Finding common ground in Israel

Finding common ground in Israel - Jewish and Arab journalism students working together

(The project received a 'Certificate of Excellence' at the 10th British Diversity Awards, 2004 )

Region:

Israel

When:

2004

Scale:

Small

Micro- < $15,000

Small-$15,000-$100,000

Medium-$100,000-$500,000

Large-$500,000-$1 million

Very large- >$1 million

Partners:

Media and Communications Department, Emek Yezreel College (Israel)

Funders:

The European Cultural Foundation
The Open Society Institute
The Sigrid Rausing Trust
The Westminster Foundation for Democracy

Project objectives:

The aim is to raise the media diversity awareness of students at the Media and Communications Department, Emek Yezreel College, and to offer them skills training in reporting diversity techniques. The project will contribute to inter-ethnic understanding within Israel and beyond by:
•	introducing concept of diversity reporting into journalistic and editorial thinking at the outset of the participants' careers;
•	building relationships between Jewish-Israelis and Arab-Israelis embarking on media careers;
•	publishing a newspaper supplement that:
	•	explores and celebrates Israel's cultural diversity;
	•	provides a positive example of inter-ethnic cooperation as a model for peaceful problem-solving in the region;
	•	overturns assumptions about 'other' groups, replacing stereotypes with real human faces.

Project activities:

A group of 24 Jewish and Arab undergraduate journalism students from the Media and Communications Department of the Emek Yezreel College will tackle the issues surrounding reporting on ethnic otherness in these three-weekend course, which offers a mix of theory and practical work. (Located in northern Israel, near Nazareth, the college has a mixture of about 75% Jewish-Israeli students and 25% Arab- Israeli students).
The intense teamwork involved will promote co-operation and integration between the mixed Jewish-Arab group of students. The course will include discussions, role-plays, simulations, plus a production element - a 24-page, bi-lingual newspaper supplement that will be produced by the students. Each student will be expected to write an article or produce photographs. Graphic design students will lay out the supplement. At least one Arabic-language and one Hebrew-language newspaper will carry the supplement, ensuring circulation throughout northern Israel.

The course will be led by Media and Communications Department head, Dr Saul Zadka, along with two MDI international trainers. It will form a module in a course on media and diversity being taught at the Yezreel Valley in the 2003-2004 academic year. Dr Zadka said, referring to the students in his department, "Here we have 600 potential messengers of peace."