Closing the Circle

There are small moments within larger events when you realize that something significant, meaningful is happening. “The penny drops” so to speak, and you sense the deep moment you are engaged in  and the magnitude of what is being accomplished.

A moment like that happened last week when we celebrated the opening of the Davidson Theatre, the new home of the Train (Puppet) Theater. After more than three years of hard work, a new “jewel” of the Jerusalem Foundation was inaugurated, with thanks to the Davidson Family, another “jewel in the crown” of cultural institutions established by the Jerusalem Foundation throughout the city. The campus, with the Davidson Theatre at its center, has an unconventional design and layout. Much thought and creativity was invested in the design to establish a cultural center appropriate to the character of the Train Theater – a new destination for children and the whole family, and also a vibrant cultural hub where additional events will take place at night, long after the children are in bed, dreaming of images inspired by the performances they saw in the very same place.

During the ceremony, between the speeches, two historic images were projected on the large screen: Teddy Kollek at the Train Theater 40 years ago, at the opening ceremony and at a performance. In the photos you can see the old blue train wagon, which was found in a scrap yard in Tel Aviv and brought to Jerusalem to be transformed into a puppet theater. It was thanks to four young and imaginative artists that this discarded junk was turned into a well-known cultural institution for 40 years, hosting the International Puppet Festival for the last 30.

The Theater’s founder, Mario Kotliar, had a vision for expanding the building and shared it with Teddy Kollek – and today the dream has come true.

The Jerusalem Foundation and Mayor Moshe Lion and the Jerusalem Municipality, were able to close this circle and bring the vision to reality. It is during a moment like the opening ceremony of this amazing project that one can understand the long-term significance of acts in the city of Jerusalem. The simple images of the theater’s beginnings gave me, as someone who was privileged to work with Teddy Kollek, that moment of perspective and satisfaction of knowing that we were completing Teddy’s plan for this tremendous site and project in the new building.

We continue with Teddy’s vision for the city, which today we call “Jerusalem 2030” and the Train Theater’s new home is yet another milestone in our plans for Creative Culture.    The vision is even more clear when you connect the  Davidson Theatre to the “Cultural Mile,” a chain of cultural “jewels” established by the Jerusalem Foundation, starting from the Khan Theater, continuing to the Cinematheque, Mishkenot Sha’ananim, the Jerusalem Music Center, the Tower of David Museum, and of course the Koret Liberty Bell Park itself, inside which the Davidson Theatre campus now sits, alongside the open air amphithearter and much more.

Not far away, and another new addition to the Jerusalem Foundation cultural mile, is the site of the new building being planned for the Jerusalem Hassadna Conservatory. Our work continues, and the new Conservatory building is another part of our 2030 vision, developing future leadership, supporting creative culture and strengthening community.

The two historic images shown at the ceremony resonated inside of me and the vision that I have been committed to since the days of Teddy, has found its way to the present day.

It was a fitting way to end this past year, a not-so-simple and challenging year, but a year that ended with a great deal of optimism for the future, even for the near future.

These days, Jerusalem is buzzing with cultural activities and events: not only within cultural institutions and buildings designated for these purposes, but in all parts of the city, and in all kinds of spaces. This was made possible through the support of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation for the new “CultureSeries” developed and carried out by the Jerusalem Foundation, in all neighborhoods of the city.  This incredible series is another source of inspiration and provides the optimism which we all need for working in a city like Jerusalem.

There are a few more good reasons to be optimistic and hopeful, but I’ll leave them for next time…

In the meantime, I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year – a year full of health and activity and my wish that your visions and dreams come true.

הפוסט Stories from JLM – September 2021 הופיע לראשונה ב-.

Dear Friends,

Jerusalem of these last weeks has been very different then anything we have known before.  As we mark Jerusalem Day, I want to share with you the inspiration I have felt from our beloved city through a few small stories of great initiatives over these past few weeks.

Embroidering Dreams 

Over the past few weeks, the distribution of food baskets to provide vital relief to Jerusalem’s most vulnerable residents during the COVID-19 crisis has been one of the central tasks carried out through the Jerusalem Foundation’s emergency fund.  This was not as simple as it sounds…easy to imagine but complicated to carry out – not only money is needed to purchase and assemble the food parcels, but also the logistics of thousands of volunteers needed to distribute them throughout Jerusalem – leading to the finest hour for volunteers from civil society organizations and the network of community center activists across Jerusalem.

‘Embroidering Dreams’ is a group of dozens of elderly men from the Ethiopian immigrant community who came together through the Talpiot Community Center; a group of men who brought with them to Israel skills in characteristic Ethiopian embroidery techniques used to decorate the community’s traditional garments and textiles such as table cloths, napkins, pillows and even mezuzot. They seek to preserve the art and pass on its secrets to future generations. The COVID-19 crisis put a stop to their group activities until further notice and concern for members of the group continued to grow.

Two hundred families of elderly residents from the Ethiopian community had food baskets delivered to their homes by volunteers in the Jerusalem Foundation’s first emergency round of food parcel distribution. When stricter home sheltering restrictions were put in place, we started the second allocation round, and this time we added an element of cultural competency to our distribution. For the city’s Ethiopian community we adapted to their specific cultural needs.

And that is how we found ourselves on a journey to the Ethiopian kitchen. Naturally, that includes teff flour (imported from Ethiopia), used for preparing Ethiopia’s national dish, the spongy-textured sour fermented flatbread called injera. Also included were kek (Ethiopian broad beans), shiro (an Ethiopian stew made mainly of chickpea meal, special spices and green coffee beans, and all these items can only be found in Ethiopian-cuisine shops in the Machaneh Yehuda market and market merchants and volunteers helped prepare the special food packages.

The families of the elderly Ethiopian men who comprise ‘Embroidering Dreams’ were deeply touched by these special packages. One of the many moving thank-you letters we received in Amharic said “Thank you! I felt that this time, you really saw ME, and not just as part of a general problem.”

Shalhevet and Ella 

Shalhevet and Ella are talented musicians, only 13 and 16 years old. They study and play music at the Hassadna Jerusalem Music Conservatory. Hassadna is one of the fine Jerusalem institutions that we at the Jerusalem Foundation are working to promote and for which we seek to build a new, permanent home as part of our long-term plan, ‘Jerusalem 2030’, which gives special emphasis to nurturing Creative Culture in Jerusalem. Shalhevet and Ella aren’t just excelling music students, but also young initiators and leaders living in the city’s Baka neighborhood. 

This year’s Yom Ha’Atzmaut – Independence Day celebrations, was maybe the strangest of these anniversaries in our country’s 72 years.  There were strict closure orders to prevent the spreading of COVID-19 confining everyone to within 100 meters from their homes – empty streets and no traffic. After more than a month of sheltering and home and social distancing, the absence of all the traditional festivities and large-scale gatherings took on new meaning and increased the longing for normalcy.

