, Jewish and not…No one felt like they were a guest in Jerusalem…Everyone found their place,” he continued. It is this philosophy, where everyone finds their place, that informs us to this day.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat at conference

Yohanna Arbib-Perugia, President of the Jerusalem Foundation, was the next speaker. She emphasized the important role of cultural competence in a diverse and unique city as Jerusalem. Seeing the Jerusalem Intercultural Center as a strategic partner of the Foundation, she believes that the focus of the Foundation on cultural competence will deepen in the coming years.

Uzma Shakir, Director of the Office of Equity, Diversity and Human Rights, City of Toronto, was the keynote speaker. She described the processes taking place in Toronto and throughout Canada regarding multiculturalism and cultural competency, which include developing approaches appropriate to the vastly different population groups in Canada, from the native populations to the Francophone community of Quebec to recent immigrants from south Asia and elsewhere. She first defined the role of cultural competency:

Cultural competency can be viewed in two ways: it can either be seen as paternalistic and prescriptive – something you do for others who have either limited or unequal power to claim their rights; or transformative and critical – consciously producing spaces that address those power differentials in a meaningful manner and eventually lead to an equitable and just society. In other words, cultural competency can mean being nice to people while maintaining the status quo of inequality or it can mean empowering marginalized people to take control over their own destiny and to change the conditions in society to produce equitable and just outcomes for all. However, this requires an honest recognition of who is marginalized and then consciously co-creating the conditions for inclusion. In this sense, Toronto has its challenges just like Jerusalem and provides some compelling lessons.

She explained the desired outcome of culturally competent processes through this picture:

Three views of Equity

In the first approach, existing infrastructures render services equally for different people. However, since people’s needs are different, equal provision of services does not create proper equality. In the second approach, adjustments are made, often ad hoc, to be able to work within the existing infrastructure to provide services in a way that responds differently to the different needs. In the third approach, infrastructure is built from the start with the different needs of different people in mind, to enable each to meet his or her particular needs in the best way possible.

Here is Ms. Shakir’s full speech:

For the speech in written form, click here.

Discussing challenges to cultural competency

Following the opening session, four parallel sessions addressed different aspects of cultural competency. These included, “Setting & Implementing Cultural Competence Policy in An Organization,” “Cultural Competence in the Public Sphere,” “Coping with Social and Political Tensions in a Multicultural City,” and “Cultural Competence Activities of the Community.” Speakers included the directors of the Bloomfield Science Museum Jerusalem, Museum of Islamic Art, the Tisch Family Zoological Gardens, the ALYN Hospital Pediatric Rehabilitation Center, the Haredi College, community centers from around the city, senior officials in the Municipality, and many, many more.

Setting and implementing cultural competence in organizations

Setting and implementing cultural competence policy in organizations

Even lunch was an exercise in cultural competency. Different foods were labeled with no translation in a range of languages – from Amharic to Russian to Polish and more. Choosing food at the buffet became a funny challenge….

How do you say salmon in Amharic?

After lunch the plenary session discussed major organizations’ efforts to make their services culturally competent. Speakers ranged from the Director of Community Services Administration in the Jerusalem Municipality, the President of Hadassah Academic College, the Director of the Jerusalem Center for Mental Health, and the Commander of the David Precinct of the Israel Police (which includes the all resident quarters of the Old City (Christian Quarter, Muslim Quarter, Armenian Quarter, Jewish Quarter), plus sites such as the Western Wall, the Temple Mount / Haram al-Sharif, Mount Zion and the David’s Tomb complex). The final parallel sessions discussed case studies in cultural competency in different fields – education, health care (This was considered ‘advanced cultural competency’ since indeed our work began in health care some 10 years ago.), arts and culture and community activism toward tolerance.

Our heartfelt thanks go to the Jerusalem Foundation for their partnership and support over these past 10 years. And many congratulations on their 50th anniversary celebrations, of which this conference was a part.

It was the first conference surveying cultural competency in Jerusalem. Will there be another? Stay tuned to find out.

Looking for more? Here’s the video of the entire opening session:

Naomi Roff2017-05-02T07:31:16+00:00June 1st, 2016|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, Santé Israël - French internet platform on the Israeli healthcare system, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

MiniActive Women Recharging Batteries in the North

It’s important for us all to get away and have some fun once and awhile, so that we can set to our goals with recharged batteries when we get home.

Last week, on May 20, we took 54 MiniActive women on a trip up north. They picked cherries.

Picking cherries

They had a picnic.

Group picture!

They went on a boat ride.

Different types of water activiteis

And the highlight – rafting on the Jordan river.

Out on the water

Almost as if we were there along with them…

Yikes! Hope no one falls in!

Here’s the Facebook post in Arabic:

Naomi Roff2016-07-02T15:04:20+00:00May 30th, 2016|Blog, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, MiniActive, Palestinians/Arabs|

Graduation of Horticulture Therapy Course

It took months of planning, and then re-planning, but we are proud to announce the completion of the first Arabic-language horticulture therapy course in Jerusalem! The course took place in cooperation with the David Yellin Academic College of Education, as part of our MiniActive program. During the course of the program participants established and cultivated a beautiful garden at the school. Here’s how it looked in the beginning:

Learning Practical Part of Horticulture Therapy

And this is how it looks today (or from March, after a lot of work had been done):

The garden in March

As we posted here, the course began in January of this year. It took place at the Al-Shuruk School for Special Needs in Beit Hanina. Here is everyone a few days ago, on May 25, at the end of the course. Congratulations!

