EMPOWERING
individuals
through educational programs offering free school supplies, literacy courses, after-school tutoring, and English classes
SUPPORTING
community
through microfinance courses and women's initiatives such as the handicraft gift shop or
hair-dressing workshops
PRESERVING
culture
through the continuation of Gypsy art and teaching the next generation about the foods, celebrations, and traditions of their ancestors
WHAT WE DO
About the Domari Society
The Domari Society of Gypsies in Jerusalem was founded in 1999 by Amoun Sleem, a Gypsy who has lived in the community her entire life and knows its needs well. She has seen and experienced first-hand the severe discrimination, cultural marginalization, poverty, and adult illiteracy that the Gypsies in this area face. The adult population e.g. remains largely illiterate because a lot of children drop out of school as a result of discrimination from teachers and other students. It was these issues and a desire to affect change that moved Amoun to action. She started this organization to advance and empower the Gypsy community and preserve its unique cultural heritage through programs that provide economic empowerment, child development, and women's support. Working at the grassroots level, the center seeks to serve the social, cultural, and educational needs of the surrounding Domari community.
In 2005, The Domari Society opened a community center in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Shu'fat. The center provides after-school tutoring, job skills training, literacy courses, humanitarian aid, and programs that foster cultural pride. Further, as a part of its mission of women's empowerment, the center produces and sells traditional Gypsy handicrafts, including embroidery, jewelry, pottery, and handbags, to encourage economic independence and improve quality of life.
The community center and Domari Society in general are funded by donations from individuals and organizations, as well as through the sale of their handicrafts.
Israeli Report on Gypsy Community.pdf
This is a report from 2004 containing numberical data on the state of the Gypsy community. We are currently working on a new report. You will find it soon on our website.
A small domcumantary movie about the center
Economic Empowerment
The Domari Society puts a great emphasis on Economic Empowerment of the women of the Dom community.
Read more...
Educational Empowerment
Since 2008, we put an emphasis on literacy and handicraft production, as a part of the Society's focus on women's empowerment and education.
Cultural Preservation
Another important topic for the Domari Society is to keep the cultural heritage alive. The Dom culture and language needs to be preserved from disappearing.
Children's School Supplies
Consistent with its emphasis of empowerment through education, the Domari Center provides school bags full of supplies for Domari school children. This program runs each fall and gives first grade school children basic school necessities along with the valuable sense of confidence of owning something new and valuable. The bags and school supplies help children begin school without the stigma of old or non-existent supplies.
Child Literacy Courses
The Domari Center provides children's literacy classes in English and Arabic. Since the children compose 75% of the Dom Community, the center finds it of the utmost importance to educate the younger generation, so they may have the chance to break the cycle of poverty that they have witnessed. The Domari children have an exceptionally high dropout rate due to the two-fold pressures of discrimination and poverty: In the educational establishment, the children are discriminated against simply because they are Gypsy, and at home the parents often prefer their children to supplement the family income by begging in the streets rather than attending school. These factors lead to a child illiteracy rate of 38% within the community, perpetuating the problems facing the community. The literacy courses improve school performance and encourage achievement, while providing a positive space where a focus on studies is encouraged and rewarded.
Adult Literacy Courses
One of the major issues facing the Dom community is the high illiteracy rate. Over 40% of the adults are illiterate, the result of poverty and prejudice within the education system. Because most are unable to overcome this hurdle, it results in limited occupational skills, which in turn furthers the poverty of the community. This course offers an opportunity to start anew or to further their limited, existing skills. In past courses, adults of the community committed to the class, and used their new skills to help their young children with their studies. By instilling literacy in adults, we are instigating a cultural shift vis-a-vis education, while giving Domari adults a skill essential to entering the mainstream workforce.
Women's Handicraft Initiative
In addition to providing space for community events and education, the Domari Center also houses an extensive gift shop, selling many unique and beautiful handicrafts made by women in the community. Among the most popular items are hand-crafted jewelry and embroidered fabrics. Many visitors comment on the striking colors and designs, both traditional and modern. Also available are handmade soaps, baby quilts and blankets, a Domari Cookbook, pillows, and painted pottery.
Women's Catering Course
The Domari Society offers women the possibility to acquire cooking and catering skills together with the help of a professional chef. The Catering Course was offered for the first time in 2005 and was restarted in 2010. The women acquired practical cooking skills and learned new recipes, but they also got some theoretical lessons about health and nutrition as well as some business classes.