But Shalhevet and Ella insisted on not letting the solemn mood put a damper on festivities. We call it “Communal Strength”: under strict health guidelines, the community would find a meaningful way to mark our nation’s independence. 

A few days beforehand, together with the music teachers at Hassadna who also took an active part in the initiative, the girls formed groups of young musicians online, all residents of the neighborhood, and started rehearsing musical pieces suitable for the special day. Another neighbor, a young-at-heart 55- year old saxophonist, volunteered to serve as conductor. At the appointed hour, the poignant moment when the national Memorial Day for Israel’s Fallen Soldiers ends and Independence Day begins, 10 young musicians met at the street corner, all within 100 meters from their homes. They brought their own chairs and musical instruments, sitting the required two meters apart. The street lamps lit their way. Around them, neighbors at home went out to their balconies and gardens, keeping their distance but curiously looking on. And then it started. Wonderful Israeli sounds, powerfully breaking through – without amplification, with just the power of the music, performed by the young musicians… the holiday atmosphere, the Communal Strength of mutual responsibility, and then the great, indescribable excitement that captured everyone’s ears and hearts.

When the musicians performed Hatikva, Israel’s national anthem, many of the neighbors had tears in their eyes and even the amateur video of the performance on an iPhone in the dark, was filmed with shaky hands.

A short Jerusalem story in these days of the coronavirus – one that symbolizes and demonstrates in a practical way what we hope to accomplish in Jerusalem in the years to come – Jerusalem 2030 – Communal Strength, Creative Culture and Future Leadership…

Muslala & The Day After 

After two months of supporting the immediate, basic needs of the city’s most vulnerable residents from all sectors, at the Jerusalem Foundation we are starting to think about the day after… embarking on a new routine, a “corona routine” and the good days to follow.

Last week, we began supporting the very creative initiatives of cultural, art and civic society institutions, helping them get back on their feet, giving them initial “fuel” and “oxygen” to get back to activities in the new routine and one such extraordinary, creative initiative is Muslala. For those who don’t know, Muslala is a community of creative Jerusalemites, a collective of artists, social activists, educators and project initiators. The center of activity for this community of young people is the rooftop of the Clal Center, a 15-story office tower and indoor shopping mall next-door to the Machaneh Yehuda market. 

Matan Israeli, the living spirit of Muslala, in his persuasive and inspiring way, managed to inspire us with his excitement – certainly with his optimistic view about the “day after”…. As Matan tells us, “Over the past weeks, we rediscovered the importance of the balcony and rooftop, our place to get a breath of fresh air, even in the most difficult days of closure. A place that’s also for forming connections, a new, special culture of balconies and rooftops has occurred – and the rooftops in particular, with their enormous, untapped potential”

These days have forced us to find new ways and the new Muslala experience, already in the coming weeks: urban camping on Clal Center’s green roof, with nothing but stars shining above. A new, stimulating, green urban experiment that suits Jerusalemites who will suddenly experience the city from completely new angles and certainly for those who have yet to join us, either up close or from afar… “It is an ascent to Jerusalem of the Heavens”, says Matan enthusiastically. Camping that will involve one of the green sustainability initiatives atop the Clal Center building – the city’s beehive – or some of the wonders of urban agriculture on the roof, and then a star-studded night and even an intimate breakfast, all atop the roof, and there you have it! Just so you can’t say that you haven’t heard something creative and optimistic coming out of the past few weeks’ hardships…

On behalf of all of us at the Jerusalem Foundation, I want to wish you a happy Jerusalem Day. Recent times have shown us once more how special, how diverse our city is, what a strong civil society, mutual responsibility and a lot of hope and creativity can do for the future.

For us, every day is Jerusalem Day!

Shai Doron

Jerusalem Foundation President

הפוסט Stories from JLM – May 2020 הופיע לראשונה ב-.

This is my first newsletter as the President of the Jerusalem Foundation, a position I started about two months ago. As the Director-General of the Tisch Family Zoological Gardens for 25 years, the zoo was my second home, yet I continue to work for Jerusalem. My role at the Jerusalem Foundation closes a circle as I now lead the Foundation established by Teddy Kollek, my teacher and “rabbi,” who appointed me to run his office during his last term as Jerusalem Mayor (when I was a much younger man with a full head of hair!!)

Through my ‘Stories from JLM’, I hope you gain insight into our work, a firsthand glimpse into my experiences in this colorful city. Those of you who are familiar with my stories from my time at the zoo, I hope that you will enjoy my stories of two-legged creatures just as much the four-legged ones, and those which live in the deep blue sea.

Our recent municipal election season can be characterized as different from those we experienced in the past. Last week, Jerusalem elected a new Mayor and while there will be continued analysis over the next few weeks, preliminary information gives us a fascinating look at the city and its residents. There is much to learn from this election season, for the city and for civil society, but for the Jerusalem Foundation, the election results brings both challenges and great opportunities. Precisely now, we can demonstrate our leadership in the city and we can serve as a resource for the incoming Mayor and his administration, while advancing the Foundation’s values of strengthening Jerusalem as a tolerant, pluralistic, enlightened and modern city.

“A Circle Closes and Opens” 

Kasse Shami is a 17-year-old resident of Beit Safafa, and a 12th grader at the Max Rayne Hand in Hand School for Bilingual Education and I have known him for several years. Kasse joined a group of Jewish and Arab youth volunteering at the zoo. But Kasse made the zoo his home and last summer, we became more closely acquainted. Kasse was chosen along with six other Jewish and Arab youth to represent the zoo’s volunteers in a youth exchange program in San Diego. For 15 years, Jerusalem youth, activists and volunteers at the zoo join Jews and non-Jews in San Diego for two weeks of activities mainly around the famous San Diego Zoo.

At a festive lunch at the San Diego Zoo in early August, dozens of supporters stopped by for an official farewell as I parted ways from the Jerusalem Zoo. But Kasse stole the show. His captivating personality, the simplicity of his words and his winning smile captured everyone. 

Many of the program’s graduates have become leading professionals at the zoo, fully committed to nature conservation but more importantly, Jews and Arabs, religious and secular, have enduring friendships. 

Everything comes full circle. I recently attended the cornerstone laying for a new high school building at the Hand in Hand school. The Jerusalem Foundation enlisted support for the school from our friends in Germany and the UK for many years. I was surprised to see Kasse there. “You see,” he said to me, “we will never say good-bye. After my work at the zoo, we have come full circle with the cornerstone laying for a high school, even though I don’t understand why such a routine event is cause for such celebration.”

As one circle closed, another one opened. In a peaceful city, building a Jewish-Arab high school should not be an extraordinary festivity, but rather a routine one. Kasse on the one hand, and the school on the other, should stand as an example of what we can do in this fascinating and complicated city.

“A Human Treasure” 

Two weeks ago, we held an international conference here in Jerusalem. Dozens of donors from around the world came to see our projects and to discuss our agenda.  This was the perfect opportunity to hold a short ceremony, one that could have been a dry and boring event – distribution of interest free loans to Jerusalem entrepreneurs, thanks to the support of the Dan David Foundation. Yet it turned out to be one of the most fun, inspiring and hopeful experiences of the conference.

