Jerusalem mayor hopes $20 million sports center will foster 'friendship between Jews and Arabs'

After years of construction, a new sports facility opened on Tuesday, hailed as the first public swimming pool in East Jerusalem.

The mayor of Jerusalem said it represented a “significant breakthrough” and expressed hopes that it would strengthen society in Jerusalem and bring together different parts of the city.

The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Community Sports Center was built at a cost of $20 million in the neighborhood of Beit Hanina, supported by grants from Israel’s national lottery and philanthropists including the Mandel Foundation, which contributed a quarter of the costs.

“We are not just opening a swimming pool,” said center director, Dr. Weesam Elhaj. “We are opening a new door for an entire community: for children, young people, women and men, older people, and people with disabilities.”

“We want to see a child walk through these doors today and stand proudly on the winners’ podium a few years from now, not only in Jerusalem but across the country, and maybe even around the world,” he added.

The new sports complex was designed by leading Israeli firm Galpaz Architecture and Engineering and is 5,000 square meters (approximately 53,820 square feet) and includes an indoor swimming pool, a toddler pool, an instructional pool, a gym and fitness studios and public areas for recreation, offering a better quality of life and wellbeing for local residents.

Beit Hanina is around eight kilometers (5 miles) northeast of Jerusalem, on the road to Ramallah, and it is hoped that, in addition to providing many new jobs, it will bring people from different communities together.

The president of the Jerusalem Foundation, Shai Doron, told Jewish News that there are two communities which do not use the public facilities in West Jerusalem – Palestinians and the strictly Orthodox.

“It’s a basic skill that every child in Israel should be able to swim,” said Doron, who is a keen swimmer, noting that sadly young Palestinians are overrepresented among those who drown in the sea.

Issues of modesty and separate facilities for men and women affected both communities but the center has considered these cultural sensitivities and taken them into account so that as many as possible can enjoy the new pool.

“The biggest news is the partnership between the Jerusalem Foundation and the Palestinians in East Jerusalem, who were willing to take the responsibility to run and operate the sports centers,” said Doron. “If we are talking about a society with equal opportunities, we must build these kinds of centers.”

He added that the new center fulfills their vision for community empowerment, in particular nurturing future leadership.

“We seek to reduce gaps in society and provide equal opportunities for all, in our efforts to create a shared society in Jerusalem,” he stated.

At the event marking the launch of construction in 2022, Moshe Lion, mayor of Jerusalem, described the facility as “great news” for the city of Jerusalem and especially for the residents of East Jerusalem.

“After years in which East Jerusalem lagged behind in communal infrastructure, we are moving along at an accelerated pace with the development of public buildings and the education system in East Jerusalem, and are now investing in the areas of community, sports, and leisure as well,” he said. “This is a significant breakthrough in strengthening society in Jerusalem, and this is just the beginning of reducing the gaps between different parts of the city."

At the opening ceremony on Tuesday, Lion announced that they were “making history” in Beit Hanina but also for East Jerusalem and the whole city.

“For the first time, residents of the eastern part of the city will be able to enjoy a public swimming pool and an advanced community sports center right near their homes.”

The center is part of the national five-year plan for East Jerusalem, according to Jerusalem Affairs and Jewish Tradition Ministry director-general Shimon Elbaum. Center director, Elhaj, added his hopes for the difference it will bring to future generations:

“Beyond swimming lessons and a healthy lifestyle, the place will give our children a professional framework that will allow them to develop, train, and achieve significant sporting accomplishments,” he said.

“This building is more than a community sports center,” said Arik Grebelsky, President of the Jerusalem Foundation. “It is a symbol of partnership, coexistence, peace, and friendship between Jews and Arabs.”