This week in Jerusalem: Grass-roots governance resumes

Conceived by legendary mayor Teddy Kollek in the 1970s, local councils decentralize management of the capital, enabling residents to represent themselves at the neighborhood level, encouraging conduct of a real and respectful dialog with the municipality. After a freeze of 20 years, elections for the local boards have resumed. Two rounds have already been held.

The idea that underpins the local councils (which include also the community centers in each neighborhood) is that residents know neighborhood needs better than anyone else – where a new kindergarten or school is needed, where to place a new alley, bus stop, etc. The 15-seat councils include nine representatives of the residents of the neighborhood who work together with representatives of the municipality, the education administration, the planning and construction administration and representatives of some national-level organizations, such as the Jewish Agency.

Every decision is to be made in accordance with the real needs of the residents, to avoid errant decisions imposed from above. The renewed elections from last December and last week resulted in more women, including from the religious and even haredi sectors and from the young generation. The entrenched “wheeler-dealers” who held some of the positions in these boards for years have largely been replaced by true local and community activists.

Aviv Keinan, director of Manhi (Municipal Education Administration) for the past five years, has unexpectedly announced his decision to leave the position.

Keinan has earned the respect of professionals as well as the confidence of city parents’ associations, including in the Arab sector. Over the past five years, Keinan led a profound change in the education system in all of Jerusalem’s public schools, with record achievements.

The biggest challenge was during the COVID school year, with Keinan and his staff providing cutting-edge solutions to the situation, from Zoom to alternative digital solutions for more religious schools where tablets, laptops and Internet were not taken for granted.

Keinan’s decision to leave surprised Mayor Moshe Lion and Deputy Mayor Hagit Moshe, holder of the Education portfolio, though it was clear that after five intensive years Keinan felt he had exhausted the role. For the moment there is no replacement. Keinan will leave on October 15, after ensuring a smooth opening of the school year, though it is still not clear to what degree it will be affected by the coronavirus.

Celebrations are being planned for the Train Theater as its new director, Kobi Freigh, takes the reins, while the theater celebrates 40 years of cultural activities, and 30 years of the International Train Theater Festival. This venerable Jerusalem institution is moving into the new cultural center for children in the Liberty Bell Garden. The main topic of the festival this year is “gifts” and there will be more than 30 different productions on this theme.

Dozens of Bnei Menashe families from India received a helping hand thanks to a group of veteran immigrants living in Gush Etzion. Shavei Israel, the organization assisting the Bnei Menashe, informed benefactors that some immigrant families were stuck in quarantine hotels, with more than 60 children in need of something to ease their boredom.

Shayna Levine-Hefetz responded by putting out a call for volunteers, who set up a toy drive. “We offered locations in Alon Shvut, Elazar, Neve Daniel and Efrat for people to bring new toys and raised over NIS 2,000 in a group Paybox account,” she said. Levine-Hefetz and Helaine Brenner then went to Anak Stock in Kfar Etzion and bought NIS 2,400 worth of new toys and games for the children and delivered them.

This is a particularly touching initiative, with olim welcoming newer olim to Israel by providing the children with games and crafts to ease their transition to their homeland. Levine-Hefetz noted that this effort is dedicated to the speedy recovery of her 17-year-old son, who is very ill.

For the first time in more than a year, the children of “Jeremy’s Circle” met in person – at the Jerusalem Zoo on July 9. A few hundred participants gathered to celebrate the beginning of summer vacation.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, this nonprofit – which supports children and teens with a family member dealing with cancer – has been holding events on Zoom. Now that coronavirus restrictions have been largely removed, it was decided to celebrate the first event together in the open air, still taking into account the need to maintain the health of children in these high-risk families from Jerusalem and across the country.

Jeremy’s Circle is named for founder Pamela Becker’s husband Jeremy, bringing to life his vision of an organization supporting children with a parent or sibling dealing with cancer, or a loss as a result of the disease.