In order to highlight the misconstrued perceptions conveyed through the mainstream media, SHATIL participated in organizing an event entitled, Other Voices from Sderot - "We are not TV Images - We are Real People!" March 18. Over 100 people took part in the evening at the Sderot Cinematheque, held at the initiative of the NGO Other Voices, in cooperation with Eretz Acheret magazine, the Sderot Cinematheque, Sapir College and SHATIL.
Having recognized the desperation and desolation of the community in Sderot, SHATIL has spent the last six months gearing up to begin an intensive community organizing initiative in the town. The project includes outreach and organizing by SHATIL staffer and Sderot resident Yakov Mashiach, who is nurturing residents' interest and abilities in active citizenship and community leadership.
The Cinematheque evening featured a locally made documentary, "Mediterranean Fever," portraying the life of a family enduring the daily rocket attacks and a panel discussion on the role of the media in the Sderot crisis. Journalist and social activist, Orly Noy, stated that in addition to portraying the struggles and hardships Sderot residents endure, the media had a responsibility to examine a range of options to improve the situation - which they do not do. Despite the immense difficulties Sderot residents face, Zohar Avitan of Sapir College reflected a widespread sentiment when he said, "We wake up every morning and run a college attended by 8,000 people, and we are maintaining a lively Cinematheque with 1,200 people. We will not give up. We will continue running this city."
Prior to the evening event, 25 members of the City Youth Council representing local high schools and youth movements, met with Mashiach (himself a former chair of the Youth Council) and SHATIL's Negev-based Social Justice Coordinator, Shira Eytan to prepare for a public hearing SHATIL will hold Sderot in May. The young people discussed the nature of public hearings, their potential impact and held a simulation of a public hearing.
In addition, on March 6, a ceremony in Sderot's city hall launched "A Year of Good Deeds and Mercy," initiated by the NGO, Korat Gag V'hagana (A Roof over One's Head) with the help of SHATIL and the New Israel Fund. The project will include festivals, plays, exhibitions, sports competitions and auctions with the goal of supporting and strengthening the population of Sderot. SHATIL's Yakov Mashiach spoke about the planned public hearing and Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal said the fact that social organizations have come to Sderot to support the residents is "moving and heart-warming."
In the near future, SHATIL will host a town hall meeting to enable the citizens of Sderot to express themselves and to enlarge the group of activists and volunteers that has begun working. Groups of activists and teenagers organized and guided by SHATIL are meeting on an ongoing basis as part of the intensive preparations for the public hearing, which will be based on our model of post-war public hearings in the North held last year. SHATIL's advocacy and public relations consultants are closely involved in the project, instructing volunteers in communicating their messages effectively and gaining the attention of local and national media outlets.
The event was widely covered by local and national media.
This coming Wednesday, SHATIL Director, Rachel Liel, will speak on national radio with Sderot residents on the relationship between civil society in the periphery and the center. The broadcast is part of the 2008 Sapir Conference in Sderot, co-sponsored by SHATIL.
| Attachment | גודל |
|---|---|
| shatil_news_sderot.jpg | 122.06 קילו-בית |
