‘People often think of Jerusalem as an idea, but it’s a city full of people’

There, they sit on a bench, facing the Old City, “watching Teddy Kollek's vision of a shared city unfold before our eyes. The last time we were there, we saw a young couple from East Jerusalem get engaged, while, just a few metres away, a Charedi family with seven little girls in matching dresses ran laughing through the fountains, getting completely soaked. For me, that is Jerusalem.”

The Jerusalem Foundation began in 1966 and has since become the leading non-governmental organisation funding and overseeing projects to benefit the city’s diverse populations.

It has been involved with 5,000 initiatives, ranging from the Teddy Kollek Stadium, the YMCA and the Botanical Gardens to the Muslim Quarter Market, the Wadi Joz Youth Centre in East Jerusalem and tech training for Ethiopian Israelis.

Despite the breadth of the projects it supports, donors are able to choose where their money goes, “so they can connect with something which feels meaningful to them,” says Winton.

A project that has received a swell of UK support is a new building for the Hassadna Jerusalem Music Conservatory, which is due to open at the end of the year. Until now, it has been sharing premises with another school. Running for over 50 years, Hassadna offers music education to 750 children from all faiths and backgrounds – with a number of its alumni going on to study at top music institutions abroad.

Hassadna Jerusalem Music Conservatory (Photo: the Jerusalem Foundation UK)[Missing Credit]

A project which is perhaps less familiar to UK donors is the first swimming pool to be built in East Jerusalem, which was the vision of the late president of the Jerusalem Foundation, Shai Doron, who died suddenly, aged 64 while in London in July 2024.

Thanks to his efforts, there is now a communal swimming pool in Beit Hanina, East Jerusalem’s largest neighbourhood.

“The Jerusalem Foundation isn’t political, but if West Jerusalem has 40 pools and East Jerusalem has none, it’s about having a conversation about how to have more balance,” says Winton, who is a member of South Hampstead Synagogue. “Shai’s vision of a shared Jerusalem was nothing short of inspiring.”

In his memory, the Shai Doron Leadership Fellows programme was launched last year to identify and empower young civil society leaders from across Jerusalem’s population to continue with Shai’s vision.

While the media often presents Jerusalem as a divided city, rife with tension, Winton’s perception differs. “I’m not naïve. Of course there are tensions, but in the main, people just want to live and get by.

“When friends from Tel Aviv and Herzliya come and visit me, they are shocked to see that Jerusalem is a mixed city.”

Stepping down as Lesley King-Lewis becomes the new CEO, Winton reflects that after October 7 – when working in the nerve centre of Israel could have been hugely challenging – her job was a source of comfort. “My work has given me solace at times when I have felt helpless.

“People often think of Jerusalem as an idea. The Jerusalem Foundation taught me to think of it as a city full of people. Every project we supported was about helping make Jerusalem a better place to live for everyone who calls it home.”