This week in Jerusalem - A round-up of city affairs

FemJLM, Jerusalem’s women-in-tech community, has launched applications for Cohort 2 of FemForward, an exclusive course by women, for women. 

FemForward offers useful tools, networking connections and a mentorship program for participants to progress from junior to managerial positions. The first cohort, which ended in January 2021, has already witnessed advancement into management, salary raises and job promotions. 

The course is designed to address the lack of advancement of women in tech from entry-level to managerial positions. Women remain outnumbered at the management level, holding just 38% of managerial positions. FemForward aims to tackle these problems with the three-month program running from March to June 2021, designed to provide a comprehensive and informative experience for 25 women working in Jerusalem-based tech companies, who aspire to advance to managerial and eventually senior positions. 

The program consists of 10 lectures given by leading female executives from the hi-tech and surrounding industries from all over Israel, and a mentorship program in which each participant will have a personal “Femtor” (female hi-tech executive mentor) to guide them on their career path. Lecturers and mentors are from companies such as Facebook, Jerusalem Venture Partners, Mobileye, Intel and more, who reflect the capital's mosaic of religions, sectors, ethnicities and cultures. 

FemForward will run primarily online (depending on the situation with COVID-19). The program was founded by Rachel Wagner Rosenzweig, with an advisory board of Jerusalem-based executives including Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, deputy mayor in charge of foreign relations, international economic development and tourism; Meirav Atun Amiry, CEO of In Touch, the leading company in developing projects in recruitment and employment in Jerusalem; Mirit Leon Mendelovich, VP of people and operations of Surgimate, a health-tech startup; and Shaindy Babad, serial entrepreneur of various organizations that advance employment of the ultra-Orthodox. 

“I am so proud to be part of a first-of-its-kind initiative in Israel to ensure women truly lean in and work their way up to take the top managerial roles in technology in Jerusalem,” says Hassan-Nahoum. “This program was created for women by women and we have already seen the positive results, which will benefit our city.”

The Institut français de Jérusalem – Romain Gary, teaming up with the Agence France-Presse, has announced that due to the coronavirus, the deadline to submit photos for the annual “From Paris to Jerusalem” competition has been extended to April 3. 

The contest's goal is to bring together, on one original and inspirational theme, the amateur and professional photographers of the region. Three photographers will be selected by a professional jury in each category to receive a prize; the public also selects a winner for the Facebook prize. 

This year’s topic is “Interiors.” Candidates are invited, through photography, to show their immediate surroundings in a single image for amateurs, or a series of images for professionals. 

Submissions will be accepted until April 3 through online form: concoursphoto.ifjromaingary@gmail.com 

East Talpiot residents have launched a petition to stop construction of a new police branch at a location considered a rare nature spot.

Somewhat ironically, the establishment of a new police station in the neighborhood is the result of the same residents’ struggle to obtain it in order to address certain security issues. However, the residents didn’t expect the station to be built on such a beautiful spot, which serves the neighborhood as a central green lung and open space.

The petition activists aim to collect at least 5,000 signatures from area residents to persuade police to choose an alternative location. At press time there were about 2,000 signatures.