Arab Mainstreaming: Meeting and Training Arab and Jewish Journalists

In the course of 2023, Zulat will hold a training program for journalists on the subject: “Arab Mainstreaming in the Israeli Media – Jewish and Arab Media Persons Promote Coexistence.

The Objective

The ultimate objective of Arab mainstreaming (similar to gender mainstreaming) is to promote equality by incorporating content pertaining to the needs of Arab Israeli citizens into the Israeli mainstream media. From this objective follow three complementary goals:


1. Promote the mainstreaming of the Arab public in the Israeli media in an effort to balance coverage and increase the representation of Arab journalists, their worldviews and life experiences.

2. Promote a shared civil society through a dialogue between Jewish and Arab media persons in order to get acquainted with “the other,” become familiar with their narrative, and be able to reflect it.

3. Make a positive impact on the public discourse by amplifying messages and language in the media that embody concepts of equality and civil rights. The program will also monitor the media for content, messages, and representation of various subgroups in Israeli society in an effort to raise awareness and bring about positive change in this area.

The Participants

Twenty-four female and male journalists from leading media outlets in Hebrew (Haaretz, N12, Globes, The Marker, Israel Hayom, Yediot Aharonot, Kan, Liberal) and in Arabic (Kul al-Arab, Kan, Musawa TV, Al-Ittihad, Al-Ain.net, Bukja.net).

The Methodology

The meetings will consist of discussions and working groups, alongside lectures by senior journalists and experts in various disciplines.

The Instructors

The sessions will be co-anchored by a Palestinian and a Jewish instructor.


Abeer Halabi holds a master’s degree in social work focusing on gender studies from Tel Aviv University, and is a group lead and social activist in such areas as gender, equal opportunities, social cohesion, and transformational leadership. She was director of New Israel Fund-Shatil’s Shared Society program in 2017-2020.


Dr. Nava Sonnenschein is one of the founders of the Arab-Jewish community Neve Shalom. In 1979 she founded School for Peace and served as its principal alternating with Arab principals. She is a lecturer on Jewish-Palestinian dialogue at Tel Aviv University. Her book, The Power of Dialogue, was published in 2019.

Meeting No. 1: Tel Aviv, 14 April 2023

The participants got acquainted with the content of the course and its goals, and with the dialogue format and methodology. They met with Zulat President Zehava Galon and Executive Director Einat Ovadia.

 

Meeting No. 2: Tel Aviv, 5 May 2023

Binational and mononational discussions, with a focus on media coverage of violence in Arab society. A lecture by Prof. Daniel Dor, who specializes in mass media and political hegemony, on ways to change the discourse.

Meeting No. 3: Nazareth, 9 June 2023

A tour of the Nasradio arabic radio station , a conversation with CEO Firas Hativ. and a lecture by Prof. Amal Jamal.

Meeting No. 4: Tel Aviv, 21 July 2023

A meeting with Zulat President, Zehava Galon and work in discussion groups.

Meeting No. 5: Tel Aviv, 18 August 2023

A panel moderated by journalist and training participant Hanin Majadli with journalists Holud Masalha, Benny Rabinovitch and Tal Schneider on representations of ultra-Orthodox, Arabs and women in the media.

Meeting No. 6: Tel Aviv, 8 September 2023

A lecture by Dr. Lina Delasha on the subject of the Nakba.

Meeting No. 7: 27 October 2023, ZOOM

In the aftermath of the massacre in the south; and the war in Gaza, the participants met online to ventilate thoughts, share feelings and work together in groups.

Meeting No. 8: 10 November 2023, ZOOM

While the war in Gaza goes on, as is the  incitement against the Arab public;  the journalist Jackie Khoury was hosted in a Zoom meeting with the participants of the program, and spoke about the difficulties the press faces during this period.

Meeting No. 9: Tel Aviv, 29 December 2023

The Arab & jewish journalists met for the last session of the training. They worked in groups, and recieved certificates of completion. The training participants expressed a desire to stay in touch and keep the joint WhatsApp group active.

Zulat’s training of Jewish and Arab journalists was the only one of its kind that operated during the war.
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Dr. Maha Sabbah Karkabi

 

Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Tel Aviv University (2015), a postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Gender Studies, SOAS, University of London (2015-2016), a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Sociology at Tel Aviv University (2016-2017), and a postdoctoral fellowship Ph.D. at the Humphrey Institute for Social Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (2018-2020).
Dr. Maha Karbahi’s areas of interest focus on the connection between social change, family behavior, and gender inequality in societies in the process of change and specifically in Palestinian Arab society in Israel. Her research draws attention to the study of family life and employment, using a combined “ethnic lens” and “gender lens” and paying attention to the perspective of Palestinian Arab women, a group characterized by intersections between multiple marginal locations, which over the years has remained hidden from the research eye. Dr. Karkabi-Sabah’s research is published in professional journals and chapters in scientific books that are considered pioneers in family research, work, and gender equality.

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Prof. Frances Raday

Professor Emeritus in the Lieberman Chair in Labor Law, in the Faculty of Law at the Hebrew University and serves as a full professor in the College of Management’s academic track, where she also serves as chair of the graduate program and as honorary president of the Concord Center for International Law Absorption. Radai was a member of a working group of the UN Human Rights Council on discrimination against women. In addition, she is a prominent and feminist human rights activist.

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Dr. Rawia Aburabia 

Faculty member of Sapir Academic College’s School of Law, received her PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her research deals with the interface between law, gender, minorities, and human rights. Has published in leading journals on the subject of the matrimonial laws pertaining to Muslim women in Israel. Her book Under the Law, Outside Justice: Polygamy, Gendered Citizenship, and Colonialism in Israeli Law is expected to be published as part of the Gender Series of Kibbutz Meuhad Publishing House.

Dr. Aburabia has extensive experience in international human rights and public law. She has worked as a jurist for the Association for Civil Right and has been invited as a specialist to address such international forums as the United Nations and the European Parliament on the subject of indigenous communities and minority rights. She has interned with Human Rights Watch in Washington DC, and has been a member of the executive board of Amnesty International. In 2018, she was selected by the magazine Globes as one of the 40 most promising young persons in Israel under the age of 40.

 

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Ron Kessler

With over two decades of experience in the field of digital content, Ron has participated in numerous political and social campaigns. He helped run the digital activity of senior public officials, and worked in various NGOs. Ron is a fundamentally optimistic man, who believes that Israel can be changed and so can people. Lives in Tel Aviv.