The “hot topic” today is economic development, the opportunity for philanthropic partnership, and collaboration with the business, public and private sectors. The Jerusalem Foundation, together with the Jerusalem Business Development Corp (MATI), knew how to implement an idea that could indeed bring about a practical change in the city. Economic development should offer a comprehensive response to municipal needs, including job opportunities for those who want to live and work in the city. Six entrepreneurs were chosen by a joint committee of judges with representatives of the Foundation, MATI and the Dan David Foundation. Each one are new initiatives led by young people with a vision. Each one received a loan of NIS 300,000 to advance their initiative and spread their wings. Another initiative was also lucky enough to receive an additional Jerusalem Foundation prize of NIS 25,000.

My interest was drawn to Omri Rotem and Adi Catarivas who are establishing a hostel for tourists and young visitors on a budget. They are building their hostel on the site of the old Bank of Israel building in the city center. They are “cool” entrepreneurs, youngsters with a wonderful imagination, self deprecating humor and their two feet firmly on the ground. One of them, Adi, is a graduate of the School of Visual Theater, supported by the Foundation. Adi and Omri want to transform the building’s basement – where the Bank of Israel vaults and state treasures once lay- into a place for young Jerusalem artists, graduates of art schools, a place to listen to music, watch movies and more – often projects supported by the Jerusalem Foundation. These will be the new “treasures” of the city – not the Bank of Israel’s vaults, but the young and contemporary treasures of Jerusalem’s youth.

“Almost Like Scoring a Goal” 

Many of you have known me for years and you also know that I support Hapoel Jerusalem Basketball Team. In recent years, a unique Jerusalem initiative known as Hapoel Katamon, has become a model of social responsibility though soccer. I won’t bore you with stories about soccer, because it wasn’t the sport that attracted the Jerusalem Foundation’s support.  Instead, it was the “Neighborhood League,” the girls’ group, the “combined team” of mentally challenged athletes together with club members.

We know how to identify and support such wonderful projects.

But our uniqueness is not only in direct support, but also creating connections, like our Jerusalem2 co-venture with Made in JLM, which will operate right here, from the Foundation’s offices. The space will be a hub for community leaders looking to get an idea off the ground. One of those ideas is Made in JLM’s very own Society Labs project – a commitment by Made in JLM to offer technological training and solutions to non-profits who can hardly afford it. Made in JLM held a meetup in our offices, attended by a large range of nonprofits that were looking to learn about digital marketing through Google ads. But it was also an opportunity for us to meet with one another, learn about each others’ initiatives and look for new partnerships.

Around the table, Hapoel Katamon’s “red shirts” gathered alongside many social organizations from the city. That evening, as I looked at the young faces around the table from all walks of life, and committed to Jerusalem’s future, I was filled with excitement as if my team had scored a goal!

הפוסט Stories from JLM – November 2018 הופיע לראשונה ב-.

Dear Friends,

A few weeks ago, we inaugurated the Jerusalem Community Mobile Innovation Lab – JLM Makers on Wheels – a collaborative project with the Machsheva Tova Association, which works to reduce social disparities in Israel and creates social mobility by making technology accessible to all. JLM Makers on Wheels will operate in various Jerusalem neighborhoods – both east and west – and will literally drive innovation to each neighborhood in order to strengthen the community through technology. Children and teens will be able to experiment with 3D printers, laser cutting, robotics and advanced computers. This mobile innovation lab was made possible through a gift from a very special supporter, Della Worms, in memory of her late husband Fred Simon Worms OBE.  For many years, this amazing family has been supporting education, culture and social welfare projects in Jerusalem leaving indelible footprints at institutions including the Israel Museum, the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens, the Hebrew University and many more. 

We are delighted that donors who have supported the Jerusalem Foundation from the very beginning are choosing to join us in ensuring the future by supporting such an innovative project symbolizing the renewed focus of the Foundation toward the next decade. The dedication ceremony for this special initiative was held in the Kiryat Menahem Community Center, where we have been partnering for many years with both the community council and the Machsheva Tova Association in strengthening the neighborhood. The permanent lab at the community center was the inspiration for the new mobile lab.

Ronnie Silfen is the Director of the Community Council in Kiryat Menahem – a true community leader. He has worked tirelessly to improve the Kiryat Menahem neighborhood, including partnering with the Jerusalem Foundation’s “Springboard” neighborhood improvement project over recent years. Ronnie is himself a resident of the neighborhood. On Tuesday, on his way home with his 6-year-old son Dan who is a first-grader at the Hirschel IASA School, they stopped by the innovation lab at the community center. On Tuesday afternoons the innovation lab is open for neighborhood residents of any age to experiment with activities under the supervision of teens from the neighborhood who have themselves studied in the lab and now share their knowledge with other residents. Ronnie only meant to check that everything was fine, to say goodbye for the day and to continue on home, but instead he and Dan ended up staying for hours … The three-dimensional software of the computers drew them in and then they experimented with the laser machines and 3D printers. They finally left with a new sign for Dan’s room and a new keychain for Ronnie.

JLM Makers on Wheels was almost the last program that began its operations in 2019 with our support. It represents the hope we felt throughout 2019 and helped us to look forward to a future of innovation and creativity which will be at the center of the Foundation’s activities in 2020.  These values are the cornerstones of our long-term planning for the coming decade in the “Jerusalem 2030” master plan.

Teddy Kollek’s vision when he founded the Jerusalem Foundation 53 years ago, was to see Jerusalem as a multicultural city made up of different communities living side by side. This vision is more relevant now than ever. Looking to the future, the challenges facing us require that our projects resonate with the city’s needs. Accordingly, we will focus on three areas:

Communal Strength – The Jerusalem Foundation ensures that Jerusalem’s diverse residents can continue to build a modern, open and vibrant city together.  With a special focus on the social and communal needs of the city’s most vulnerable populations, we effectively strengthen the social fabric and community support systems of Jerusalem.

Creative Culture – The Jerusalem Foundation leverages the city’s diversity and unique history to shape its future as a modern, thriving metropolis by providing platforms for its varied populations to find expression through creativity. Creative initiatives breathe new life into the city, enhancing its vibrancy and openness, and ensuring that it continues to be a source of inspiration around the world.

Future Leadership – The Jerusalem Foundation focuses on developing leadership and excellence in the city through its involvement in community activism and investment in the next generation. By promoting young civil leadership with a long term commitment to the city, and guaranteeing that all diverse communities have access to opportunities to excel, we safeguard the future.

In this spirit of innovation, renewal and creativity, I would like to wish all our friends and supporters in Israel and all over the world a happy and healthy New Year in 2020. May it be a fruitful year of accomplishment, a year that opens an inspiring new decade with the Jerusalem Foundation leading the city into a promising future.