Women's Hairdressing Course
In the past, the Domari Society provided women with the opportunity to become empowered through a six-month hairdressing course. The course consisted of hands-on training sessions and additional sessions of empowerment training. Armed with new skills, the participants have an opportunity to increase their income and raise their standard of living. Many of the fifteen women who completed the course in 2006 are already taking advantage of this new skill and conduct their businesses from the Center.
Small Business Course
Envisioning sustainable economic empowerment, the Domari Center offered a small business course which took place two times a week for four months and which teached skills necessary for starting and running an independent enterprise. The course was geared towards individuals already working in the service industry and includes accounting, operations management, marketing, and technological familiarity. Our small business course aligned with our other courses by teaching the Domari how to use their newly-acquired skills to achieve economic independence.
Handicrafts
The handicraft initiative increases international awareness of the Jerusalem Gypsy community through the worldwide sale of the items. The colors, designs, and ornaments used to craft items such as pillows, jewelry, and bags, are a strong representation of Gypsy cultural heritage, while being a form of economic empowerment for the woman who produce them.
Domari Language
The Domari center provides a Domari literacy course twice a week to young children. Because of increased cultural integration in this generation, much of the traditional spoken language is lost. The class was taught by an elderly member of the community, and provides an opportunity for the children to forge a connection with their cultural, linguistic heritage and guarantees that it will not disappear.
Fostering Cultural Pride
In a community where Gypsies are degraded, it is vital to keep the Domari culture alive through its people. The community center houses a variety of activities that intentionally keep Domari traditions alive. Community dinners with traditional Gypsy food are held at the center and often live music and dance follow. Additionally, the Domari Society has compiled a cookbook of Gypsy recipes and a book about Domari history entitled The Dom of Jerusalem (both of these publications are available for purchase at the Community Center).
History
The origin of the Gypsy can be traced back to 18th century India, where links between the dialects of Romany and Punjabi have been discovered.
Food
The food native to the Dom of Jerusalem is a combination of the foods their ancestors ate, and the food of their Arabic hostland.
Language
While related to both Punjabi of India and Romany of the Easter European Gypsies,
Domari is the language unique
to Middle Eastern Gypsies.
The Gypsies of India originally referred to themselves by the term Dom, meaning man. While many Gypsy communities began referring to themselves as Rom or Lom, particularly in Europe and North America, the word Dom is still used by the Gypsy populations of the Middle East and North Africa. Because of the diversity of location and cultural integration, over the years the Gypsies have taken on many other names, including Barake, Nawar, Kaloro, Koli, Kurbat, Ghorbati, Zott, and Zargari, for tribal references and derogatory usage. Today, Dom communities reside in Cyprus, Iran, Iraq/Kurdistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel/West Bank/Gaza, and Turkey.
Since the Dom language is not a written one, pinpointing when and where the Dom came from is problematic, with little definitive proof. It is largely believed that the Doms left India in several migratory waves, beginning in the 3rd century and lasting until the 10th century. A popular story that explains their movement is accounted in the epic Shah-Name by the Persian poet Firdousi. He tells the tale of the Shah of Persia inviting ten thousand musicians and dancers of the Luri tribe in India to work in his court. It is believed that these people belonged to a low caste of indigenous people (non Indo-Aryans) who were known for their skills in music and dance.
Another argument put forward is in the 11th century, India was attacked by a Turko-Persian Muslim general, whose aim was to push Islam into India. To counteract the attack, Indian troops were formed out of the various non-Aryan Indian populations, which were often the lower castes of society, including the Luri as foot soldiers. At one point, the Indian troops headed West into Persia, and stayed there at the end of the hostilities, rather than return to the discrimination that faced them in India. While they stayed in Persia for a long period of time, much of the population continued moving as far west as Armenia and Greece. While some arrive in Europe, others went to Syria, Egypt, and North Africa.
One legend among the Dom of Jerusalem explains their origin, stating they had resided in Syria as early as the Jahiliyya period, before the arrival of Islam in the 7th century. In the legend, there was once two tribes living in Syria, led by two cousins. One cousin, upon killing the King of Syria, aroused the wrath of the Kings daughter. By way of revenge, the Kings daughter turned the two tribes against each other, eventually causing a war between the tribes and the death of both cousins. When the fighting ended, a decree was passed against the tribes: they must always wander in the wilderness during the hottest hours of the day, ride only donkeys, and live only off of singing and dance. From there some Dom travelled to India, while others travelled to Iraq and even back to Syria.
