Outside Jerusalem | The Jerusalem Intercultural Center

First Training to Municipality Absorption Neighborhood Workers

The Jerusalem Municipal Absorption Authority employs about ten Absorption Neighborhood Workers in the city. Their role is to assist new immigrants (Olim) who live in their neighborhoods with all the daily matters that those are typically challenged with. While these workers are usually new immigrants themselves, they cannot, of course, know and understand the cross-cultural issues relating to all immigrant communities that live in their neighborhoods

The municipal Absorption Authority, which is responsible for the recruitment, training and mentoring of the Absorption Workers, approached the JICC to conduct a training on cultural competency to this staff. The goals of the training are to leverage their work by making them more aware to cultural issues and to encourage them to become the voice for cultural competence in their neighborhoods. Our hope is that in time they will encourage local Community Councils and centers, local government agencies and branches, health clinics etc. to become cultural competent. Practically, this means that the scope of their influence will expand to include all identities living in their service area and not only new immigrants.

Today, November 19, we conducted the first training in the series that provided the Absorbtion Workers with an introduction to the field of cultural competence, including examples from health and many other applications relevant to their daily work. At the end of the training participants expressed their satisfaction with the level and scope of the training and that they look forward to future sessions. The rest of the training will cover topics such as cross-cultural communication, tools for cultural competence, case studies and simulations, and stages for making an organization cultural competent.

jicc2014-07-11T08:37:46+00:00November 19th, 2008|Blog, Courses, Cross-Cultural Communication Trainings, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Cultural Competence in the Workplace, Gishurim - Israel Community Mediation Centers, New Immigrants, Outside Jerusalem, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

Meeting of the Jerusalem Employment Coalition – November 5, 2008

Background: The JICC initiated an employment coalition in Jerusalem in 2005. To begin with the coalition’s main focus was the Welfare-To-Work program that was implemented at the time in Jerusalem, and in three other locations around the country. This program, the first of its kind in Israel, generated much controversy between experts from the government, business sector and NGOs active in the area of employment. The JICC invited the many agencies and businesses that were involved in the implementation of the program or in opposing it, to cooperate in the employment coalition. The coalition enabled the organizations to conduct an effective dialogue that made it possible to improve many aspects of the program. Unfortunately, such a coalition was not mirrored in other regions in Israel where the W2W program was implemented.

Toward 2008 coalition members suggested to upgrade the mission of the coalition and to become the Jerusalem Employment Coalition. A main focus of the JEC is to find ways to advance the adaptation of the employment field to the diverse identities in the city. In the bimonthly meetings, hosted by various coalition members, participants increase their exposure to, and understanding of, diverse aspects of the professional work in this field, and look for synergy and partnerships that would address the needs of the Jerusalemite identities.

Today we held a meeting at the Governmental Employment Service in Jerusalem. Thirty coalition members listened to Mr. Nimrod Alon, the director of the Jerusalem District, and discussed the services provided by this agency. The main issues that were raised related to courses offered to ultra-orthodox women and to unemployed Ethiopians. Two sub-committees will continue to meet in order to address the adaptation of governmental employment services, as well as help employers adjust their businesses to these identities.

Jerusalem Employment Coalition – November 5 2008

The next meeting will be held at Teva, an Israeli biotech company that works closely with employment assignment services.

jicc2014-07-11T08:34:43+00:00November 5th, 2008|Blog, Courses, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in the Workplace, Employment, Ethiopian Jews, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Inter-Cultural Community Dialogue, Jewish Religious Denominations, Jewish-Palestinian/Arab, Outside Jerusalem, The Jerusalem Employment Coalition, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

Synagogue set on fire in Lod – October 30

Unknown vandals hurled a Molotov cocktail into a synagogue in the city of Lod on October 29, 2008, sparking a small fire. No injuries were reported but the structure sustained a minor damage. While the police began its investigation the next day, the Mayor understood that such an event can spark Arab-Jewish riots in the city, and immediately called for a meeting with key officials and with members of the Lod Multicultural Forum. The Forum was initiated last year by Orit Yulzari, the Lod community worker, and is operated with the JICC’ day-to-day support. The Mayor has just recently, a few days ago, met the forum for the first time (read here about this meeting) and quickly realized that this group of committed community leaders can be pivotal in preventing events similar to the riots which broke out in Acre from happening in Lod. This was the first time for the forum to be summoned to help in such an event and the members were most helpful in delivering calming messages to their communities.