Shai Doron

Jerusalem Foundation President

הפוסט Stories from JLM – December 2019 הופיע לראשונה ב-.

After the Fading of the Trumpets…. 

It is some weeks after the election (second round …) and the results are still unknown. One person will surely be at the center of decision making in the coming weeks – President Reuven (Ruby) Rivlin. The election results leave the President with a great responsibility to direct the successful formation of a government. Not a simple task at all – but fortunately we have already learned that the President knows what he is talking about. This is how he honored the Jerusalem Foundation at the opening of the Jerusalem Film Festival in July:  

“I want to thank the Jerusalem Foundation for its long-standing contribution to the building of Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Foundation is a key partner in establishing this award, the event this evening as well as many other things that have taken place in Jerusalem since its reunification. This is an opportunity to thank you, all of you, whether you are Jerusalemites or not – thank you for your love of this city and your commitment to its people and residents.” 

I don’t know if you saw the movie that opened the Jerusalem Film Festival – Parasite is a South Korean movie, different from the movies we are used to watching. It was hard to remain indifferent to the plot. Some loved it and some didn’t, but it was impossible to be indifferent. It was a wonderful evening thanks to the dedicated work of the Cinematheque and the festival staff, led by Noa Regev – who we never feel indifferent about! We are proud of our support for the Cinematheque and the Film Festival over the years – but this year in particular. Since the Jerusalem Foundation founded the Cinematheque, its contribution to Jerusalem culture and creativity has been crucial. This year, the Jerusalem Foundation distributed more Awards at the festival than ever (amounting to hundreds of thousands of shekels). The Awards serve as a reminder to everyone in the city of our importance as the leading organization supporting Jerusalem arts and culture and our efforts to develop the city as a thriving, creative, innovative cultural center that includes the expression of diverse works and viewpoints inclusive of all.  

Once the fanfare of the Film Festival was over, I was delighted and moved by the inauguration of a new space inside the Cinematheque – the Orient Express. Despite being a Jerusalemite born and bred, I had not previously made the acquaintance of Ofra Abrahamson. She is a second generation Jerusalemite. After her marriage to the late Daniel Abrahamson, z”l – who immigrated to Israel from Argentina and served professionally in the Tax Authority – they decided to make their home in Jerusalem. We met briefly when she came to the Jerusalem Foundation to look into the possibility of commemorating her husband‘s memory through his love of cinema.

The Orient Express lounge and coffee shop is a beautiful relaxation area within the Cinematheque where visitors can meet, learn and create in a unique atmosphere against the backdrop of Mount Zion and the Gehennom Valley. Ofra decided to memorialize her husband’s name by funding the establishment of this special place. Ofra and her husband could be called – to use a Hebrew expression –  “good people we meet along the way”, but to me they are “excellent people leading the way”: those people who make Jerusalem such a special and exciting city. And we, those Jerusalemites who visit this place, must appreciate this gift to the city and continue to develop Jerusalem as a vibrant, cultural and tolerant city for everyone.

A Winning Formula in Backgammon 

There are a lot of Jerusalemites who claim to be the best backgammon players but I was always pretty bad at it. When I was a child in Jerusalem, I was still part of a generation that went downstairs to play in the yard every afternoon. The neighborhood parking lot – back then there weren’t many private vehicles and certainly not two cars to every family – became the venue for a turbulent soccer game until dark, after which we would have to find the strength to do our homework. Between all of this and – even though I lived in the Rehavia neighborhood which was not exactly the bastion of the game – we would often sit on the stairs at the entrance to the building where I lived and just as enthusiastically play a series of loud backgammon games. Sometimes we had a “method”: when we were faced with an imminent and humiliating loss, we would simply upset the game board and announce a “draw” … with the main thing being not to lose to a neighbor from another building.

Last week I used the same method. I was about to lose a backgammon game – and not just any loss, a loss on the home field. Dror is the CEO of the Kulna Association, new tenants of the Jerusalem Foundation as part of our new shared living space on the second floor of the building. This is a collaborative workspace for associations and organizations dealing with coexistence and tolerance in our city. This will also be the base for the tolerance coalition that we are leading: over 50 different organizations dealing with one of the most important issues for the future of the city and one of the Jerusalem Foundation’s main areas of focus – living together in Jerusalem. Kulna promotes shared living between Jews and Arabs in Jerusalem through “everyday life” events, like backgammon. 

So, returning to the backgammon game against Dror: in the middle of a working day, with other colleagues watching us play, I could not afford to lose.  Particularly not against the founder of an organization that arranged the first Jerusalem Backgammon Championship held at the Jaffa Gate attended by hundreds of people (and supported by the Jerusalem Foundation). Even a draw against such a person would still be an achievement! 

But just don’t ask me to be part of Kulna’s next challenge – Songs and Gates – to be held next summer at the Jaffa Gate during the European Football Championship. You probably can’t train for the event by kicking a ball around inside an office building. What did Mom tell us? Football only in the yard and not inside the house… 

The Valley of the Cross 

I grew up in Jerusalem in the 1960s and the 1970s roaming the city during my adolescence, until I was drafted into the IDF. And, far more than the backgammon games even, the Valley of the Cross’s large green expanse – at least it seemed so to us – was central to our lives. The paving of the path that crosses the valley seemed like a scar that marked our childhood. For students of the Hagymnasia Ha’ivrit High School in Rehavia, there is no doubt that the true center of the valley was “Beit Noa” – the home of the Masada Troop of the Scouts (despite the fact that more of the “rival” Modi’in troop members were normally seen around the valley), us Masada Scouts didn’t even want to hear the Modi’in troop mentioned – this rivalry has defined many generations of Jerusalem Scouts with a very definite and proud identity. On the whole, however, I think that rivalry mostly made us better Scouts, and I hope it made us better human beings. 

As a Masada troop alumnus, I received an update last week on “Masada” as the new year of activities opens. Had I not been among those responsible for the shocking news, I would not have believed it – “Masada and Modi’in Scout Troops unite to preserve one of the city’s most important green spaces, the Valley of the Cross”. Whoever would have thought? 

As I’ve said before, the Jerusalem Foundation has special abilities. If we were able to get these former rivals to cooperate, then there is no mission that we cannot accomplish … This story, which probably sounds like a folk legend to my contemporaries, occurred over recent months thanks to a new initiative – The Jerusalem Foundation Award for Good Citizenship which is awarded for acts of good citizenship by youth movement members in Jerusalem. One of the winning initiatives was the joint venture of the Masada and Modi’in Scout Troops for the preservation of the Valley of the Cross which, in my view, is not only good citizenship but also an historic occurrence. 

On a serious note, I started my adult career in public service as the coordinator of the Scout troop in the most northerly Jerusalem neighborhood of Neve Ya’acov. I am very proud of what they have achieved and that today the alumni of the Kfir Scout troop hold key leadership positions in both the public and private sectors. Youth movements in general today continue to engage our youth to be active and committed to their local communities. We hope in the coming months, together with the Scouts Movement, to launch a new leadership program for Scout troops that will energize these activities in challenging neighborhoods with a view to producing a new generation of children, teens and adults who will be committed to their community and the city of Jerusalem. So, it seems that the Valley of the Cross, which has witnessed so many events over the last 2000 years, will see another historic moment to be remembered forever. 

