Since the coronavirus crisis reached Israel – and Jerusalem – in late February / early March, the JICC has been on the front lines in a number of avenues in helping residents of East Jerusalem cope – with helping residents realize their social and welfare rights, with providing important community information and online activities, and, maybe most importantly, helping East Jerusalem’s grassroots civil society’s efforts to fight the pandemic in an area that on the one hand, requires cooperation with the local authorities in order to fight the disease, and on the other, in an area where relationships with any and all local authorities are complex at best, and non-existent at worst.
On Thursday, April 30, 0202 – Viewpoints from Jerusalem held an online session that spotlighted health care in East Jerusalem during the coronavirus crisis, featuring three local activists in East Jerusalem – Fuad Abu-Hamed, Dr. Samer al-Awar, Sameeh Abu Ramileh – who described their efforts amid the sea of complexities in East Jerusalem. The evening was moderated by JICC’s director, Dr. Hagai Agmon-Snir.
Health above all else
They all spoke about their efforts, from coordinating medical care and testing in their areas to setting up quarantine hotels for those returning from abroad, and more. They described efforts in Beit Safafa and Sur Baher, in Silwan, and in Kufr Aqeb, a village under the jurisdiction of the Jerusalem Municipality but on the ‘other’ side of the security fence.
They described an interesting phenomenon. On the one hand, opening statistics in East Jerusalem was not good. The area has more than 350,000 residents, who live in desperate poverty (80%), in poorly kept and crowded conditions, with a healthcare system that is sorely lacking in ‘normal’ times, with a mistrust of the Israeli establishment and the information that it distributes to the public, and often with a feeling that the same establishment is not interested in meeting that population’s needs. In such a state, the coronavirus could potentially spread like wildfire in East Jerusalem, and because many East Jerusalemites work in West Jerusalem, create a public health crisis in all of Jerusalem.
On the other hand, because of this fear, civil society in East Jerusalem organized quickly, with the JICC doing important work in coordinating efforts with the Israeli ‘establishment.’ Results on the ground seem promising – while there are cases in East Jerusalem (including Fuad’s own son, who is on the mend), thus far it hasn’t spread like wildfire as originally feared. And despite the challenging baseline situation, there was cautious optimism, even though the event was held at the beginning of the month of Ramadan, which has the potential of spreading the virus because of the traditional party-like banquets that are traditionally held nightly during Ramadan.
One of the reasons COVID-19 has been contained? According to Dr. Samer, “In East Jerusalem’s traditional society, the whole family lives together, including the grandparents. So when we say, ‘Stay at home, protect your grandparents,’ people take it very very seriously, and heed the warnings.”
This meeting was mentioned in both Hebrew and English articles in the Ha’aretz national daily newspaper. It also quoted JICC Director Dr. Hagai Agmon-Snir on the healthcare situation in East Jerusalem:
“The advantage of the coronavirus crisis is that it’s not linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and can be dealt while disregarding political considerations.
“We see a trend in which the old orientalist concept, by which East Jerusalem is made up of villages, clans, and hostile Palestinian organizations, is being replaced by a new perspective – Jerusalem’s eastern part enables a civil society to flourish, and is home to activists and professionals, just like in the western part of the city,”
Hagai added that “It’s not that the old reality has changed, it’s there. But lenses that can see [East Jerusalem’s developing] civil society can see farther,” and can plan long-term processes accordingly.
There were some 100 participants in the Zoom call, and another 1.6 thousand views on Facebook Live. Here’s a recording of the live session, in Hebrew:
Many thanks to 0202 – Viewpoints from Jerusalem for the event, and to the Jerusalem Foundation for its support of our activities. And many thanks to the organizations that enable us to work effectively in East Jerusalem, including: the Jerusalem Foundation, the Natan Fund, the Russell Berrie Foundation, the Bader Philanthropies, the American Embassy in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