Arson in a Lod Synagogue

Later on the police arrested two Arab brothers who denied any connection to the case. The Lod Multicultural forum now has to ensure that peace remains in Lod in the coming days.

jicc2014-04-05T05:00:53+00:00October 30th, 2008|Blog, Outside Jerusalem|

The Lod Multicultural Forum – Meeting with the Mayor – October 27, 2008

Rarely does the Jerusalem Inter-Cultural Center agree to help creating community dialogue outside Jerusalem. The condition for such an involvement is the presence of local professional assets who can empower and facilitate the process. In Lod, Orit Yulzari, the municipality community worker, is supported by the JICC in creating a multicultural forum in the city. In the last two years, with our consultation, Orit succeeded to form a vivid group of local leaders and professionals from almost all the identities in the city: Muslims, Christians and Jews, all religious denominations -including Ultra-Orthodox, and almost all immigrant groups and ethnicities. On October 27, this group met for the first time with the Mayor, who was assigned to the post by the Ministry of Interior following the dismissal of the non-functional elected council. The forum members, who filled the Mayor’s chamber, updated him about the forum and suggested to make use of this asset in solving issues and tensions in the city. They also proposed to make Lod the first Cultural Competent City in Israel.

The Mayor, after meeting with the forum members, said how happy he was to see such an effective and diverse group in the city and asked if the forum would agree to meet with him monthly to discuss the many local issues related to identities and inter-cultural rifts. He asked Orit to write up a proposal for the forum’s work in the city and for its cooperation with the city council. He was especially interested in the Cultural Competent City idea and asked for a written proposal. Following an approval by the city council he would be happy to lead such a process.

The forum will soon discuss its meeting with the Mayor and based on this development decide upon its next steps.

jicc2014-04-04T12:54:43+00:00October 27th, 2008|Blog, Cultural Competence, Outside Jerusalem|

Gishurim Annual Conference – October 27 2008

On October 27, 2008, the Gishurim Program, which is a program to help Community Mediation Centers in Israel, had its annual conference. 300 participants from all around the country attended the conference, definitely the largest ever meeting of the community mediation centers in Israel.

Gishurim Conference Assembly 2008

The conference was implemented through the Open Space Technology and was facilitated by Daphna Barashi-Aizen, an organizational psychologist, and Tal Kligman, from the JICC. The conference focused on how community mediation centers can become more culturally competent in serving their diverse target audiences, and also in responding to the diversity amongst their staff and volunteers. Dr. Hagai Agmon-Snir, the JICC director, gave the keynote presentation about the case study of cultural competence in the health system also in reference to the mediation centers. Following this presentation the participants discussed insights and initiatives in smaller groups. The summaries of the discussions were presented and follow-up initiatives were formalized for the coming year.

Setting Discussion Topics for the Open Space Sessions

A main discussion topic was the Acre riots and “the day after” – in all multicultural cities and communities in Israel. A few dozens activists and mediators came from Acre and helped the others to understand the background, the events and the probable consequences in Acre. Many other discussions touched upon the incorporation of new immigrants and different religious denominations into mediation centers. The discussions provided important insights for the activists in Acre as well as for those active in other places. The context of cultural competence offered an important framework for these discussions.

Open Space Discussion Group

All discussions and follow-ups will be documented on the Gishurim website and through the help of the Gishurim program, some of the initiatives will be implemented. The Gishurim program is being operated by Mosaica and the Jerusalem Intercultural Center.

jicc2015-11-01T18:09:21+00:00October 27th, 2008|Blog, Cultural Competence, Ethiopian Jews, Gishurim - Israel Community Mediation Centers, Inter-Cultural Community Dialogue, Jewish Religious Denominations, Jewish-Palestinian/Arab, Outside Jerusalem, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

Acre Riots – October 10, 2008

Two days after the eruption of the riots in Acre, which began on Yom Kippur, October 8, 2008 (read here, here and here), we felt it was essential to reassess the situation in Jerusalem. Here there aren’t really any mixed Palestinian/Arab-Jewish neighborhoods, so our hope is that the events in Acre will not stimulate events in the city. Nevertheless, a few weeks ago there were some incidents in Neve-Yaakov and Pisgat-Zeev, two Jewish neighborhoods in North-East Jerusalem where Palestinians have recently bought apartments. We will have to keep up our attention in these areas, and probably also in other sensitive places where Jerusalemites might encounter each other on Succot and Simkhat Torah.

At the same time, since we have a role in the region as a consultant for inter-cultural issues, we talked today with officials in the Acre Community Work Department about their next steps there. In Lod, where the JICC consults regularly to inter-cultural processes and issues, we suggested that the multi-cultural forum of lay-leaders that we helped create in the last two years, will meet on Sunday, analyze scenarios for the coming week and suggest proper response. This forum also works with the local police.

We all hope that the events will soon be over. Most important of all, we do not want these events to deteriorate, as happened in October 2000. Although the formal mandate of the JICC is in Jerusalem, we feel responsible to share our expertise with other mixed cities in Israel.

jicc2014-04-05T04:51:18+00:00October 10th, 2008|Blog, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish-Palestinian/Arab, Outside Jerusalem|