2017 will be an important year for Israel. It marks fifty years since the 1967 Six-Day War, and 100 years since the Balfour Declaration. Many see 2017 as an opportune time to review the past fifty years and lay a foundation for the fifty years ahead.
People generally fall somewhere clear on the love-hate Israel spectrum. But while those who hate Israel – or who love Israel but disagree strongly on policy – often accuse Israel of mistreating civilians in Judea-Samaria/West-Bank, rarely do Israel’s friends and allies respond to those accusations in any way. Instead of addressing the issues head-on, the conversation is shifted to Israel’s hi-tech, agriculture or culinary achievements. By doing so, the real issues on the ground – good, bad, or otherwise – are ignored.
Fifty years later, Judea-Samaria/West-Bank continues to be a hot topic in diplomatic, political, and even cultural forums. Yet we rarely, if ever, see testimony from anyone who actually lives there (Jewish or Arab) when decisions are being made. We believe that every conversation must have equal representation, and that the reality presented to the media is very different than what happens in everyday life here.
Talk17 seeks to change that. We’re bringing to the table a series of presentations about Judea-Samaria/West-Bank and Jerusalem, filmed over the course of 2017. We upload one new presentation each week.
Click below to learn more about the project, or donate now.
