20 Years Photobook

Dear Friends,

This year, Just Vision is commemorating 20 years of strategic and dynamic work filling a media gap on IsraelPalestine. It is a bittersweet year to honor our community, reflect on our accomplishments and build toward the future, for reasons that are all too clear. Our hearts are deeply grieved by the unimaginable reality on the ground in Gaza today, and we feel the immense pain and suffering of the communities we have worked so closely with over the past two decades – many who are grieving the loss of innocent loved ones – in Israel, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and beyond. Yet our team remains resolute, anchored in purpose, guided by the values that serve as our north star and rooted in our community.

Some in our community have been engaged with this work since the very beginning; others are newer to the mix. But our origins continue to guide us as we learn and grow. In 2001, during another period of deep turmoil in Israel-Palestine, Just Vision’s founder, Ronit Avni, interviewed hundreds of human rights defenders, nonviolent activists and community organizers in the region to learn from their successes and challenges and support their efforts. Without exception, they articulated a troubling reality: despite their work, they were largely invisible, both in their own communities and around the world. Equally troubling, the context within which they worked was misunderstood and often inaccurately portrayed. Just Vision emerged to amplify their efforts and ensure that the context in which they operated was made clear. And so, in the fall of 2003, a group of people gathered in a small Chelsea art gallery to mark the launch of Just Vision.

From the start, our team had an ambitious and strategic goal: to research, document and disseminate the work of Palestinians and Israelis working to end the occupation and build a future of freedom, dignity and equality for everyone in the region. Always rooted in the power of storytelling, our body of work has grown and evolved as we learn from those struggling for a just and rights-respecting future in the region. Our award-winning documentaries are a throughline, inspiring and activating audiences, but the themes we tackle and the courageous activists we

spotlight continuously expand to meet the challenges of the time. Our uncompromising journalism is shifting narratives in real-time, not only in Israel-Palestine, but in the United States and internationally as well. And whether they hail from Gaza or Texas, Tel-Aviv or Arizona, the voices of dissent we spotlight remind audiences that we are all connected in our shared struggles for justice. Above all else, we’re building high-impact platforms for voices of conscience, in Israel, Palestine, the U.S. and beyond, so that audiences the world over pay attention to the stories that matter.

From our first editing studio in Sheikh Jarrah to a resolute team that spans continents, our ever-widening footprint crosses time zones, cultures and political divides. Especially during these times, it’s meaningful to be sharing this photobook with you – a small commemoration of the journey we’ve shared and the vision we’ve built together.

Throughout it all, we’ve been graced with the loving support, reflections and shining inspiration of our community – champions, allies, activists, supporters and partners like you – and we couldn’t be more grateful as we take stock of our accomplishments and pour our hearts into the work ahead in this defining chapter.

With deep gratitude and appreciation,

Suhad Babaa, Executive Director & President

Nahanni Rous filming activist Sami Al Jundi

Big Ambitions

In 2003, we began the work of addressing a problem: despite ample coverage of Israel-Palestine, dominant narratives rendered Palestinian and Israeli grassroots leaders largely invisible, both in their own communities and around the world.

The founding team: Ronit Avni, Nahanni Rous and Joline Makhlouf Rukab

TOP LEFT: Nahanni Rous and Ronit Avni with the late Leda Dederich BOTTOM LEFT: Encounter Point co-producer Mickey Elkeles with Ronit Avni

RIGHT : Ronit Avni with videographer Labib Jazmawi

Joline, Ronit and Nahanni with Julia Bacha after she joins the team in 2004, outside the Brooklyn home office

The team hard at work from basement apartments to friends’ homes, setting up the editing studio, interviewing activists and putting finishing touches on Encounter Point

WIDENING

The Lens

Early in our founding, we took on the task of interviewing hundreds of Palestinian and Israeli grassroots leaders to make their stories digitally available in Arabic, Hebrew and English on our website, forming the first multilingual database for researchers, activists, students and communities wanting to know more about the experiences and strategies of those at the grassroots. Some of those interviews formed the backbone of our first feature-length documentary, Encounter Point, a film about the courage it takes to overcome grief and anger and struggle nonviolently for peace and justice. With our first international film launch and public engagement campaign, we took our mission to scale, redirecting attention to courageous grassroots activists and community organizers at the frontlines who would otherwise be ignored.

