Media
Rutie Atsmon
Windows
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ If you only know what is going on from what other people tell you, or from watching the news-- your side of the media-- you know what your side wants to know, or what some people on your side want you to know, or the way people on your side perceive it, which is not the full picture. If you want to know what is going on, you have to be exposed to the reality itself, and also to other sources of information that give the other side's perception. This is what Windows is about, helping people see both sides, and trying to open ourselves to being able to understand and see things through the eyes of other people.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Nasser Laham
Maan News, Bethlehem Television
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ I used to have a vision, but now I don't anymore. Is that a disgrace to say that I don’t know? I really don’t know. I wish I did, and then perhaps I would be able to explain things to my children. The hardest questions come from them. I have 13 year old twins. They say to me, “Dad, what about Israel?” But I’m as silent as a mule. I can’t explain things to them because it pains me. I don’t know what to tell my son – whether he should carry on and build a family or stop; whether there is hope that the Israeli people will make decisions or the generals will continue to decide; whether Dan Halutz will decide or rather you will; or my friends in Israeli society, the journalists, will.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Orly Noy
All For Peace Radio
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ This particular coming together also has a voice, which is the voice of radio, [so] I thought it was such a great idea. Because there used to be a Voice of Peace radio station, which was an excellent radio station, but they escaped into a third language, into English. I thought, this is exactly how it should be done: Hebrew and Arabic, and not broadcasting from a remote boat on the sea, but from Ramallah, and sitting in Jerusalem! And I thought that was a great idea. And the voice, people can hear us! I thought it was the best way to do it.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Kobi Snitz
Anarchists Against the Wall
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ I think even in the most hostile press coverage, there is a degree of reality that cannot be suppressed. The fact that there are Israelis that are against this thing [the separation barrier], the fact that they are demonstrating with Palestinians, the fact that they are arrested and injured, that, even if we are described as crazy-and it's getting harder and harder to do that because there are more and more Israelis joining demonstrations-even in that situation, part of the reality is still transmitted. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
Nasser Laham
Maan News, Bethlehem Television
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ Journalists are not the ones who create peace; journalists can talk about peace. Sometimes people ask us to be politicians and to create peace, but we aren't politicians. We can talk about peace and— this is very dangerous—we can speak about war. If we, as journalists, speak of war, that will mean trouble for both Palestinian and Israeli society.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Nasser Laham
Maan News, Bethlehem Television
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ [The Palestinians] hear [about a suicide attack] from all of the Arab and Muslim media, who will tell about a hero, a martyr, who committed suicide in the center of Tel Aviv, and about a triumph over Israeli security. If they listen to my translation, they will hear a story and not figures. They won’t just hear numbers - “Eighteen Israelis were killed in a suicide bombing at the Dolphinarium disco in Tel Aviv” - rather, they will hear that these are people who went dancing, they will hear about this pretty girl, and look at her photo. They’ll get a story and it has an impact. We have a story, and they have a story.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Rutie Atsmon
Windows
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ That same week, the one and only Richard Gere came to the country to mediate between the Israeli Prime Minister and the Palestinian Prime Minister in order to bring peace. We worked so hard to try and reach him and to invite him to our event but we couldn't reach him. All the connections we thought we had with the people who had invited him failed. They obviously weren't interested in him meeting us. We managed to get an answer from Yedioth Ahronoth, which is a very big newspaper and a word from them means exposure. They put it very clearly: if you bring a picture of your kids with Richard Gere, we'll put it in the newspaper. Without him, we aren't interested. "It isn't news," "good news isn't news," "why should people be interested in Palestinians wanting peace or coming to Israel?"” [Source in Complete Interview]
Sami Al Jundi
Seeds of Peace
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Interview Highlights »
“ Our activities are primarily based on building bridges of trust between the Israeli and Palestinian side, and between Islam, Judaism, Christianity and Druze. Our activities aim to provide each side with the opportunity to reflect upon its human and civilized side, a side that isn't seen on TV and in the media. In the media the Palestinians are presented as terrorists and the Israelis as occupiers, soldiers and settlers. The world sees what the media presents, not the human side of the Palestinians; therefore it is the duty of the Palestinian kids that are part of the Palestinian delegation to present the human side that isn't presented by the media. The world should know that Palestinian children are humans with feelings, hopes and dreams. The Israeli side also uses the opportunity to present the civilized sides of Israeli society, sides that aren't presented by the media.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Rutie Atsmon
Windows
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ People need to open their eyes to understand that they don't know everything about each other, and about the situation. People need to understand that what they see in the media is only a very small part of the picture. If they will look for more information, look for the truth about our past and present, they will see different things. When people go through this process and they see the reality from different perspectives, they are already closer to reconciliation, to accepting each other. We just need to reach more people, and quickly.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Shlomi Daskal