There is very literature directly about the Gypsies, while they can be found in references throughout various documents. In the 18th and 19th centuries, there are many documents by travellers and pilgrims that reference the presence of Gypsies in the Middle East, for example. This document contains evidence that the Gypsies lived in Jerusalem in the beginning of the 19th century.
Modern History
Today, the Dom of Jerusalem still reside near the Lions Gate, behind the ancient walls of the Old City. This community consists of approximately 1,000 people, while larger populations live in Judea, Samarea, Gaza, and the West Bank.
While prior generations of Dom were nomadic, holding occupations such as blacksmiths, horse dealers, musicians, dancers, and animal healers, for over one hundred years the Jerusalem Gypsies have been living a sedentary lifestyle. While they originally settled in the Wadi Joz neighborhood of East Jerusalem, they later moved into the Old City and Migdal Ha Chasidah neighborhood. Typical of Gypsy populations, they accepted the local language and religion, in this case, Arabic and Islam.
The Dom of Jerusalem have not been immune from the turmultous history of this region, and their populations within the city have greatly reduced over the years. The greatest immigrations occurred after the 6 Days War of 1967, after hiding in the ChurchSt. Anne, within the walls of the Old City for the duration of the conflict. Those who fled now reside in Syria, Egypt, and Jordon, reducing the population from 200 families to less than 70 in the 1990s. During this time, the younger generation have become less interested in the ancient traditions and culture, preferring to assimilate into the neighboring Arab communities. Because of this, the Dom language is rarely used in everyday speech, and the traditional dress and other customs have largely been abandoned. This self-afflicted and imposed assimilation is contributed to the discrimination and marginalization the Gypsies face from both the Jewish and Arab population, and as a result the economic and social limitations that come from being identified and recognizable as Gypsy. These problems are perpetuated by a high drop-out rate, leading to high illiteracy. of
In order to raise pride and cultural awareness within the Dom community as well as internationally, in October, 1999 Amoun Sleem established The Domari Society of Gypsies of Jerusalem, a non-profit aimed at combating the major issues facing the community. This was an event of historical importance, as the first time the Dom community has organized itself as an entity.
The organization continues its work today, focusing on womens empowerment and providing opportunity for the next generation. By encouraging cultural pride and educational advancement, the Gypsies now have an opportunity to effectively contest discrimination and poverty through self-empowerment and achievement.
It is highly influenced by Arabic, and exists in many different dialects throughout the Middle East. In Jerusalem only a few hundred speakers remain, mostly over the age of 60, but in Iran there are over a million speakers of the various dialects of Domari.
Traditionally, Domari is considered one of three main varieties of Gypsy languages, along with Romany and Lomavren (of the Armenian Gypsies, or Lom). According to the Romani Project based at the University of Manchester, the Domari and Romany languages, while related, are not sister languages, as they were once thought. Instead, they split before the Gypsy people left India. The language, according to Dr. Ian Hancock, also indicatses that Domari-speaking people left the Indian subcontinent before either Roma or Lom did.
In 1909-1914, R.A.S. Macalister described Domari as spoken by the Palestinian Dom peoples. Earlier ethnolinguists, such as Ulrich Seetzen and August Pott, also recorded elements of Domari. In the 1990s, Professor Yaron Matras wrote a lexicon of Domari in Jerusalem, with the assistance of Amoun Sleem and her family.
If you are interested in reading something more about the Domari language, you can check out the listed publications:
•1999. The state of present-day Domari in Jerusalem. Mediterranean Language Review 11, 1-58.
•2000. Two Domari legends about the origin of the Doms. Romani Studies, 5th series, 10, 53-79.
•2007. Grammatical borrowing in Domari. In: Matras, Y. & Sakel, J. eds. Grammatical borrowing in cross-linguistic perspective. Berlin: Mouton. 151-164.
Food takes the lead in community celebrations, such as weddings and circumcisions and life cycle events, such as funerals. Main dishes usually consist of chicken or lamb, and rice. For weddings, no matter how hard times are financially, at least two main dishes are prepared. For circumcision parties, a stuffed neck of sheep is always made.
Salads and sidedishes are meticulously laid out, so that they look as aesthetically pleasing as they taste. Stuffed vegetables, such as artichokes or grape leaves, are popular. One special side dish is kishk, a special type of bulgur fermented with milk and yogurt, and then salted. When kishk is made at home, it can take up to two weeks to produce!