In memoriam: Amal Qassem, a tireless activist from Sheikh Jarrah profiled in Home Front, our series of documentary shorts

The Just Vision team at the world premiere of Encounter Point at the Tribeca Film Festival

Our first public engagement campaign, with screenings and events around Encounter Point across Israeli, Palestinian, American and international communities

SPOTLIGHTING Courage and Resilience

As we toured the world with Encounter Point, we began to film what would become our award-winning film Budrus. The documentary follows Ayed and Iltezam Morrar as they lead an unarmed struggle against the separation barrier threatening their village of Budrus, uniting people across gender, generation, faction and national identity. Soon after, we set out to tell the story of the struggle against the eviction of the El Kurd family in East Jerusalem with our first documentary short, My Neighbourhood, and a series of video profiles of Jerusalemite activists through Home Front. We then began work on what would eventually become Naila and the Uprising, which documented the incredible courage and determination of the women leaders of the First Intifada. The films moved beyond sensational headlines and amplified voices of dissent at the frontlines – Palestinians leading the charge for dignity and equality on the ground joined by Israelis and internationals committed to struggling alongside them.

Throughout the years, we’ve also partnered with artists, filmmakers and organizers on projects like The Wanted 18, There is a Field and Remembering the Gaza War, helping to spotlight stories about creative resistance, shared struggles and unyielding steadfastness to communities around the world.

In the green room before the

LEFT PAGE

The US premiere of Budrus at the Tribeca Film Festival

TOP RIGHT

Budrus US premiere

BOTTOM RIGHT

Julia Bacha and Ayed Morrar in conversation with Christiane Amanpour around the release of Budrus

Mohammed El Kurd, protagonist of My Neighbourhood, outside his home in Sheikh Jarrah

TOP LEFT

The late Rifkah El Kurd, My Neighbourhood protagonist, at a protest in Sheikh Jarrah

BOTTOM LEFT

Mohammed El Kurd addressing the European Parliament after a screening of My Neighbourhood

TOP RIGHT

Zvi and Sara Benninga join protestors in Sheikh Jarrah during the filming of My Neighbourhood Photo by Pat Westwater-Jong

BOTTOM RIGHT

Executive Producer Jean Garner with Julia Bacha, Ronit Avni and Rebekah Wingert-Jabi accepting a Peabody Award for My Neighbourhood

LEFT PAGE

Director of Photography, Talal Jabari, filming for Naila and the Uprising

TOP

Julia Bacha and Naila Ayesh at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in London

BOTTOM LEFT

Filming for Naila and the Uprising

BOTTOM RIGHT

The Gaza production teamMohammed Abu Safia, Fadi Abu Shammalah and Jen Marlowe at the Gaza premiere of Naila and the Uprising

Based on our award-winning film, the Budrus graphic novel tells the story of the unarmed struggle in the village through the eyes of 15-year-old Iltezam Morrar. We’ve shared the graphic novel with thousands of youth across Palestine, lifting up inspiring role models for the next generation.

Engaging Generations

We’ve made working with the rising generation central to our outreach efforts across the globe. Whether amplifying the stories of Israeli conscientious objectors, sharing the Budrus graphic novel with thousands of Palestinian youth across the West Bank, screening Naila and the Uprising with students across Gaza or running education and community campaigns with our films throughout US college campuses, we’re reaching and inspiring the next generation.

Budrus graphic novel launch with the community in Budrus in 2013

Videographer Mohammed Abu Safia filming for Naila and the Uprising in Gaza

ABOVE: Sharing the Budrus graphic novel in the public school system throughout the West Bank TOP RIGHT: Fadi Abu Shammalah after a screening of Naila and the Uprising in Rafah City MIDDLE RIGHT: Rula Salameh after a community event in Beit Fajjar BOTTOM RIGHT: A workshop with the We Are Not Numbers Collective in Gaza

Journalism at the Frontlines

In 2014, after a two-year audit of the Israeli media landscape, we launched Local Call – a Hebrew-language news site advancing citizen journalism and independent media. Co-founded with 972 Advancement of Citizen Journalism and Activestills, Local Call offers unique coverage, fresh analysis and hard-hitting investigative reporting on pressing human and civil rights issues facing diverse communities in the region.

“Local Call is my favorite competition.”

AMIRA HASS, HA’ARETZ

"Local Call is an important outlet that covers all of our activities [...] and recognizes us as human rights defenders.”

ABDALLAH ABU RAHMAH, BIL’IN ACTIVIST

“Local Call is in fact my home page. This is what I read with my morning coffee.”