In the meantime – I wish you all Shana Tova – a new year of peace and happiness. Don’t forget that the Jerusalem International Jazz Festival is just around the corner (December 4th-6th) so mark your new year calendars!  

Happy New Year, 

Shai Doron

Jerusalem Foundation President

הפוסט Stories from JLM – October 2019 הופיע לראשונה ב-.

Dear Friends, 

We are pleased to share some of the unforgettable events and experiences coming to fruition in Jerusalem this summer.

New Building for the Hand in Hand School

Since we dedicated its campus in 2007, the Max Rayne Hand in Hand School for Bilingual Education in Jerusalem has built a unique educational community through shared living and learning. The school is now an established institution in Jerusalem – with 700 students, 9 graduating classes, exceptional academic achievements and with hundreds of families on waiting lists.

We are excited that a new high school building will be constructed over the next couple of years to allow the school to accept more students and continue nurturing shared society in Jerusalem.   

Click here to read more.

Orangutan Exhibit Dedication at Biblical Zoo

For many years, the Biblical Zoo has been one of Israel’s most visited tourist attractions, and has been at the forefront of wildlife conservation in Israel and globally. The Tisch Family Zoological Gardens opened in 1993 on its current site in southern Jerusalem and draws people from all threads of Jerusalem’s vibrant social fabric – Jewish, Christian and Muslim; secular and religious; young and old; and tourists and locals. Thus the Zoo has become a place where everyone comes together and feels welcome – a bridge between communities.

Exhibits such as these engage visitors’ hearts and minds and are important to promote public awareness of conservation issues, and to participate in international breeding programs for endangered species.

Thanks to a generous donation by John Shapiro and Shonni Silverberg from the USA, an orangutan exhibit was recently built and had its official dedication last month. The exhibit includes spacious outdoor and indoor facilities, and the visitor path includes information and graphics about orangutans, the threats they face in the wild, and their conservation.

We’re proud to be supporting the Biblical Zoo in their conservation work, and efforts to educate the public about biodiversity and conservation issues.

Nabucco Performed in Jerusalem

The world-famous opera Nabucco returned to what could be said to be its ‘spiritual home’, here in Jerusalem. On June 20th, the Israeli Opera Chorus and Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra performed Verdi’s opera, known as the ‘Jewish Opera’ due to its portrayal of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by Nabucco (Nebuchadnezzar), king of Babylon.

An audience of around 7,000 came to see the unique, and historic, performance in the Sultan’s Pool, outside Jerusalem’s Old City walls. Amongst them were hundreds of Holocaust survivors whose tickets we sponsored, and students whose discounted tickets we subsidized.

It was great to see music acting as a meeting point for Jerusalemites of different ages, religions and cultures, to come together and create shared society in Jerusalem.

Click here to read more.

Jerusalem Foundation at the Jerusalem Film Festival

We are delighted to be sponsoring a new award at the upcoming Jerusalem Film Festival. The Nechama Rivlin Award for a First-Time Filmmaker (courtesy of the Jerusalem Foundation) is named after Israel’s late First Lady, Nechama Rivlin z”l, who recently passed away and who was a regular patron of the Jerusalem Film Festival and the Cinematheque.

We are also sponsoring the prizes for Best International Film and an award in the Pitchpoint Contest, as well as continued support for the Haggiag Award for Best Feature Film and sponsorship of the ‘Film on the Go’ project taking place around Jerusalem.

As part of the Film Festival, “Film On the Go” offers a mobile movie theater that travels throughout the city and is set up every evening in one of Jerusalem’s neighborhoods – in east and west Jerusalem (films screened in east Jerusalem with Arabic subtitles). The Festival provides two branded trucks carrying a mobile movie theater and folding chairs (along with a DCP projector, sound equipment, generators, operation, etc.), festive lighting and folding seats.

Every day, the mobile movie theater arrives in a different neighborhood and carries out nighttime activities in collaboration with local community centers, providing food stalls and arts & crafts sales alongside the screening of films. The project reaches all members of Jerusalem’s diverse communities – including those who do not generally frequent the Cinematheque – by offering activities free of charge and providing access to artistic excellence to all viewers, regardless of their age, background, religious affiliation or language.

Click here to read a Jerusalem Post article about the new award and here to read more about the Jerusalem Film Festival. 

Warm wishes from Jerusalem for a wonderful summer season!

הפוסט Stories from JLM – July 2019 הופיע לראשונה ב-.

Jerusalem-ite Day

I am happy to share with you a “special edition” of Stories from Jerusalem – in honor of Jerusalem Day that we just celebrated on Sunday.

I don’t believe that it would have crossed the minds of those who initiated Jerusalem Day that one day, at least for some, it would become a political statement, used by one political camp or another, rather than emphasizing the city’s unity, strength and uniqueness.

In my view, the true essence of our holiday, Jerusalem Day, is a celebration of the city’s beauty and uniqueness, its diversity and its capacity to create connections and be a center of culture and ingenuity – a source of inspiration to Israel and people around the world.   

In Jerusalem, year round and particularly on Jerusalem Day, I seek to celebrate creativity and excellence, the love of other human beings whoever they may be, human diversity, openness to all; a city with a degree of modesty and, with all its complexities, optimism for a better future and a sense of humor also wouldn’t do any harm…

In recent years, we at the Jerusalem Foundation have joined together with a growing number of Jerusalemites, a coalition of people who are working to turn Jerusalem into a more tolerant place, who wish to mark our day – as “A Jerusalemite Day of Diversity“, through a series of events that have nothing to do with politics, seeking to multiply the good in our city and embrace all the segments of our city’s diverse population.  

On Jerusalem Day, the Jerusalem Intercultural Center, established and supported by the Jerusalem Foundation, conducted a series of events and encounters that shine light on an open Jerusalem, accepting of all, of “the other”, of the majority and the minority, of Jews, Moslems and people of all faiths from secular to ultra-Orthodox – all taking part in “A Jerusalemite Day of Diversity”, because we have no other city.

Thus, for example, Dror High School youth had a discussion with the father of Shira Banki of blessed memory, a teen who was killed for participating in the Jerusalem March for Pride and Tolerance, followed by discussion groups with organizations promoting tolerance; an evening of interfaith prayer with a rabbi, a priest and an imam; an encounter bringing together Jerusalemites for short talks at light railway stops; even a Jerusalem Speakers’ Corner featuring people standing on buckets and telling different Jerusalem stories, inspired by London’s Hyde Park designated to public speaking, debate and open discussion; and the list goes on.

There was also the Jerusalem March in the Milton Way Bike Path circling the city a few hours before the conclusion of Jerusalem Day events. I can’t be certain that the Gottesman family of New York, whose generous support helped establish the park, had precisely this sort of thing in mind, but yesterday’s Jerusalem March represents the Jerusalem I believe in.