Gypsies drink a lot of tea. Traditionally, plain tea is brewed with dried sage leaves, and then at least two full teaspoons of sugar are added. Tea steeped with cinnamon and walnuts (and much sugar) is also traditional.
The Domari Society published "The Domari Cookbook". It is available in the center and we would like to introduce some of the recipies below:
STUFFED CHICKEN WITH RICE AND NUTS
(Engagement Food)
Serves 6 people
Rice stuffing:
½ cup long grain rice
¼ cup butter
1 small onion, finally chopped
¼ blanched, slivered almonds
¼ cup pine nuts
¼ cup chopped walnuts
¼ cup golden raisins
1 cup water
salt
freshly ground black pepper
Pick over rice and wash until water runs clear. Drain well. Heat butter in a pan, add oil and fry gently until transparent. Stir in pine nuts, almonds, walnuts and rice and fry for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add raisins, water, salt and pepper to taste. Stir well, cover and cook low heat for 10 minutes, until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and cool.
Chicken:
approx. 3,5 lb (1,7kg) whole chicken
freshly ground pepper
¼ cup melted butter
½ cup water
Clean chicken and wipe dry with paper towels. Fill cavity with rice stuffing and truss it. Rub chicken with salt and pepper. Melt butter in a baking dish. Place the chicken in the dish and baste well with butter. Add water to dish and roast chicken in the oven at 180°C (350°F) for 2½ hours, basting often with juices in the dish.
Serve warm and fragrant.
CUCUMBER SALAD WITH YOGHURT
Serves 12
4 cups yoghurt
4 cucumbers
4 gloves garlic, crushed
4-5 teaspoons dried mint
2-3 teaspoons olive oil
mint sprigs for garnish
Peel the cucumbers and cut into quarter lengthwise. Slice thinly and place in a bowl. Mix in about 3 teaspoons salt and leave to stand for 1 hour. Drain well in a colander. Blend cucumbers into yoghurt with garlic and finely crushed mint to taste. Add salt if necessary. Blend in olive oil a little at a time, adding as much as needed to make a thick, creamy mixture. Chill well. Serve garnished with mint sprigs and with pita bread for dipping.
CAULIFLOWER IN TAHINI SAUCE
Serves 6
1 medium-sized head cauliflower
½ teaspoon salt
Sauce:
2 cloves garlic
½ cup tahini
¼-½ cup cold water
½ lemon juice
To make sauce, crush garlic cloves with ½ teaspoon salt in a mixing bowl. Gradually add tahini and beat well with a wooden spoon. Beat in a little water and lemon juice alternately. (The water thickens the mixture, lemon juice thins it.) Add all the lemon juice and water. Add more salt to taste flavor should be tart. Set aside 1 cup of resulting mixture for cauliflower.
Break cauliflower into florets and place into a bowl with cold water and salt. Leave for 15 minutes and then remove any debris that floats to the surface. Drain. Cook cauliflower rapidly in boiling, salted water, uncovered for 10-12 minutes until just tender and still a little crisp. Drain in colander. Put cauliflower in a bowl and spoon ½ of the cup tahini sauce evenly over it. Serve hot or cold with remaining sauce in bowl for adding to individual taste.
SPICED TEA WITH NUTS
Serves 8
4 cups water
8 large cinnamon sticks
Sugar to taste
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
Bring water and cinnamon sticks to a boil, and boil gently for five minutes. Remove sticks. Put 2 tablespoons of nuts in each of the 8 tea glasses. Pour tea and add sugar to taste.
Donations
We are always very thankful for every small donation that is coming to the center which enables us to continue our great work in the community. Everybody is free to make special donations concerning different projects.
Check our activities and if you want to donate to specific projects just let us now. We would also be very happy to update you on the activities you donated for. If you want any additional information, don't hesitate to contact us.
We would also greatly appreciate in-kind support. If you want to make that kind of donation, please don't hesitate to contact us about the details.
Thank You
We want to thank kinderpostzegels and Annette Selten who have been supporting us. We are very happy that we will be able to continue our cooperation during the next year. It is a great relief for us as it will enable the Center to provide the children with after-school tutoring.
We'd like to thank Joel Soffin as well who donated three laptops to the Center. We appreciate his help and plan on offering computer lessons for the children and women coming to the Center, starting at the beginning of next year. Thank you very much for your support!
