Shira Banki's Way

About Shira Banki’s Way Ltd (cc)In 2015, 16-year-old Shira Banki was stabbed to death during the Gay Parade in Jerusalem by a man how opponent of the parade. Shira Banki’s Way was established the following year by Shira’s parents, Ori and Mika, in order to promote tolerance and moderation in Israel’s public sphere. We implement various educational, cultural, social, and media activities among the range of communities and ideological and religious movements which comprise Israeli society in order to promote a more tolerant and open society. Shira Banki’s Way is unique because of the powerful story behind it. Shira’s death carries with it a warning: Racism, hatred and violence don’t just happen to “other people”, they can happen in any community and devastate any family. Shira’s story is heartbreaking, but it is also a powerful call for action. It touches people and opens their hearts, and enables us to start a genuine conversation about the need for tolerance in our society. Our programming aims at institutionalizing tolerance: We create sustainable social institutions that promote tolerance and moderation. Our theory of change is: More institutions of tolerance create a more open and tolerant society. About Our Programs “Dialog Circles: Meeting Point” is a weekly gathering in downtown Jerusalem, open to any Jerusalemite who is willing to talk (and listen). Every Thursday night, people from different sectors of Jerusalem meet at the Zion Square for a guided discussion. Different opinions, different generations, sitting or standing, talking or screaming, laughing or raging – all come together to fulfil the vision of making Zion Square a place of culture and tolerance, a symbol of a shared society. We are working to export the Meeting Point model to additional cities. In 2019, it was endorsed by the Tel Aviv Municipality upon the successful completion of a pilot in Habima Square. “Conflict Management in Israeli Society” aims to raise awareness among Israeli teens from different religious backgrounds of non-violent ways to resolve conflicts and disputes. The project brings together sophomore year students from religious and secular schools from across the country, who meet in three locations that have a special symbolic significance: The Yitzhak Rabin Center in Tel-Aviv, the Gush Katif and Northern Samaria Commemoration Center in Nitzan, and the Zion Square in Jerusalem. Through structured encounters, participants learn to understand the legitimacy of disputes, and are supplied with tools on how to avoid hatred and violence. The project was launched in 2016 by the President of Israel, Reuven Rivlin and was endorsed by the Ministry of Education. “Teachers' Lounge: This is Jerusalem!” is a 30-hour course for teachers from Jerusalem and its surroundings – including from Palestinian neighborhoods, Jewish religious communities and settlements. The course facilitates unmediated encounters between educators who all live in and around Jerusalem. Through it they learn about the daily lives of their fellow teachers in other parts of the city, and discover their commonalities as well as differences. This project reflects our belief that because of their access to thousands of young students, teachers in Jerusalem can help shape the future of the city. The course is implemented by the Hebrew Union College, and is recognized by the Ministry of Education as a professional training program for teachers. In 2020, 60 teachers participate in the course. “A Different Story” is a series of podcasts (audio stories), lectures and lesson plans about outstanding figures in history who chose to risk their lives to help others. The program serves educational institutions, youth groups, IDF courses, seminars for teachers, etc. The podcasts were produced by Yuval Malchi from the leading podcast series Excerpts of History, and are available for free online. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have listened to the podcasts since they were first made available online. In 2018, we took the “Different Story” program to the next level by training Israeli youth to become speakers, give their own lectures on exceptional historical figures and encourage a conversation about tolerance and acceptance. These young “Ambassadors of Tolerance” (over 500 students) now help spread tolerance within their own communities across the country. By the end of the current school year some 5,000 students from across the country will have been exposed to this program through our young Ambassadors. The Clinic for the Struggle against Hatred in the Public Sphere” was established three years ago at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya (IDC), in cooperation with the Berl Katzenelson Foundation. It provides free assistance to victims of incitement and racism in the public sphere. It also offers IDC third-year Law students an academic course that deals with the legal, psychological, cultural and social aspects of social exclusion and de-legitimization of groups in society. The “Shira Program for Teenage Girls” is a multiyear mentoring program which seeks to change the social role of young women at risk, by providing them with emotional and occupational tools of empowerment, with the view that young women possess the knowledge and authentic power to recreate and change the dialogue on risk, privilege and hardships faced by young women in Israel. The program is implemented by the Jerusalem Municipality's Youth Advancement Unit, which after three successful years has adopted the program in its entirety. It serves an average of 30 girls every year, and is open to Jerusalem youth of all faiths and backgrounds.