Adults and children of different backgrounds, carrying balloons, riding bicycles, playing music, pushing baby carts and walking their dogs, paraded along the old train tracks in a festive march of solidarity, celebration and hope. Dozens of Jewish and Arab families, religious and non-religious, came from all parts of the city to walk together and highlight the beautiful, colorful and diverse human mosaic of Jerusalem; a shared existence that doesn’t need air-conditioned halls and armchairs and doesn’t wait for a special invitation, rather comes from life itself, life all along the train tracks that connect Jerusalem’s different communities. It is no surprise that all these neighborhoods have residents who just want to walk or jog, breathe in the fresh air or relax on a shaded park bench, and yesterday they paraded along the train tracks to the First Station.

This is the true Jerusalem March. Perhaps you won’t see, hear or read about it, but this is a march of Jerusalemites who want what’s best for everyone living here, and carry a message of hope and optimism for Jerusalem.

As part of the vision of the Jerusalem Foundation for the coming decade, we seek to continue the metropolitan park in the north of the city – one that will connect more people and communities of all kinds. We’ve already started dreaming of the park’s new route and maybe in just a few years, with the help of those who know Jerusalem’s true heart, we, the people of this magnificent city will have another space to share and to celebrate the commonalities and differences among us.

Shai Doron

Jerusalem Foundation President

הפוסט Stories from JLM – June 2019 הופיע לראשונה ב-.

A Strange Night Journey

Lovers of Jerusalem span continents, nationalities and religions.

My last trip to Holland was a journey to a well-known place. But it turns out that even when you think you already know everything, there are new things to be discovered.

Haig Balian is a good friend of mine. He is a Dutchman of Armenian origin, a man of the world, a believer in Europe and a keen admirer of the European Union. Haig had a successful career in the field of film and film production and then changed his focus to the public sphere. In recent years, he has become famous for the creation of “Micropia”, the world’s first “microbial zoo” museum. Now he is building a new nature museum in Amsterdam. Haig has seen a thing or two in his life…

But for Jerusalem, Haig also makes an effort. At midday he came to fetch me from Schipol Airport near Amsterdam and became my chauffeur for a busy day. From the airport we drove to Nijkerk, a small town about an hour’s drive from Amsterdam. On the outskirts of the town, we found – a large and impressive Israeli flag proudly welcoming visitors – the “Israel Center”.

The Israel Center is the activity headquarters of the organization Christians for Israel. We met there with the organization’s Board of Directors. The Jerusalem Foundation and Christians for Israel have deep ties that go back for many years but, as the new President of the Jerusalem Foundation (I wonder how long I can use the term “new President”…) I wanted to introduce myself personally.

The conversation went on for an hour in the middle of the day and I felt an incredible warm atmosphere in the room which stood in stark contrast to the weather outside – freezing cold and snowy, a rare thing in the Netherlands these days. An hour later we were on our way back to Amsterdam, but that was not the end of the journey… At 8 pm, Haig drove me back to … Nijkerk. The organization’s Board of Directors had asked me to return in the evening to a gathering of their members from the local community. At eight in the evening, with everything around us white and silent, Haig and I were wondering who in their right mind would leave the comfort of their home – especially to hear me speak on such a cold winter night But two hundred people – young and old – showed up to meet the new President of the Jerusalem Foundation! Not only was I expected to talk about Jerusalem, but I also ended up discussing Biblical animals. The invitation explicitly stated that the engagement would last 45 minutes – I was finally allowed to leave after two hours and then only because Haig protested that the road to Amsterdam might be closed due to snow.

Haig says that such an event has not been seen in Holland for a long time: on a frozen winter night, two hundred people enthralled by stories about Jerusalem and Persian fallow deer, Griffon vultures, Asian lions and other Biblical animals.

Just before midnight we arrived at Haig’s new home in Amsterdam. One thing I know: we have good friends in the Netherlands – Christians for Israel and a Dutch “chauffeur” of Armenian origin, completely secular.

And from this fascinating journey, it emerged that in the coming year our Dutch friends from Christians for Israel will also support the “Building Community” program in Kiryat Hayovel and special activities for young adults and new immigrants at the Canada House Community Center.

A Classic Story

Music can be very moving, even for the greatest cynics. I must admit that in recent months I have been moved a lot. Those of you who know me know what excites me, and classical music performed by the best musicians in the world is not necessarily one of those things. Nevertheless, what has moved me recently?  Frequent visits to the Hasadna Music Conservatory.

Two guests who accompanied me on different visits tried to hide the tears induced by the musical performances of the children and youth of Hasadna.

More than 600 children and teenagers find their way to the Adam School in the German Colony every afternoon – the temporary residence of Hasadna. When you enter the building, you are enveloped by a kind of musical “cacophony” – from every room and from every corner there are sounds: piano, violin, brass instruments, chamber music, jazz ensembles, young orchestras, and more.

As always, one of the wonderful stories of the place catches up with you: Avraham Tirpa – an outstanding musician now in the Israel Defense Forces, and a graduate of Hasadna is also studying for his bachelor’s degree at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.

Avraham was a student of Michael Geisler, one of the teachers at Hasadna, which is why the musical level here is nothing less than excellent. Avraham was “discovered” by Hasadna when he was 7 years old and studied at the Zalman Aran School as part of a special program for students of Ethiopian descent – a project of the Jerusalem Foundation. The professional eye – and ear – of the team could not miss a rare talent like Avraham.

The program allows every child who wishes to learn to play music, to receive musical instruments and personal assistance, and, if necessary, a scholarship. With perseverance and professional guidance – but mainly with rare talent and high motivation – Avraham became one of the leading violin players in Israel. He has been invited to play on various stages in the world and also played as a soloist (!) with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Those who walk in the corridors of Hasadna in the afternoon will easily recognize the next Avraham: students who leave one stunned by their virtuoso abilities to produce wonderful renditions of classical works.

And there is more: the atmosphere in the place is like a home and a family. Children and teenagers gather there not only to play and study music but because it is a meeting place that embraces everyone and is proud of the social diversity of its students. And that’s great!

I was sceptical when they took me there for the first time when I took office several months ago. “Another conservatory,” I told myself. Since then I constantly look for a good excuse to visit and be moved again.

In the Jerusalem Foundation’s Action Plan – “Jerusalem 2030 – A City With Soul” the development of culture, opportunities for all and young leadership are priorities for Jerusalem and Hasadna represents all of this and more.  A permanent home for the Hasadna Conservatory is an important step forward in our plan for the future of the city. Avraham Tirpa, like many graduates, will return to be part of building the next generation of musical excellence in Jerusalem.