We want to show our sincere gratitude towards Petra van der Zande who is a big resource of new ideas and practical help. We are very blessed to have met her and we are deeply grateful for all her help and inspiration.
Christmas time
As we informed you before, we participated in various Christmas markets this year. It was a great pleasure for us to get the opportunity to sell the handicrafts that the women produced and to inform more people about the Domari Community in Jerusalem.
Newsletter
To receive our monthly newsletter with updates about the center and our activities, please send us a mail with the subject "subscribe" and we will add you to our mailing list.
You can still be part of our work here! One of the biggest things you can do is raise awareness about the current needs of the Gypsies in Jerusalem and about what the Domari Society is doing to help. Tell your friends, family members, and co-workers about what you've learned about the Gypsies and about what they can do to be involved. As a resource for spreading the word, we've created a Facebook page that you can share with others.
Also, since the Society is non-profit, it relies on donations and funds raised through the handicraft sales. Take a look at the beautiful handicrafts the woman are doing. If you are interested in financially supporting the Domari Society, you are welcome to make a donation or shop handicrafts.
Also we offer some handicrafts at the Sunbula online shop. This shop empowers Palestinian artisans by promoting traditional handicrafts.
Thank you for your interest in the Gypsies in Jerusalem!
We would love to have you visit us! The Domari Society Community Center is located on Shuafat Road (also written as Shufat Road and Shua'fat Road), opposite the Al-Hayat Medical Center in East Jerusalem. While you're here you can check our unique handicraft selection that includes items not sold anywhere but the Community Center. We also offer group tours of the Center which you can learn more about by clicking the button below.
The Domari Society of Gypsies in Jerusalem is constantly in need for donations. We are always thankful for the donations that are coming to the center and that enable us to continue our great work within the community.
It is not only possible to make general donations, but you can also dedicate your donations to explicit parts of our work. Check our activities and if you want to donate to specific projects just let us know via mail when making your donation. Additionally, we would be very happy to update you on the activities you donated for. If you want any additional information, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Besides, we would greatly appreciate in-kind support. If you want to make that kind of donation, please don't hesitate to contact us about the details of the procedure.
Contributions to the Domari Society can be made either via PayPal or can be directly transferred to our bank account.
To use PayPal, please press the 'Donate' button or on the 'How you can help' page.
This button will take you to our PayPal account where you can make your donation.
To use PayPal, you must either have a PayPal account
(you can make one at any time- they are secure and keep your personal information safe)
or a credit card (these can be used without a PayPal account).
If you want to transfer money directly to our bank account, you can find the bank details below. If there is any information missing, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Amoun Sleem
Mercantile Discount Bank Ltd.
Salah Eddin Branch 17 638, Salah Eddin Street, Jerusalem
SWIFT Code: Bardilit 638
IBAN: IL65 0176 3800 0000 1503 873
Donate
Contact Us Online
If you want to leave us any comments or
need some more information about our organization or our work,
please contact us through the contact form below
or just send us an E-Mail to domarisociety_gmail.com.
Other Contact Options
If you want to contact us in any other form,
you can find our contact details below.
The Domari Society
P.O. Box 51488
Jerusalem, ISRAEL
Telephone (Jerusalem): 025 32 45 10
Telephone (Abroad): +972 25 32 45 10
Facebook
You can also find our Society on Facebook where we give updates more regularly.
If you are interested, please like our page there!
Click here.
Visit Us!
How to get there? Click the Map to get the direction.
The Domari Center is on Shu’'fat Road in northern Jerusalem, opposite the Al-Hayat Medical Center, about half a mile north of the junction with route 1. Crossing the road from the medical center, you will see our entrance at the end of a short alleyway.
By Tram
If you take the Tram, you need to get off at the station named Es-Sahl.
By bus from the Damascus Gate
From the Arab bus station on Nablus Road, take any bus to Shu’'fat (bus numbers 18, 45, 74, 81). Ask the driver to stop at Al-Hayat Medical Center. The journey will take 10-15 minutes.
By bus from West Jerusalem
Take Egged bus number 6,8 or 22 (direction Neve Yaakov) to the junction with Route 1. Cross the road and continue on Shu’'fat Road by foot.
