GRASSROOTS JERUSALEM

((((( The site is coming soon )))))

Grassroots Jerusalem (“Grassroots”) strives to be an information, communication and co-
operation centre providing grassroots social change activists from East and West Jerusalem
with opportunities for meeting, sharing, education, capacity raising, empowerment, co-
ordination and co-operation on issues of common concern. Grassroots staff will produce and
disseminate information covering three areas:

1. Existing Initiatives in Jerusalem
2. International organisations dealing with similar issues
3. Unmet needs defined by Jerusalem’s diverse communities and neighbourhoods. Grassroots
staff, predominantly Palestinian, will concentrate and disseminate this information through
an online, interactive map of Jerusalem, a living representation of Jerusalem’s civil society.

Importance/Relevance:

Defy the Separation. The Grassroots centre will be the only place equally accessible for
both Israeli and Palestinian activists to meet in Jerusalem. It will defy the myriad of barriers
separating Israelis and Palestinians and serve as a basis to counter those Israeli policies that
perpetuate the physical separation of Palestinians from Israelis. The centre will provide
a home or heart for all the city’s residents, and office space for projects that community
activists develop, whilst also providing resources (internet, library, info-centre, etc.) for all.
The centre will be located in East Jerusalem, in the Wadi Joz area, which is convenient for
all.
Unity Through Knowledge. The reality of occupation and separation is also expressed in
the type of knowledge available to people. Israeli maps only show Western Jerusalem in a
detailed manner, most often portraying East Jerusalem as empty streets and open spaces.
UN agencies provide very detailed maps of East Jerusalem but leave West Jerusalem out.
The map that Grassroots will produce will be the first detailed map of Jerusalem in its
entirety.
Learning from Each Other. The fragmented nature of Jerusalem’s civil society means
that local activists in Jerusalem are often unaware of each other’s existence, even when
struggling with similar issues causing each organisation to reinvent the wheel. By creating
a unified picture and providing information about different initiatives in Jerusalem, activists
will be able to network, co-ordinate, exchange information and develop joint innovative
approaches to common problems.
Easier to Get Involved. Whether they are visitors from other countries, neighbouring
cities, or locals eager to get involved, many people who search for ways to contribute
to social change initiatives in Jerusalem don’t know where to begin. As a concentration
of information and social change initiatives in Jerusalem, Grassroots will make finding
organisations easier for supporters.

Seeing our Blind Spots. By providing tools and training for communities to map their needs
and assets themselves, local empowerment, ownership and capacity building is ensured.
Grassroots can provide activists with vital information possibilities for new initiatives. The
needs assessments will provide additional information about what people living in different
communities need and how they define their problems. This information should help
increase the relevance of work currently undertaken and work towards sustainability in the
communities. For instance, communities will be taught GPS technology to enable them to
map their communities themselves, as changes occur.

The key to Grassroots is community-based information, organisation, and action. We meet
community needs, as defined by the community itself, with community and local civil society
assets.

Relationship to Other Organisations: Grassroots is not an umbrella organisation or a
federation, it is a separate NGO committed to providing services to, and producing information
about, Jerusalem’s grassroots social change community. Grassroots will seek community
involvement in the management and activities of the centre, which we envision as an
interactive, co-operatively managed space.

Grassroots will include, host, and welcome any and all initiatives that (1) do not violate
universal human rights and (2) push for systemic change rather than only humanitarian
services.

______________________________________________________________________________

Contact Information:

Micha Kurz, Co-director:

Khaled Farraj, Co-director:

Angela Godfrey-Goldstein,

Advocacy Officer:

micha@grassrootsjerusalem.org | +972 547 451 912

khaled@grassrootsjerusalem.org | +972 544 612 169

angela@grassrootsjerusalem.org | +972 547 366 393