Shared Living Tour in Canada
Shared living in Jerusalem takes many forms and, even during periods of unrest and tension, shared living continues for many people in the city. In the shared public spaces of Jerusalem, you will find both Arabs and Jews, and a wide range of religious and cultural identities. Many share the same spaces but rarely have meaningful interactions, and very often don’t even share the same language for communication.
The challenge of building bridges, trust and communication between such diverse population groups has been one of the mandates of the Jerusalem Foundation since its establishment. For many years, we created new community centers, cultural venues and parks and schools for all neighborhoods across the city, working to ensure that equal access to services and leisure could be achieved.
We support programs for learning Arabic in Jewish schools and Hebrew in Arabic speaking schools, assisting Jewish and Arab women in creating art together, in increasing their skills and employment opportunities, in finding ways for Jewish and Arab children to learn together, to play together, to understand what they have in common and not what makes them different.
The Jerusalem Business Development Center (known in Hebrew by the acronym MATI) was founded by the Jerusalem Foundation in 1991 to strengthen and develop small businesses and entrepreneurship in the city makes a direct contribution to shared living. The center focuses on the city’s weakest economic populations: new immigrants, the ultra-Orthodox, east Jerusalem residents. Each year, MATI Jerusalem helps thousands of entrepreneurs and business owners create or expand businesses in the city, thus aiding in the creation of thousands of new jobs and advancing the city’s overall economic development.
In the coming spring, the Jerusalem Foundation of Canada will bring the women leaders from MATI on a country-wide tour of Canada to tell their story and, through their story, the story of Jerusalem.
Michal Shaul Vulej, Deputy CEO, and Reham Abu Snineh, East Jerusalem Manager, will speak about their experiences in east and west Jerusalem, and their work to empower and support under-served communities in workforce development and business opportunities. Their visit is sponsored by The Asper Foundation.
Visiting April 30- May 12, 2023
With events in Toronto, Ottowa, Montreal, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver.
For more information on specific events contact:
Nomi Yeshua, Executive Director, Jerusalem Foundation of Canada