KHALED JABAREEN, JAFFA ACTIVIST

“[Local Call]’s work is based on a deep and unapologetic progressive worldview, and on understanding that without bravely facing the hardest and most essential dilemmas about our life here, there is no chance for repair.”

MICHAEL SFARD, HUMAN RIGHTS ATTORNEY

LEFT PAGE: Suhad Babaa and Yali Marom at the premiere of Naila and the Uprising in Jaffa TOP LEFT: Oren Ziv and Haggai Matar reporting from the West Bank BOTTOM LEFT: Local Call co-editors Meron Rapoport, Yonit Mozes and Orly Noy with co-director Haggai Matar RIGHT: Local Call Co-directors Haggai Matar and Suhad Babaa speak with parliamentarian Ayman Odeh

Correcting Misleading Narratives

IN REAL TIME

Our on-the-ground reporting means we’re often correcting police or government narratives that mislead or misrepresent facts, holding the powerful to account and giving broad audiences the opportunity to hear directly from those most affected by injustices.

POLICE

NARRATIVE MAINSTREAM UNCOVERS EVIDENCE LOCAL CALL

Israeli police and government officials were quick to dub the incident a terrorist attack and associate al-Qian with ISIS –a narrative that was swiftly picked up and spread by mainstream media outlets.

Upon further investigation and collaboration with Forensic Architecture, an independent agency that specializes in forensic video analysis, Local Call uncovered evidence that firmly undermined the official record of events. 2 4

BRUTALITY 1 3 5

On January 18, 2017, a schoolteacher and Umm al-Hiran resident, Yaqub Musa Abu al-Qian, was shot by the Israeli police while driving, subsequently losing control of his car and running over police officer Erez Levi. Tragically, both were killed in the incident.

As Local Call was the only news outlet covering the early morning home demolitions that day, we were able to conduct on-site interviews and publish the first eyewitness testimony and video that starkly contested the police’s official statements. TESTIMONY

180° SHIFT

IN THE PUBLIC NARRATIVE

Mainstream outlets were forced to correct the false and unsubstantiated version of events, ultimately pressuring Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan to walk back his initial assessment of the event as a terrorist attack.

Hard-Hitting Investigations

Since 2014, our reporters have produced in-depth investigations that pierce the armor of government and army impunity in Israel. From our "License to Kill" series to attacks on voices of dissent to breaking investigations about the Israeli army’s conduct in Gaza, our reporting has ripple effects in the mainstream press landscape that demand accountability and shift the conversation in critical ways.

How Israel Calculates its Wanton Bombing of Gaza

BY YUVAL ABRAHAM

YUVAL ABRAHAM Investigative Journalist, Local Call

License

teens

BY JOHN BROWN AND NOAM ROTEM

Highlighting Women's Leadership

Throughout our years, we’ve made sure that women at the frontlines of civil resistance are neither ignored in real-time nor overlooked by history. Whether connecting generations through the story of Iltezam Morrar, the young heroine of Budrus, ensuring women’s voices are captured and amplified in the media through Local Call or amplifying the legacies and lessons learned of the women leaders of the First Intifada, we’re ensuring that audiences understand the vital role that women play in movement-building and leadership.

LEFT PAGE: Julia Bacha together with moderator Alicia Menendez, series producer Abigail Disney, Nobel Laureate Leymah Gbowee and filmmakers Eimhear O’Neill, Gini Reticker and Geeta Gandbhir at the Women, War & Peace II launch LEFT: Protagonist Naila Ayesh at the world premiere of Naila and the Uprising at DOC NYC in 2017 MIDDLE: Boycott protagonist Bahia Amawi after defending her court case TOP RIGHT: Suhad Babaa speaking at our Neuroscience of Storytelling event in New York City BOTTOM RIGHT: Orly Noy accepting the Dror Prize for Local Call’s coverage of gender-based violence in Israel

In memoriam: Activist and Naila and the Uprising protagonist Azza Al-Kafarneh speaking at the film’s Gaza premiere.

Reaching Communities ON THE GROUND

From Gaza to Al-Walajeh, Budrus to Jaffa, Jerusalem to Haifa, we reach Palestinian and Israeli communities from every corner of the region, sharing stories, strategies and role models to catalyze conversation and inspire action.