Brightly Blooming Spring in Jerusalem 

Spring this year has bloomed in full force. The heavy and late rains have helped transform Jerusalem into a green landscape, certainly in the open areas and in particular in the Gazelle Valley Urban Wildlife Park. The park’s natural water system works exceptionally well. The pools of water scattered in the valley have filled and we are seeing an amazing flowering and richness of biodiversity. The upcoming Passover holiday will mark four years since the opening of Gazelle Valley Urban Wildlife Park, and it seems like it has been there forever. Hundreds of thousands of butterflies passed through the country this year adding much color to the park, and three new gazelle fawns were born here recently. There is eager anticipation for several more fawns which would be the peak of a glorious Spring season here in Jerusalem.

You may be forgiven for thinking that I am always out and about but I do actually spend a lot of time in the office, and sometimes at the drawing board with a planning team that is working on the new education center for Gazelle Valley. This education center will be fully integrated into the surrounding environment. It will enable varied educational activities such as an observation center for the many visitors who come to experience the unique opportunity to be close to wildlife in the heart of Jerusalem.

Together with our partners, JNF USA, we have mobilized the means to establish the education center and construction work will begin in the coming months. The Passover holiday is an ideal time to visit, and we invite you to just relax and enjoy the urban – nature of Jerusalem.

Passover wishes to you all – Chag Pesach Sameach!

Shai Doron

Jerusalem Foundation President

הפוסט Stories from JLM – April 2019 הופיע לראשונה ב-.

“I dedicate my latest update from Jerusalem to the literary legend, Amos Oz, my personal farewell to Amos Oz, “a man of Jerusalem,” the city of his birth, a city where his personality took shape, a place to which he remained deeply attached, even when he wandered to other cities.   

Amos Oz was my personal friend – to me and to my family. We are a small group of six friends – three couples – the boys grew up together in Jerusalem and have been a tight knit group for almost 50 years. Our group includes Fania Oz Salzberger and her husband Eli, Amos’s daughter and son-in-law. For all of us, Amos was like a father, for all of us lost our own fathers early on, and in later years, we took to calling Amos “Dad.”

Two weeks ago friends and colleagues at the Tisch Family Zoological Gardens bade me farewell at a going away party. Of course, Nili and Amos were among the invited guests. Amos could not attend, as it was a few days before he was hospitalized, but Fania attended and she brought a gift from Amos, one of his books “Suddenly in the Depths of the Forest,” with this personal dedication:

To our beloved Shai

Upon your departure from the charming “petting zoo” and as you enter the “real zoo.” Affectionately, in friendship, wishing you the best of luck

Amos

And he added

“Use this little book also as a source of professional literature…”

I spoke with Amos a day after my farewell party at the zoo – a brief telephone call just to say thank you. But little did I know that this would be the last conversation we would share. Amos passed away a week later. After his death, when I visited Amos’ wife Nili, she told me that I was privileged to be the last person to whom Amos wrote a dedication in one of his books.

Over the last few years, Amos was a keynote speaker at a few fundraising events for the zoo in Israel and abroad. A few years after the Jerusalem Foundation’s 1993 establishment of the zoo in its new home, Amos wrote and said:

“Today I saw the new zoo in Malha. I saw it with its beauty and I saw it with its wisdom. Maybe I don’t need to expound on it. I was only there for an hour, but I thought deeply about the long journey of this Jerusalemite zoo from Shmuel Hanavi to Mount Scopus, from Mount Scopus to Tel Arza, from Tel Arza to Malha. Maybe now it has found its and rightful and restful place in Jerusalem. Now we only have to hope that the city of Jerusalem will follow the zoo and will have the same sense of quality, the same sense of harmony, the same sense of coexistence that I saw today at the zoo.”

With Amos Oz’s passing, we lost our moral voice, our conscience, and our wisdom – all of us in Israel and in Jerusalem in particular.

The Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research Celebrates 40

The Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research recently marked its 40th anniversary. Founded by Teddy Kollek and the Jerusalem Foundation, the Institute is one of the Foundation’s major achievements. I was invited to greet a packed audience as the Institute celebrated 40 years of its important work, and I must say that I was excited to stand as the President of the Foundation and to congratulate the Institute.

I was first exposed to the Institute’s work 30 years ago. I came to the Radak Street offices on the second floor, which then was the only floor. I came together with Teddy Kollek, I was a young man at the time, at beginning of my career as Teddy’s Chief of Staff, as the position is known today. There was hardly any staff in Mayor’s office at the time yet we did much with few resources –  in the city, in the Municipality, and also for the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, as it was known back then. As far as I was concerned, a visit to the Institute was bound to be  anguish-ridden because the “founding fathers” of the Institute were also my teachers at the Hebrew University, and in those days, there was significant respect for professors. 

Professors Yehoshua Ben Aryeh, the late Professor Aryeh Shahar, and the late Professor Amiram Gonen, and those who remain active at the Institute today, Dr. Yisrael (Lolik) Kimchi and Dr. Maya Choshen, all influenced my understanding of Jerusalem and I had the honor to learn from them. If there is anyone who thinks that I have not done well in my various jobs in Jerusalem, then you can certainly blame my teachers. And if I have done well, then certainly the Institute has a part in it.

The Jerusalem Institute has a significant advantage in that it engages in applied research that is implementable. The Institute should be a tool for policymakers, for those who work on behalf of the city – in addition to research that looks to the future.

We are currently working on a practical vision – the role of the Jerusalem Foundation in shaping the city as we approach 2030. The Jerusalem Institute will play a significant role in assisting in the planning process and evaluating the impact in real time. The Institute would not exist without the Jerusalem Foundation and today, with the Institute, the Jerusalem Foundation will be a better and more efficient organization.

Jerusalem International Jazz Festival  

At the beginning of next winter, at the end of 2019, mark your calendars so that you spend one at least one evening at the 2019 Jerusalem Jazz Festival at the Israel Museum.

Those who know me know that I am not a big fan of jazz music. Some combination of well-known Israeli artists, Barry Sakharof, Ehud Banai and Arkadi Duchin are more my cup of tea, yet there is something hypnotic and special about the Jazz Festival at the Israel Museum.

The fourth International Jazz Festival in Jerusalem (one of the Israel Festival’s unique productions) has been supported by the Jerusalem Foundation since its inception. I was invited to this year’s Festival by my close friend Eyal Sher, Director of the Israel Festival and the Jazz Festival. I warned him in advance that jazz music is not really my great love, but he convinced me to come and so the music was almost beside the point.

Thousands of people, many of them visitors from all over the country and from abroad, wandered among the Museum’s beautiful and unique galleries, walking from concert to concert, from original productions to conversations with artists, all in the Museum’s spectacular setting. Both Eyal and I (more Eyal than me…) are taller than average, so we had a great vantage point of the crowd. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Deputy Security Officer “A”  (just like journalists do to preserve secrecy, I’m keeping the name anonymous), whom I knew as a security officer at the zoo. He was troubled, on the edge, by the crowd that had filled the museum halls. The audience was so delighted and immersed into the special atmosphere that the artworks and the museum’s treasures were in danger.