The People's Voice, Realistic Religious Zionism
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ The most difficult thing is to convince the Israelis that there is a Palestinian partner. That’s the most difficult thing. They don’t believe it because there’s a problem: The media in Israel airs only negative things, just as I see the Palestinian media covering a lot of negative affairs here. I believe that the Palestinian and Israeli societies are a mirror image of each other and that identical processes are taking place in both societies. They can’t believe there’s an Israeli partner and we can’t believe there’s a Palestinian partner. That’s why convincing them that there’s a Palestinian partner is the most difficult thing.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Adele Zumot
All for Peace Radio
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ When you do something related to peace education, media plays a big role, and this is what I am trying to tell the public. There is media coverage about the number of victims but there is no media coverage about peace education, so this is the most important thing I am trying to do.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Aziz Abu Sarah
Bereaved Families Forum, All For Peace Radio
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ I think it’s very influential to be able to deliver a message - usually, the media is used negatively. They look for the items, the actions, that make people get angry and scream at each other. I went on an Israeli TV show a while ago, and there were five of us together. One of the things we were told was not to wait for the other person to answer, just talk. Don’t wait until someone else stops. If you want, just cut him in the middle of his sentence or stop him. They usually look for things that spur up trouble more than things that promote peace. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
Shlomo Zagman
Realistic Religious Zionism, Mosaica
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ Come and see things for yourself…It isn't that they are seeing lies, but a one-sided approach is what you learn from the media. I can't really complain because this conflict echoes loudly all over the world. Nearly everywhere in the world people who watch television and are media-oriented know what's going on here, more or a less. It might not be true for the nuances or small scale politics, but it's true for the general picture. People are getting a certain picture from a very certain angle and it isn't a good picture. I think people should come and get to know things [here], if they're interested.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Sarah Karajeh
Bereaved Families Forum
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ The Israelis are smart and play the cords of emotion that have won them the support of the world. They also work with the media in a smart way. I hope we learn how to do these things. Our problems and suffering from the occupation are greater than those of the Israelis. I wish we used this in a smart way and had a conscious media that would present the issues in such a way as to have an affect on school children, officials, business men, investors and all the parts of the international audience. God willing we should have a good media.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Rutie Atsmon
Windows
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ I think that one day history will judge the role of media in our time of war, and what an important role it plays in making wars happen. The media lets people believe that wars are possible-- leads them to believe that it is the right solution, and the only solution. People don't know enough about other solutions. But then it will be too late for a lot of people.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Adi Dagan
Coalition of Women for Peace, Machsom Watch
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ […In] general I see that making the Israeli public take an interest in what happens on the Palestinian side isn't working that well…I'm debating the matter. It's undecided. There's another approach that's gaining momentum: showing the effects of the checkpoints and the occupation on soldiers and on the army, showing the extent of the harm to our side. Perhaps this is an effective approach but it doesn't really appeal to me; however I see that it's something the press is always interested in.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Orly Noy
All For Peace Radio
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ You hear this accusation all the time, that the Israeli media is left wing. I know that this is how they would want to see themselves, but it's very far… because the left in Israeli is a kind of an elite, and the media would like to see itself as part of that elite, but it has nothing to do with basic ideas of socialism, or democracy, or truth or justice. It has to do with a social stance, they just like to look at themselves as elite. But the Israeli media really so easily just bring to the people what the army wants them to tell the people, they hardly ever investigate anything. Even the picture that you see if somebody is reporting from Gaza, he is not really inside, he's just standing at the checkpoint and he calls it reporting from Gaza and tells us what the army spokesperson tells him to say.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Adi Dagan
Coalition of Women for Peace, Machsom Watch
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ It's also difficult finding a statement that the Israeli public will be able to relate to. And then there's the constant tension between what we really think - our most profound truths - and what the public can grasp and digest. I think what we lack is strategy, as well as a better connection with the Israeli public. That's a difficult matter because we're a radical organization that is very distant from the consensus. The million dollar question is how to relate-how to influence people and not alienate ourselves-without deterring people. There is the sense of being perceived as an out of touch minority. […] There are people that think that if they simply state their truth then people will say "wow--" they'll faint dead away and say, "Now, why didn't I think of that!?" But things don't work that way. You have to go the route of persuasion, and for that you need to touch upon things that worry people and not things they aren't concerned with. It's a difficult matter, but I think that if we want to work with the Israeli public that's what needs to be done.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Orly Noy
All For Peace Radio
