Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies Journal of Activities April 2008 The Institute summarizes its activities in the form of a journal that reports on the subjects it has been addressing, the publications it has produced, and the coverage it has received in the media. In this issue: New Publication Conferences Discussions Guests In the Media Statistics: The Institute's Site and Publications New Publication Jerusalem as a Destination for the Internal Migration of Young Palestinian-Israeli Women By Ismahan Masri-Harzallah 37 pages, in Hebrew Published in conjunction with the Institute for Urban and Regional Studies of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, as a Floersheimer publication This new publication is based on research conducted under the supervision of Prof. Arie Shachar (recently deceased) and Dr. Maya Choshen. Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies 1 Journal of Activities, April 2008
Conferences Three fascinating conferences drew diverse audiences to the institute: Between Church and Nation The seminar "Between Church and Nation" included a number of experts on the Christian world and was held to celebrate the publication of the book by Prof. Raymond At the conference "Between Church and Nation": from left to Cohen, Saving the Church right, Uri Bialer, Shmuel Berkowitz, Amnon Ramon, Raymond Cohen, and Yaacov Bar-Siman-Tov. of the Holy Sepulchre by Oxford University Press. The book presents the disagreements over the development of the church from 1967 to today. Most of the experts warned of the disaster that might occur and the immeasurable national damage that would be incurred if a fire were to break out in the Church. These concerns are growing over the rites involving fire held by the Orthodox Church and the Armenians on the "Sabbath of Light" that takes place there annually (this year on Saturday, April 26) on the Christian Holiday of Easter. The fears stem largely from the absence of an emergency exit, the result of a dispute over where it should be located that the different denominations that manage the church cannot agree on and that the Israeli authorities have been unable to bring to settle. The experts fear that if any disaster does take place, blame will be laid on the Israeli authorities for failing to bring the conflicted sides to an agreement. Dr. Amnon Ramon, a senior fellow at the Institute, noted that even the public bathrooms in the church are now not functioning because of an ongoing conflict over the placement of the sewage line. In his opinion the failure of the Israeli authorities to address and solve these problems is reflected in the fact that to this day there is no Israeli body or government office clearly in charge, and no one is taking responsibility for dealing with them. "The Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies 2 Journal of Activities, April 2008
Church of the Holy Sepulchre is one of the holiest sites to the Christian world and draws millions of pilgrims whom the state must not neglect. If -- god forbid -- a tragedy happens, the Christian world will blame Israel." The Urbanist The Institute held a special event for Israel Kimhi to celebrate both his 70 th birthday and 50 years of work on the planning of Jerusalem. Ora Ahimeir, Director of the Institute, and Guy Kav Vaneki opened with remarks in Kimhi's honor and Dr. Maya Choshen lectured on The architect Mike Turner and Israel Kimhi, at the conference, a variety of his projects. The Urbanist Architect Mike Turner spoke on preservation in Jerusalem and Prof. Joseph Shweid spoke about plans for Jerusalem in the 1960s and 1970s. The Kimhi family also took part and gave a presentation. Trends and Changes in the Ultra-Orthodox Community A special conference on the issue of employment among the ultra-orthodox trends and changes among the Ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) community was held as a tribute to Prof. Menachem Friedman, the first researcher at the Institute to focus on the Ultra-Orthodox. Today, among certain circles of the Ultra-Orthodox population, there is a growing willingness to take an active part in the civil and social life of Israel, despite a continuing rejection of the society's liberal and democratic values. In addition, the Ultra-Orthodox have begun to adopt certain aspects of modern life, such as modern technologies (cell phones and internet use), economics (integration into the job market) and Israeli politics, provided they do not come into conflict with the Ultra-Orthodox way of life. Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies 3 Journal of Activities, April 2008
The change that is taking place does not relate to a large portion of the population and in fact refers only to a very small group of a few thousand among the Ultra- Orthodox. Meanwhile, the Ultra-Orthodox population is expanding rapidly and is beginning to encompass the religious Sephardi community and the nationalist Orthodox camp, while the non-religious population seems to become more tolerant of them. There is something of a paradox in the fact that as the Ultra- Orthodox community grows it loses, to a certain extent, its ideological backbone and comes into greater contact with non-orthodox society. The Israeli Ultra-Orthodox world in fact depends on the open, liberal, and modern welfare state. Ultra-Orthodox society is characterized by very low rates of participation in the work force, especially among men (27%, as compared to 84% among Jewish men who are not Ultra-Orthodox), and extremely high birth rates (7.7 children to a woman) and great gaps in education levels. This constellation of factors leads to a very high poverty rate. According to a recent survey conducted by Chaim Portnoy for the Central Bureau of Statistics, the Ultra-Orthodox