At the wine bar, Jerusalemites intimately blended together with guests from all over the country, in a relaxed atmosphere that you can see only in such settings. I saw an ultra-Orthodox Rabbi, “Rabbi Y” whom I know well (and whose identity will remain anonymous) who canceled his precious Torah study time to enjoy the Festival with a jazz-loving foreign Yeshiva student. But that’s another story, and a scene you can only see at the Jazz Festival in Jerusalem.

Mark your calendars, a year in advance, and dedicate at least one night for the 2019 Jerusalem Jazz Festival. You won’t be sorry.

And now allow me to conclude, even if I’m fashionably late, by wishing all you a happy and healthy 2019!

Shai Doron

Jerusalem Foundation President

הפוסט הופיע לראשונה ב-.

This is my first newsletter as the President of the Jerusalem Foundation, a position I started about two months ago. As the Director-General of the Tisch Family Zoological Gardens for 25 years, the zoo was my second home, yet I continue to work for Jerusalem. My role at the Jerusalem Foundation closes a circle as I now lead the Foundation established by Teddy Kollek, my teacher and “rabbi,” who appointed me to run his office during his last term as Jerusalem Mayor (when I was a much younger man with a full head of hair!!)

Through my ‘Stories from JLM’, I hope you gain insight into our work, a firsthand glimpse into my experiences in this colorful city. Those of you who are familiar with my stories from my time at the zoo, I hope that you will enjoy my stories of two-legged creatures just as much the four-legged ones, and those which live in the deep blue sea.

Our recent municipal election season can be characterized as different from those we experienced in the past. Last week, Jerusalem elected a new Mayor and while there will be continued analysis over the next few weeks, preliminary information gives us a fascinating look at the city and its residents. There is much to learn from this election season, for the city and for civil society, but for the Jerusalem Foundation, the election results brings both challenges and great opportunities. Precisely now, we can demonstrate our leadership in the city and we can serve as a resource for the incoming Mayor and his administration, while advancing the Foundation’s values of strengthening Jerusalem as a tolerant, pluralistic, enlightened and modern city.

“A Circle Closes and Opens” 

Kasse Shami is a 17-year-old resident of Beit Safafa, and a 12th grader at the Max Rayne Hand in Hand School for Bilingual Education and I have known him for several years. Kasse joined a group of Jewish and Arab youth volunteering at the zoo. But Kasse made the zoo his home and last summer, we became more closely acquainted. Kasse was chosen along with six other Jewish and Arab youth to represent the zoo’s volunteers in a youth exchange program in San Diego. For 15 years, Jerusalem youth, activists and volunteers at the zoo join Jews and non-Jews in San Diego for two weeks of activities mainly around the famous San Diego Zoo.

At a festive lunch at the San Diego Zoo in early August, dozens of supporters stopped by for an official farewell as I parted ways from the Jerusalem Zoo. But Kasse stole the show. His captivating personality, the simplicity of his words and his winning smile captured everyone. 

Many of the program’s graduates have become leading professionals at the zoo, fully committed to nature conservation but more importantly, Jews and Arabs, religious and secular, have enduring friendships. 

Everything comes full circle. I recently attended the cornerstone laying for a new high school building at the Hand in Hand school. The Jerusalem Foundation enlisted support for the school from our friends in Germany and the UK for many years. I was surprised to see Kasse there. “You see,” he said to me, “we will never say good-bye. After my work at the zoo, we have come full circle with the cornerstone laying for a high school, even though I don’t understand why such a routine event is cause for such celebration.”

As one circle closed, another one opened. In a peaceful city, building a Jewish-Arab high school should not be an extraordinary festivity, but rather a routine one. Kasse on the one hand, and the school on the other, should stand as an example of what we can do in this fascinating and complicated city.

“A Human Treasure” 

Two weeks ago, we held an international conference here in Jerusalem. Dozens of donors from around the world came to see our projects and to discuss our agenda.  This was the perfect opportunity to hold a short ceremony, one that could have been a dry and boring event – distribution of interest free loans to Jerusalem entrepreneurs, thanks to the support of the Dan David Foundation. Yet it turned out to be one of the most fun, inspiring and hopeful experiences of the conference.

The “hot topic” today is economic development, the opportunity for philanthropic partnership, and collaboration with the business, public and private sectors. The Jerusalem Foundation, together with the Jerusalem Business Development Corp (MATI), knew how to implement an idea that could indeed bring about a practical change in the city. Economic development should offer a comprehensive response to municipal needs, including job opportunities for those who want to live and work in the city. Six entrepreneurs were chosen by a joint committee of judges with representatives of the Foundation, MATI and the Dan David Foundation. Each one are new initiatives led by young people with a vision. Each one received a loan of NIS 300,000 to advance their initiative and spread their wings. Another initiative was also lucky enough to receive an additional Jerusalem Foundation prize of NIS 25,000.

My interest was drawn to Omri Rotem and Adi Catarivas who are establishing a hostel for tourists and young visitors on a budget. They are building their hostel on the site of the old Bank of Israel building in the city center. They are “cool” entrepreneurs, youngsters with a wonderful imagination, self deprecating humor and their two feet firmly on the ground. One of them, Adi, is a graduate of the School of Visual Theater, supported by the Foundation. Adi and Omri want to transform the building’s basement – where the Bank of Israel vaults and state treasures once lay- into a place for young Jerusalem artists, graduates of art schools, a place to listen to music, watch movies and more – often projects supported by the Jerusalem Foundation. These will be the new “treasures” of the city – not the Bank of Israel’s vaults, but the young and contemporary treasures of Jerusalem’s youth.

“Almost Like Scoring a Goal” 

Many of you have known me for years and you also know that I support Hapoel Jerusalem Basketball Team. In recent years, a unique Jerusalem initiative known as Hapoel Katamon, has become a model of social responsibility though soccer. I won’t bore you with stories about soccer, because it wasn’t the sport that attracted the Jerusalem Foundation’s support.  Instead, it was the “Neighborhood League,” the girls’ group, the “combined team” of mentally challenged athletes together with club members.

We know how to identify and support such wonderful projects.

But our uniqueness is not only in direct support, but also creating connections, like our Jerusalem2 co-venture with Made in JLM, which will operate right here, from the Foundation’s offices. The space will be a hub for community leaders looking to get an idea off the ground. One of those ideas is Made in JLM’s very own Society Labs project – a commitment by Made in JLM to offer technological training and solutions to non-profits who can hardly afford it. Made in JLM held a meetup in our offices, attended by a large range of nonprofits that were looking to learn about digital marketing through Google ads. But it was also an opportunity for us to meet with one another, learn about each others’ initiatives and look for new partnerships.

Around the table, Hapoel Katamon’s “red shirts” gathered alongside many social organizations from the city. That evening, as I looked at the young faces around the table from all walks of life, and committed to Jerusalem’s future, I was filled with excitement as if my team had scored a goal!

הפוסט Stories from JLM – November 2018 הופיע לראשונה ב-.