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Jerusalem Center for Mediation and Consensus-Building

bullseyeProgram Goal

The Center for Mediation and Consensus-Building operates in Jerusalem, a city of many cultures and identities. This multiculturalism impacts the conflicts between individuals, groups, and communities in the area.

The Center was founded with the aim to provide professional conflict resolution and consensus-building services in Jerusalem; a place for residents to settle their disputes. The Center provides high-quality, affordable, and culturally accessible services to residents, and seeks to promote a peaceful approach to resolving disputes through dialogue among city residents.

The program goals are accomplished by collaborating with communities and local organizations to promote dialogue and raise awareness regarding mediation, consensus building, and other peaceful alternatives for resolving disputes .

partnersPartners

The Jerusalem Center has been cooperating for many years with various departments in the Jerusalem Municipality, police stations across the city, community centers, NGOs and other organizations.

toolsThe Center’s Vision

The Jerusalem Center for Mediation and Consensus-Building was established by Mosaica as an independent body that provides communities with a wide range of methods or models for resolving conflicts. This vision takes into account the complex nature of the city’s population, a rich diversity of cultures, religions, languages, age groups, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The program encourages dialogue and cooperation when resolving disputes.

The Center works with residents from a variety of Jerusalem neighborhoods, promoting a culture of debate, listening to others, and resolving problems through the establishment of common understandings based on peaceful discourse. This offers residents a path to improving communication, preserving relationships, encouraging the acceptance of others, empowering individuals, and strengthening community solidarity. With this as the goal, the Center works to improve the quality of life for all residents by educating and promoting values of mutual respect and tolerance.

Our Mission:

The Jerusalem Center is accessible to all Jerusalem communities, particularly communities unable to independently resolve conflicts through agreements. The Center makes mediation accessible to all communities and expands the use of mediation and the language of mediation in all aspects of communal life. The Center also continues to initiate, develop, and manage creative models and programs focused on conflict resolution and prevention; in particular, mediation and dialogue models adapted to the needs of each diverse community. The Center’s work is made possible by the work of professional staff and highly trained, dedicated, and committed volunteers.

toolsDevelopment of the Center

The Jerusalem Center was founded in 2003 with the help of a team of Israel’s most senior mediators who donated days and weeks to create a center that would address the specific needs of Jerusalem’s residents. Initially, the Center focused on providing mediation services for community and neighbor disputes. Over the years, it has expanded its scope and now also addresses family issues (intergenerational and marital), work disputes, public complaints, criminal cases, small claims mediation, and urban renewal disputes.

Additionally, the Center provides conflict resolution training and courses on multi-participant consensus building.

The Jerusalem Center continues to expand its network of professional mediators from diverse backgrounds. This is accomplished by a comprehensive training curriculum, including basic mediation, a mediation practicum, intergenerational mediation, conflict resolution training, and additional means.

Moreover, the Center promotes the mediation approach and methodology to professionals, residents, children, and youth through lectures, workshops, and various events held throughout the city.

toolsImplementation: Services

Mosaica’s Jerusalem Center for Mediation and Consensus-Building operates thanks in large part to the work of dozens of volunteers. Volunteers are all experienced, certified mediators who have graduated from the basic mediation course and passed a practicum, as required by the Israeli court system.

Mosaica’s mediators have diverse areas of expertise and are multilingual.

The Center accommodates about 150 conflict resolution processes a year, in addition to holding public events, trainings, workshops, and courses for over 1,000 participants each year.

document Case Studies

Mr. Cohen, a senior citizen, is a widower who suffers from limited mobility and enjoys listening to classical music. He told his daughter-in-law that he could no longer remain in his home as the neighbors were mistreating him and impeding his enjoyment of life. The neighbors, in response, claimed that Mr. Cohen was a man who constantly complained. They denied his allegations.

The mediation meeting was held with Mr. Cohen, his daughter-in-law and the neighbors. After two hours of discussion, the parties decided that they wanted to begin their relationship anew. They debated which actions could be agreed on and taken by each side to allow them to move forward peacefully. They came to an agreement.

The neighbors signed the contract, agreeing to a new and better way of communicating with one another. Mr. Cohen concluded by saying: “Thank you for giving me back my life, allowing me to enjoy my coming years”.

toolsArticles and Relevant Content

Peacing it together, Nurit Bachrach, The Jerusalem Post, August 16, 2005

Virus and Mediation, A Pox on both your Houses, Nurit Bachrach, the Times of Israel, March 16, 2020

teamProgram Staff

Joni Orbach

Joni Orbach has a Bachelor’s degree in History and Education from Queens College, a Master’s degree in Education from Lander College of Arts & Sciences, and a second Master’s degree in Conflict Resolution, Management, and Negotiation at Bar-Ilan University. In 2003, she began working at Mosaica. In 2011, she was appointed Director of the Center for Mediation and Consensus Building in Jerusalem. She specializes in mediation and consensus building in communities, conflict resolution training, family, divorce, and intergenerational mediation and is also a “mahut” (Court-certified) mediator in conflict resolution cases.

She developed and adapted a conflict resolution training model and teaches it across the country. She is also certified by the Court systems as an instructor of the Mediation Practicum course, for individuals training to become mediators.

Moriah Zackai

Moriah Zackai entered the world of mediation following a B.A. in Psychology and M.A. in Conflict Resolution.

She has been working in welfare and education for almost a decade.

In her job as the Intergenerational Mediation Program Coordinator, she deals with mediation and consensus-building processes in a wide array of conflicts that arise with old age.

50 Volunteers: Professional, Experienced, Qualified Mediators

For additional information, please contact:
gishur@mosaica.org.il
052-6553324