By car
If you come from the direction of the Old City: Drive the road number 60 direction Beit Hanina. If you are at the Ammunition Hill go further on and take the next exit from the road 60. You will reach the French Hill Junction, go straight on. Now you are at the Shuafat Road. When you see the Al-Hayat Medical Center take the next possibility to turn and go on the other side of the street back (because there is no way to get directly to the center). In the opposite of the Medical Center is a small pathway, where you can park your car.
Summer 2010
We were very happy to welcome an honoured guest to the Center: Allen Williams, the director of the Dom Research Center, and a dedicated supporter of the Domari Society. It was great to see him and catch up on news; we wish him all the best in his new transition!
On April 23 we participated in a local handicraft bazaar hosted by Jerusalem Baptist Church. We had a table set up with some of our handmade items for sale. It was a good opportunity for us to meet other organizations and also to raise funds for and awareness about our the Dom community in Jerusalem. Pictures are on our facebook profile!
With tears in our eyes, we said goodbye to many of our wonderful volunteers as they left to continue their lives and studies in Europe and America: Michael & Lynette Stewart, Muriel Esposito, Deborah Lavot, Katharina Kunze, and Ariel Nakamura. They were an invaluable support of the Domari Society and they will be sincerely missed! Their jobs ranged from writing proposals to translating material to meeting with local NGO leaders, to researching to connect us with new partner organizations, to giving English Literacy classes, and much much more! We wish them much success and happiness in their futures, and hope that they come back to visit us soon!
Fall 2009 & Winter 2010
One of our big fall to winter projects this year was to redesign our website to make it more informative and user-friendly. Michael and Lynette Stewart, students at Jerusalem University College and volunteers at the Center, spent most of the semester on this project. We are still working on final details, but for the most part it is completed. If you have suggestions for changes we can make on it, we'd love to hear them! Feel free to use our Contact page to offer feedback. Also, Facebook users can check out the new photos and links on our Facebook page.
In November we were very happy to welcome a group from Calvary Chapel including our old friends Pastor Dwight, and Donna Rathke. The group members from Calvary chapel brought with them many gifts and supplies for the center. We were happy to host them here as we shared day-to-day Gypsy life.
Sunbula is an organization that sells the handicrafts of Palestinian artisans, including the women of the Domari Society. Community center director Amoun Sleem set up a table at Sunbala's holiday exhibition at the Jerusalem Hotel this November. The table featured many of the beautiful pillows, jewelry, handbags, and other items that the women made this fall. We were able to raise awareness about the Center and also sell some of our new items.
The Center recently acquired several chairs and cupboards that were being disgarded and decided to give them a new home. The women of the Domari Center spent time painting and reupholstering the furniture to match the decor of the Community Center. As a result, we now have four beautiful new chairs and two new cabinets.
A new group of volunteers, American students studying in Jerusalem, are working with the children on literacy in the after school program. Also, Noam Sienna, one of our new long term volunteers, is a university student from Canada studying abroad at Hebrew University. He spends two days a week at the Domari Centre helping out with whatever needs to be done: writing proposals, researching grants, sending emails, answering the phone, entertaining children, and even practicing his Arabic! When he is not at the Domari Centre he studies Anthropology, Classics, and Linguistics. We have enjoyed our volunteers and can't thank them enough for the work they've done this semester. We look forward to new volunteers in the Spring.
Spring & Summer 2009
As we moved into Summer 2009, the center tied up a semester of tutoring and activities to further the students academia, both in and outside of school. With teachers in Math, Arabic, and English, the center was often bustling with activity in the afternoons. We continued to develop our traditional handicrafts, and the variety and types of our products continued to grow. One of our major goals was developing more relationships with outside organizations that can sell our handicrafts, providing funds for the women and increasing their economic independence.
For the month of July, we hosted a student from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Taylor Jo Isenberg, who provided administrative support, while doing personal research on the placement of the community within Israeli society.
Recently, Amoun Sleem met with the Mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat to familiarize him with the plight of the Gypsies of Jerusalem, and explore potential collaboration and program support to improve their situation. We'll let you know what comes of the meeting.
Like many places in the world, the economy here is doing poorly. However, while we are struggling with the increasing costs of rent and upkeep, we are determined to forge ahead and continue the work that we are doing!
In June, Amoun was a guest of an international Gypsy conference in Spain. Many participants from various parts of the world took part in the meeting. Another large-scale Gypsy event is being planned for 2010. We will keep you informed about this project.