population constitutes 9% of the Israeli Jewish population over the age of 20, a quarter of which resides in Jerusalem. It is important to remember that today there is a growing group of Ultra-Orthodox women and men who are worried about their fate and their professional and economic future. As the consumer culture reaches them, they become concerned with maintaining a reasonable standard of living, self-fulfillment, and make decisions without depending on rabbis. There is growing activity surrounding professional training, employment programs, and career direction largely run by the Joint Distribution Committee, the Ministry of Industry, private employment companies, and Ultra-Orthodox colleges. Ultra-Orthodox men are interested in higher education. There is great potential for growth which is likely to be met by integrating young Ultra-Orthodox into the labor market something which has not happened until now because of structural and social problems. Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies 4 Journal of Activities, April 2008
Discussions Representatives of the company Tik Projects, which is responsible for large-scale reconstruction and other projects in the Old City (supported by the government) met with members of the Institute for a brainstorming session. The project was presented by the deputy director of the Jerusalem Development Authority, Reuven Pinsky, and the head of the team executing the project, Ze'ev Temkin, to the team of experts of the Institute, who were asked for their comments and responses. The Institute's experts will be taking participating in two large projects involving the institutions of the Old City (Israel Kimhi) and its population (Dr. Maya Choshen). Ora Ahimeir presented a proposal to the project team for researching the un-built heritage of the Old City. A brainstorming session, on new trends among policy-making institutions and the challenges they pose to the Institute, was held in two stages. The first was held with the staff of the institute and the second was held with staff and researchers together. Guests The city engineer Shlomo Eshkol and his deputy Osnat Post visited the Institute and met with Ora Ahimeir, Dr. Maya Choshen, and Israel Kimhi. Projects in which the Institute is interested in taking part -- some in the planning stages and some under way were discussed. In the Media Following the collapse of the cliff on the beach of Givat Olga, Haaretz published three major articles on the extensive research on the subject undertaken by the Jerusalem Institute, in conjunction with the The cliff shore in the region of Apolonia, during a tour conducted by the work group on the subject. Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies 5 Journal of Activities, April 2008
Ministry for Environmental Protection. The Institute's work entails mapping and outlining the dangers of the collapsing cliffs and proposes means for protecting them. A new book by Motti Kaplan on the use of constructed land in Israel maps out land use in the country. Kaplan found that despite growing environmental concerns and the threats that such construction poses, building in recent years continues to be sparse and spread out due to the demand for land-attached homes. Drawing on this work, Tzafrir Rinat published articles on this worrisome trend in Haaretz Real Estate, TheMarker, and Walla News (on the internet). The Ultra- Orthodox newspaper "Yom Hadash" quoted the book, which noted that the Ultra- Orthodox city of Bnei Brak and the religious-ultra-orthodox city of Elad are the two most densely populated settlements in the country. In honor of Israel Kimhi's 70 th birthday -- and 50 years of work in urban planning Yediot Yerushalayim published an extensive interview with him. Following the conference on Ultra-Orthodox society, major articles and interviews appeared on Israel television's Channel One site "Datili", on the radio station reshet aleph's program "Moreshet," in the newspaper TheMarker, and on radio station 7. The weekly paper Kol Ha'ir, the site "Datili", and radio station 7 all published articles relating to the conference on "Between Church and Nation" and the fear that a disaster may occur in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Ultra-Orthodox paper Hamodiyya published two major articles based on the Institute's research. One was on the separation fence and its repercussions, and the second was on the possible disengagement from the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem. The Institute's weekly column in the Jerusalem newspaper Kol Ha'Ir addressed the following subjects: "The Innovation that is in Change Factories in the 'Spark' Program", by Nir Ben Aharon and Dan Bendel; "Children in the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies 6 Journal of Activities, April 2008
City", by Dr, Maya Choshen; and "Residents Leaving and Coming to Jerusalem", by Yair Assaf-Shapira Letters from Dr. Dan Kaufman and from Laura Wharton, both of the Institute's staff, were published in Haaretz in response to an article by Neri Livneh deriding life in Jerusalem. An interview by Ben Caspit with Ora Ahimeir and Uzi Baram on trends of change in Jerusalem was broadcast on the program, "Making Order" on Israel's Educational Television and Channel Two. Statistics The Institute's Site www.jiis.org.il Number of visitors: 14,926 Publications Number of publications sold: 27 Best-selling publication: The German Colony, by David Kroyanker At The Urbanist conference: Israel Kimhi and Yehoshua Ben-Aryeh At The Urbanist conference: Ora Ahimeir and Yaacov Bar-Siman-Tov. At The Urbanist conference: Israel Kimhi and Dina Rachevsky At The Urbanist conference: Rami Nasrallah and Israel Kimhi Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies 7 Journal of Activities, April 2008