Final picture of graduates

Here’s the post from the MiniActive Facebook page (in Arabic):

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation for its continued support of the MiniActive program.

Naomi Roff2016-06-12T12:30:19+00:00May 28th, 2016|Blog, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, MiniActive, Palestinians/Arabs|

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|

MiniActive – Multigenerational Effort to Help Children with Cancer

Put environmental work together with community empowerment in East Jerusalem and what do you get – a MiniActive project!

We described here the recent efforts by local Palestinian girls from East Jerusalem to improve the courtyard of one of the schools in Ras al-Amud, as well as an adjacent garbage receptacle.

New project: developing a new garden for children with cancer

We’ve also described here the first Arabic-language horticulture therapy class that is coming to a close.

Mothers and children helping children with cancer

Now we’re marrying these two initiatives in a joint effort to fix up and renovate a garden for the al-Amal organization that helps children with cancer. There are 25 teenage girls participating, and an equal number of women and their children, both boys and girls.

Mothers, sons and daughters working together

They began in late April, and the project is expected to continue until the end of May.

Work in progress

It looks great so far – we’ll keep you posted on the progress.

Naomi Roff2016-06-12T11:44:08+00:00May 13th, 2016|Blog, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, MiniActive, Palestinians/Arabs|

MiniActive – Getting to Know My City

We’ve described here how we’ve arranged for the MiniActive women to take tours throughout the country, but it’s also important to see the special things close to home. That’s what we’ve been doing recently, with a number of tours of the Old City. Thus far we’ve planned 3 groups (2 have already gone) and a third will be going soon.

From all quarters in the Old City

In all, about 100 women from the MiniActive network will have gone. They reach all areas of the Old City, mainly through the Ramparts Walk, which encircles the city walls. For some, it was the first time they’d ever been atop the Old City walls, and was a very special experience.

On tour with Anwar guiding

The guide was Dr. Anwar Ben Badis, who also serves as one of our ever-popular instructors in Arabic language. Thank you Anwar for your always-popular tours!

The Old City from a birds eye view

Here’s one of the posts from the MiniActive Facebook page:

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation for their ongoing support of MiniActive.

Naomi Roff2016-06-12T11:40:21+00:00May 7th, 2016|Blog, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, MiniActive, Palestinians/Arabs|

Tragedy in Shuafat Refugee Camp – Local ERN Leader Murdered

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This is how we’d like to remember local Emergency Readiness Network (ERN) leader Baha Nababte Naufal, who was murdered a few days ago in the Shuafat Refugee Camp.

Baha collecting blankets

This picture was taken from our blog post from January 2015, which described the fantastic collaborative efforts citywide (especially between MiniActive and the ERNs) to deal with severe cold waves and winter storms in December 2014 and January 2015.

Leading the ERN

Indeed Baha was instrumental in establishing and leading the ERN in the Shuafat Refugee Camp and enabling local residents to care for their community, even in emergency situations.Here is how it is reported in 0202 – A View from East Jerusalem:

Baha Nababte was a prominent figure in the Shuafat refugee camp. We have been following the announcements of his murder since the early hours of the morning. Residents of the camp and of East Jerusalem mourn the loss of an important activist and local leader who worked tirelessly for the camp. Baha symbolized for many the hope for building a better civil society for Palestinians, and many see this killing as an attack on the residents themselves. The 0202 FB page has published a number of Baha’s posts, and even had the honor of hosting Baha in the “Leaving the Screen” celebration that was held to mark the first anniversary of the page.

At the 0202 anniversary celebration

Even his last moments were spent helping the community – he was killed while paving a road from the refugee camp to the neighboring village of Anata.

Here’s the post from 0202 that reports on his death:

And from his memorial page, translated to English by 0202, an article by Nir Hasson in Haaretz.

Naomi Roff2016-05-13T14:32:52+00:00May 5th, 2016|Blog, Emergency Readiness Networks, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Palestinians/Arabs|

MiniActive – Waiting for the Bus in Style Beit Hanina

Yes, in Beit Hanina, you can now wait for the bus in style.

Renewed bus stop in Beit Hanina

In this neighborhood, as in many Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, residents suffered for a long time from poor infrastructure in general, and specifically, from broken bus stops, many of which did not have benches or seats or backs.

Now you can lean back as well as sit

As we wrote here, MiniActive was recently in contact with the person in charge of bus stops for the Jerusalem Municipality. This led to all the bus stops in the neighboring Shuafat neighborhood being either replaced or repaired. Here’s the our Facebook post:

This past week, it was Beit Hanina’s turn. The contractor in charge of installing and repairing the bus stops had toured the neighborhood with local MiniActive women, and this week, we finally saw new bus stops.

A ticket to ride and a seat to wait

Congratulations! Next scheduled stop – ????? We’ll keep you posted.

Naomi Roff2016-05-13T14:21:33+00:00April 25th, 2016|Blog, Effective Activism, Identity Groups and Conflicts, MiniActive, Palestinians/Arabs|

The Arabic Sounds of Passover from Katamonim Tolerance Team

Passover songs in Hebrew, Passover songs in Aramaic, Passover songs in English. Passover songs in Arabic? Why not?

Throughout the ages Jews from all over the world wrote and sang songs and prayers in the language of their land. On Sunday, April 17, in preparation for Passover, the Katamonim Tolerance Team presented “Passover according to the Syrian Tradition,” baking soft matzot and singing Passover songs in Arabic.

The Arabic sounds of Passover

The evening was led by musician Shmuel Nelson. In addition to the music, the evening featured soft matzot baked in the Syrian tradition. Yum! (can we say that about matzot?)