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ I had the funniest experience. A couple of weeks ago Adele asked me if I knew an Israeli settler who speaks Arabic. She really, genuinely wanted to listen to what the other side had to say, which I thought was really commendable, it was really nice of her, because I wouldn't speak with these people on my program, for sure. But she was willing to fairly listen to the other side. So I said, "I'll do it by the book. I'll call the Yesha spokesman, and I'll ask him." This is the craziest person I've spoken with for a very long time. I introduced myself very politely and I said, "I was wondering if maybe you could connect us to somebody from your organization that speaks Arabic and can speak with us." He says, "Are you from a terrorist radio?!" That's what he said. I was shocked, I couldn't speak, and I said, "Do I sound like a terrorist to you?" And he said, "Well, the fact that there are Israelis that cooperate with these terrorists, it's none of my business." And I said, "Okay, get out of my ear." It was so immature.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Orly Noy
All For Peace Radio
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ We thought that we were going to end up alienating both sides if they had to hear both languages at once. If I don't understand Arabic, it will just be annoying to me to hear the sound of a language that I don't understand, and that I also resent somehow. So we thought, let the people just hear one hour in Hebrew, a language they know and understand, and through that, familiarize them with the subjects we want to discuss. But if we mix the two languages together we would end up losing both sides. That was the rationale.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Nasser Laham
Maan News, Bethlehem Television
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ I have a program on television where I translate what the Israelis say, giving people information so they can make up their minds [...] I talk about stories rather than figures. If we replace the numbers with stories, it has a humanizing effect. Instead of saying, “Three Israeli Zionist criminals were killed” etc., I say, “Yossi, a doctor age 28, was on his way from Hebron to Jerusalem and was killed by a Palestinian bullet. He was the father of three and supported peace.” I say that Eyal, a soldier from Haifa, was killed in the Gaza Strip. His mother says, “Enough war. I don’t want him to be a hero, I want him to return!” I want the Palestinian people to think , because we aren't talking about numbers. The Palestinian people are suffering, and the Jewish people have suffered.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Orly Noy
All For Peace Radio
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ I mean, we've been fighting with Palestinians for God knows how many years, can we go and look at their faces, can we accept the fact that they have faces, they have names, they have ages. When a Palestinian is killed, nobody knows his age, nobody knows his name. Nobody even knows how many Palestinians were killed exactly. They say 8, we say 5, somebody else says 10. When Israelis die you know exactly how many. This is a symptom of how much life matters, you know, because the Israeli life matters more so we count them exactly. Each life matters to us.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Majed Tbeileh
Nablus Youth Federation, The Future Generation Hands Committee
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ Today there is awareness about the Palestinian situation around the world. This happened despite the Israeli efforts to limit media coverage to bombings. But I think that those bombings helped the Palestinian people; those didn’t happen out of the blue. The Palestinians have succeeded in influencing the Israelis to the extent that they want to withdraw from the 1967 areas so that the bombings will stop. There are means that we should use as Palestinians. I never reject or condemn the nationalist and military operations or call them terrorism. In fact, it is the opposite. I call these operations heroic because they forced the Israelis to recognize the borders of 1967. This is an issue I am not willing to yield on. I still think that we should hold meetings and dialogue with the Israelis and the rest of the world. This might sound like a contradiction.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Salwa Abu Libdeh
Dialogue On The Road
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ At first I was worried to do this work and to work with an Israeli journalist, because I didn’t want people to think that I was normalizing relations with the Israelis. But I think that anyone could do his work and maintain his personal opinions. I didn’t change who I am or what I believe in, I just did the work. I didn’t humiliate any value or principle, I just went and filmed and did my job. I also delivered my message. I had the freedom to decide what I wanted to cover and what questions I wanted to ask, nothing was imposed on me. However, we were careful not to touch religious issues because it's very sensitive, even though I, as a Muslim, believe in all three religions, Islam, Christianity and Judaism. We just wanted to see the average person on the street. A lot of my friends told me to be careful that the film should not turn out to be about normalization, but I told them that I am working on this film with my own thoughts and beliefs, and I have the right to agree or disagree with the work. Even the management of the television station supported us.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Nasser Laham
Maan News, Bethlehem Television
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ If you are looking for reasons to wage war, you won't find them on my program, nor will you find ideas for short-term strategies. From my show, you will acquire ideas that change you into a responsible person, into a leader.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Adele Zumot
All for Peace Radio
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ Every journalist who wants to be successful will talk about politics, but it is the way he talks about it that either causes him to fail or makes him succeed. We will not go in depth about politics, because all other media are covering it. So, in order for us to be unique and to give the best show to our targeted listeners, we will not go into politics very much. While this is how we work at the station, as a journalist I will not give up on politics--it is the air we breath and the food we eat. We will try in other ways to talk about it--mentally, socially, and psychologically-- in a way that will help both the Palestinian and the Israeli to believe in living together again. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
