About the project
Beit Zipporah was the first shelter for abused women established in Jerusalem and the third such facility in all of Israel. The shelter offered an avenue of escape and assistance for women of all ages, backgrounds, races and religions who were victims of physical, sexual, mental or verbal abuse. The shelter was operated by “Woman to Woman,” a not-for-profit organization founded in 1982. The women reached the shelter via referrals by police, hospitals and welfare authorities. In its early years, the shelter served approximately 40 women each year who stayed an average of two-three months, during which time they received legal aid, childcare, and individual and group therapy. The Jerusalem Foundation helped renovate and furnish a small apartment in Mekor Baruch donated by the municipality to serve as the first shelter. It later provided equipment and in 1991, it supported the shelter’s relocation and re-opening as the Jerusalem Shelter for Battered Women.