On March 25th, the Domari Center celebrated its 5th anniversary of being in the current location in Shu’fat! As the center continues to grow and develop, this location has been critical in supporting our activities and furthering our goals. Let’s look forward to another 5 years of growth and good things!
Due to the help of American and Canadian students volunteering at the Center we are able to offer English classes four times a week for at least five children each time. We have also been running two courses for women in literacy and handicraft design. This training is vital for helping women become more employable, and does much to boost their self-esteem. We plan make the courses a part of continuous activity here.
Winter 2007/2008
In December 2007 the Gypsy Community Center organized a bazaar at the American Colony Hotel, during which we presented many handicrafts. Various soaps, bags and different items of jewellery were presented. The bazaar proved to be a success, gathering many people, those interested in the products and those, who came to satisfy their curiosity about Jerusalem's Gypsies.
In January 2008 the Center held a handicraft workshop for women. Due to the help of volunteers- an educated Rikka from Finland and Marleine from South Africa, we have been able to provide Gypsy women with more skills. They learnt how to sew complicated items, how to make jewellery in a professional way or how to use decoupage technique. Since then, the women have been working on products using newly obtained knowledge. We also received a helpful donation-new sewing machine.
This workshop proved that women sharing their skills with other women can become a huge success.
From autumn 2007 till late spring 2008 Domari kids had a substantial help with their school education. We had two groups of volunteers- those from Hebrew University and from Jerusalem College. The latter ones helped to improve kids' English, but also did a lot of work at the Center, such as cleaning or email correspondence. Hebrew University students worked on homework not completed at school or preparations for tests and exams. They helped with Arabic, geography or maths.
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Summer 2007
The busy life of the Center continues during the summer while some classes are suspended for the vacation, many of the children like to come and spend time here, practicing their English and playing with the volunteers. The adult program continues as ever: English, Hebrew, Arabic and music resound through the Center and the womens hairdressing business continues to thrive.
Domari Center featured in This Week in Palestine The Gypsy community is featured in the August edition of This Week in Palestine, a magazine published both on the Internet and as a distributed to widely in East Jerusalem. In addition to an article about the community, Amoun is featured as the magazines Personality of the Month. Check out the articles online: www.thisweekinpalestine.com
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Amos Oz visits the Gypsy Center:
In June 2007, we were happy to receive a visit from Amos Oz, one of Israels best-known authors, together with his wife Nili. Amos Oz is among the most influential and well-respected intellectuals in Israeli society, and is a veteran of the Israeli peace movement. Amos and Nili Oz joined Amoun, representatives of the IRAC (Israel Religious Action Center) and members of the Domari community in the Center for a meal of makloubeh (chicken, rice and vegetables) - which was pronounced to be better than the food at the King David Hotel!
Amos Oz was happy to see another side of Jerusalem while he is a native Jerusalemite and has written about many aspects of Israeli society, until now he never knew that there was a Gypsy community in Jerusalem. Nili Oz admired the jewellery made by Domari women, and bought necklaces for herself and her daughters.
Amoun's trip to the United States:
Amoun Sleem, Director of the Domari Center, travelled to the USA from June 24th-July 7, for a fundraising trip kindly supported by the IRAC. Her whirlwind tour, encompassing five states, began in Michigan, continuing through Indiana and Chicago, and ending in Appleton, Wisconsin.
Amoun spoke to students at Michigan University about the Gypsy community. Most of them had never heard of the Gypsy community in Jerusalem; several of them are now interested in coming to volunteer in the Center. She also stayed for a week in Appleton, Wisconsin, where she spoke during the service at Calvary Chapel. While many members of the congregation were away for the summer, those who were there were generous in their support of the Center.
The trip also gave Amoun opportunities to catch up with past volunteers. In Indiana, she met with members of Michael Yates church. In Indiana, Bethany, who volunteered several years ago, organized an educational gathering where people could learn more about the Gypsies at her familys church.
Amoun said, "The trip was tiring, but it was so good to meet many new people. We are all grateful to the IRAC for their support of this trip, and to all those who kindly offered hospitality to me and donated money to the Domari Center. We look forward to welcoming all of you at the Domari Center in Jerusalem!"
Israeli author and Nobel Peace Prize Nominee,
Amos Oz, visits the Domari Center.
(Clockwise from left: Amos Oz, Anat Hoffman, Nily Oz, and Amoun Sleem).
Amoun Sleem visits the US to raise awareness about the Domari people in Jerusalem. She is pictured here with new friends she met at a conference in Michigan.
