Civil Society Here, Really?

Normally, I would post this on Friday, giving myself a week to decide on this week’s #MyJLMHeroes. It frames my week, forces me to actively look for the positive all week long. But I couldn’t wait. I had to post this today of all days. I promised myself that this space is a political-free zone and I stand by that commitment. I’ll let you figure out the connection of this week’s #Jerusalem heroes to events in the city over the last 24 hours.

Meet Jerusalem activists Michal Shilor, Ariel Levenson and Fay Sukenik. Michal coordinates the Grassroots Campaign for Tolerance at The Jerusalem Intercultural Center because she believes in learning about, and with, “the other,” creating spaces that accept and appreciate differences between people and cultures in Jerusalem.

Fainy, a proud ultra-Orthodox activist who experienced a difficult divorce, founded “B’asher Telchi באשר תלכי” (Where You Go)״ to empower ultra-Orthodox women during and after their divorce. Ultra-Orthodox political leaders do not represent me, Fainy says, and if I don’t stand up for myself, no one will.

Ariel co-founded the BINA: The Jewish Movement for Social Change and the Jerusalem Secular Yeshiva because he believes that everyone, no matter who you are, has a right to connect to Jewish culture and heritage, everyone has a right to create one’s own Jewish identity.

Left to right: Michal Shilor, Fainy Sukenik, Ariel Levenson

These inspiring people don’t see barriers or obstacles. They see challenges that they can solve.

They see Jerusalem’s complexity as beautiful, a magnet for change agents who want to bridge the gap between today’s reality and the utopian place Jerusalem holds in biblical texts.

They ignore the political noise — and asked us to do the same — because they work on a human-to-human level that makes life worthwhile in Jerusalem.

They live the unimaginable, Jerusalem as a hotbed of civil society, and I was privileged to introduce them to some esteemed visitors from The Jewish Agency for Israel.

They asked us for one thing: believe in us, they said. Believe that Jerusalem can be a place of tolerance and understanding, open to all and accepting of all.

To quote one of the audience members today, Michal, Ariel and Fainy are true leaders. You are #MyJLMHeroes and I just couldn’t wait to tell your stories.

My thanks to Lior Schillat of the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research for giving me the opportunity to tell these stories, to the The Jerusalem Foundation for allowing me to be part of it, and to New Spirit רוח חדשה for hosting.

Originally published at www.facebook.com.