Protesting democracy The Israel Democracy Institute has joined the ranks of the many groups and institutions that are offering their services to the Trajtenberg Committee. The local institution submitted a pamphlet with various proposals and research on the budgetary issues connected to the protest movement. The pamphlet should help the committee’s members, as well as the MKs, understand how the state’s budget can be adapted to the issues raised by the tent movement.For quite a few research and academic institutions, the Trajtenberg Committee is an excellent opportunity to present academic research that had been presented to decision-makers in the Knesset and the government but was met with limited interest.Now this research is becoming very useful. The IDI is eager to see how this material will be included in the committee’s comprehensive proposal, due to be released before Rosh Hashana.Bezalel goes Japanese Japanese architects SANAA have won the competition to design the new Bezalel buildings in the city center. Following the decision to move the prestigious art school from its somewhat remote location on the Mount Scopus campus, it was necessary to select the best architectural proposal.The competition was an international one, and last week the selection committee recommended that the board choose the Sejima & Nishizawa & Associates architecture office (SANAA), with their Israeli partners, Nir-Kutz.SANAA won the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2010 and is considered a leader in the Western world for its innovation and design. Prof. Arnon Zuckerman, president of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, said he was anxious to see the results of this new and important project, which will bring Bezalel back to the center of the city.Jerusalem for Israeli-Palestinian families Is Jerusalem becoming an internal migration destination for Palestinian-Israeli families? This is the issue that will be discussed at the next meeting of the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies.In a seminar open to the public, on Thursday at the institute on Radak Street, scholars of the JIIS and of the Florsheimer Studies Institute will present their findings. Among the participants are Prof. Eran Razin, director of the Florsheimer Institute; Asmahan Masry-Herzalla, of Beit Berl College and the Van Leer Institute; and Sayed Kashua, a well-known Arab Israeli writer, who has himself experienced the situation, as he was born in an Arab village in the North and then lived in Jerusalem.Dr. Adel Manna, director of the Academic Institute for Arab Teacher Training at Beit Berl College, will speak about a return visit with immigrants (to Jerusalem) from the 1970s and about what has happened to the parents and their children since. Dr.Hagai Agmon-Snir of the Jerusalem Inter-Cultural Center will talk about east Jerusalem and Israeli Palestinians.Haredi, but softer The Sephardi way to be haredi, especially with women, seems to be such an interesting topic that a book, Harediut Raka (“Soft Ultra-Orthodoxy”), has been written on the subject. On Thursday, the Yad Ben-Zvi Institute will host a seminar – in Hebrew – on the book and the issues it deals with. Questions like “Is there a softer way to be haredi?” “Will we soon be seeing Sephardi haredim working and serving in the army?” and “How do these questions relate to Israeli singers who have become observant but still perform on stage?” will be addressed.The author of the book, Nissim Leon, is a sociologist at Bar-Ilan University. His work focuses on the religious developments, as well as the ethnic and religious communities in present-day Israeli Orthodoxy.Yad Ben-Zvi, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Info: 539-8833. Free.Introduction to the revolution One of the results of the current protest movement is the interest it has raised among youth. At the demonstrations, in the tents, everywhere during this summer of protest, many teenagers took part. This awareness is also reaching some education institutions.
This week in Jerusalem: September 16
Peggy Cidor’s round-up of city affairs.
Protesting democracy The Israel Democracy Institute has joined the ranks of the many groups and institutions that are offering their services to the Trajtenberg Committee. The local institution submitted a pamphlet with various proposals and research on the budgetary issues connected to the protest movement. The pamphlet should help the committee’s members, as well as the MKs, understand how the state’s budget can be adapted to the issues raised by the tent movement.For quite a few research and academic institutions, the Trajtenberg Committee is an excellent opportunity to present academic research that had been presented to decision-makers in the Knesset and the government but was met with limited interest.Now this research is becoming very useful. The IDI is eager to see how this material will be included in the committee’s comprehensive proposal, due to be released before Rosh Hashana.Bezalel goes Japanese Japanese architects SANAA have won the competition to design the new Bezalel buildings in the city center. Following the decision to move the prestigious art school from its somewhat remote location on the Mount Scopus campus, it was necessary to select the best architectural proposal.The competition was an international one, and last week the selection committee recommended that the board choose the Sejima & Nishizawa & Associates architecture office (SANAA), with their Israeli partners, Nir-Kutz.SANAA won the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2010 and is considered a leader in the Western world for its innovation and design. Prof. Arnon Zuckerman, president of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, said he was anxious to see the results of this new and important project, which will bring Bezalel back to the center of the city.Jerusalem for Israeli-Palestinian families Is Jerusalem becoming an internal migration destination for Palestinian-Israeli families? This is the issue that will be discussed at the next meeting of the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies.In a seminar open to the public, on Thursday at the institute on Radak Street, scholars of the JIIS and of the Florsheimer Studies Institute will present their findings. Among the participants are Prof. Eran Razin, director of the Florsheimer Institute; Asmahan Masry-Herzalla, of Beit Berl College and the Van Leer Institute; and Sayed Kashua, a well-known Arab Israeli writer, who has himself experienced the situation, as he was born in an Arab village in the North and then lived in Jerusalem.Dr. Adel Manna, director of the Academic Institute for Arab Teacher Training at Beit Berl College, will speak about a return visit with immigrants (to Jerusalem) from the 1970s and about what has happened to the parents and their children since. Dr.Hagai Agmon-Snir of the Jerusalem Inter-Cultural Center will talk about east Jerusalem and Israeli Palestinians.Haredi, but softer The Sephardi way to be haredi, especially with women, seems to be such an interesting topic that a book, Harediut Raka (“Soft Ultra-Orthodoxy”), has been written on the subject. On Thursday, the Yad Ben-Zvi Institute will host a seminar – in Hebrew – on the book and the issues it deals with. Questions like “Is there a softer way to be haredi?” “Will we soon be seeing Sephardi haredim working and serving in the army?” and “How do these questions relate to Israeli singers who have become observant but still perform on stage?” will be addressed.The author of the book, Nissim Leon, is a sociologist at Bar-Ilan University. His work focuses on the religious developments, as well as the ethnic and religious communities in present-day Israeli Orthodoxy.Yad Ben-Zvi, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Info: 539-8833. Free.Introduction to the revolution One of the results of the current protest movement is the interest it has raised among youth. At the demonstrations, in the tents, everywhere during this summer of protest, many teenagers took part. This awareness is also reaching some education institutions.