Human Rights & Democracy
Bringing the Conversation About Gaza into the Israeli Mainstream
Ron Gerlitz, the CEO of NIF grantee, the aChord Center, recently appeared on a popular Israeli podcast called “HaKoteret,” or “The Headline,” to discuss some of the more troubling findings of a recent aChord poll. During the twenty-minute podcast, Gerlitz talked through the fact that a significant portion of Israelis say they believe that there is no distinction between Hamas terrorists and ordinary Palestinian civilians living in Gaza. There are, in other words, “no innocents” in Gaza.
He went on to criticize the Israeli media for what he described as self-censorship in their reporting on the war. By failing to report the full extent of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza—by not showing images of starving, injured, or bereaved civilians, for example—the media, Gerlitz said, has created an information vacuum that allows for the perpetuation of harmful, reductive, and ultimately dehumanizing notions about Palestinians.
“This dehumanizing rhetoric is not only morally problematic,” Gerlitz said, “but it also fuels further violence and obstructs any possibility of a peaceful resolution.” “The Headline” is a broadcast of one of Israel’s most popular mainstream news outlets, Ynet News and reaches a broad audience. We are proud to support organizations like aChord that are, at this crucial moment, bringing difficult conversations into the mainstream, challenging harmful narratives, amplifying the voices of those working for peace and equality, and ensuring that key information reaches the broadest possible audience.
aChord is a unique hybrid of an academic polling center and a social change organization based out of the Hebrew University that develops messaging for activists and organizations working to build a more equal future for all.