LEFT PAGE: Rula Salameh speaking with strawberry farmers outside Tulkarem TOP: The Palestinian premiere of Naila and the Uprising in Ramallah BOTTOM LEFT: The We Are Not Numbers Collective in Gaza at a training facilitated by Jen Marlowe BOTTOM RIGHT: Suhad Babaa and Haggai Matar at the premiere of Naila and the Uprising in Jaffa

LEFT PAGE: Yali Marom and Suhad Babaa launch Naila and the Uprising in Jaffa TOP LEFT: With organizers in Sheikh Jarrah. Photo by Pat Westwater-Jong BOTTOM LEFT: Screening and discussion of Naila and the Uprising in Nahleen RIGHT: Iltezam Morrar and Emma Alpert at the Morrar family garden in Budrus

HOLDING UP

A Media Megaphone

When the mainstream media ignores or sidelines the communities most directly impacted by inequality and injustice in the region, we’re there to fill in the gaps, redirecting attention to those organizing from the ground up.

Jen Marlowe and Fadi Abu Shammalah June 12, 2018

By Julia Bacha Apr 11, 2013

Why

I March in Gaza

By Fadi Abu Shammalah Apr 27, 2018

December 9, 2017

July 9, 2014

Haggai Matar on Israel’s Channel 10 news program London & Kirschenbaum for the launch of Naila and the Uprising on Local Call

By Suhad Babaa

By Rula Salameh

Reshaping Narratives

TO DRIVE LASTING CHANGE

Throughout the years we’ve drawn attention to courageous Palestinian and Israeli organizers and activists through engagements from the UN Headquarters to the Obama White House to the TED stage. Our hard-hitting and uncompromising journalism, whether through Local Call, Ma’an News or our press engagements in the international media, is disrupting how people understand the humanity and context of Israel-Palestine. And our far-reaching public engagement campaigns are educating, informing and inspiring.

Julia Bacha at the 2016 TEDSummit

*Based on research conducted by StrategyOne, which analyzed all English-language media coverage relating to the village of Budrus before and after the film’s release

LEFT: World premiere of Naila and the Uprising at DOC NYC in 2017

TOP RIGHT: Billboard in Tel Aviv for the live streaming of Naila and the Uprising on Local Call BOTTOM RIGHT: The Gaza premiere of Naila and the Uprising

LEFT PAGE: The Just Vision team accepting the Peabody Award for My Neighbourhood TOP LEFT: Suhad Babaa and Jamie Dobie at the United States Institute of Peace TOP RIGHT: Ronit Avni and former board co-chair Rebecca Abou-Chedid in conversation at the Obama White House BOTTOM: Naila and the Uprising screening at the opening night of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in London

LEFT PAGE: Julia Bacha and Jessica Devaney receiving the Doc Society Creative Impact Award for Budrus from the late Jess Search TOP: Rula Salameh, Julia Bacha and Zahira Kamal speak at the United Nations on International Women’s Day RIGHT: Bahia Amawi accepting the Lives of Commitment Award at Auburn Seminary

PROTECTING OUR RIGHT TO

Voice Dissent

For the past 20 years, Just Vision has elevated voices of dissent on Israel-Palestine. As the movement for equity and justice in the region grows, so too do efforts to silence advocates, journalists, organizers and activists – in Israel, Palestine, the United States and beyond. That’s why we created Boycott. Our latest documentary covers the story of everyday Americans pushing back against anti-boycott legislation that punishes those advocating for Palestinian rights, as well as those working on a range of other issues, from environmental and racial justice to trans rights, gun safety and more. As we travel the globe with the film, we’re connecting the dots between struggles and creating space for a conversation about authoritarian efforts to silence voices of dissent and the many ways that organizers and activists – at such a critical time –are pushing back.

LEFT PAGE

Boycott protagonist Bahia Amawi protesting in Austin, Texas

LEFT

Boycott protagonists Mik and Laiken Jordahl at the ArizonaMexico border

TOP RIGHT

Julia Bacha and Director of Photography, Amber Fares, interviewing Alan Leveritt in Arkansas

BOTTOM RIGHT

The Boycott crew interviewing the ACLU’s Brian Hauss and Ben Wizner

The Just Vision team and Boycott protagonists, Bahia Amawi, Alan Leveritt and Mik Jordahl, at SXSW

LEFT: Suhad Babaa, Bahia Amawi and Julia Bacha at the world premiere of Boycott at DOC NYC TOP RIGHT : Suhad Babaa and Mik Jordahl at the Sedona International Film Festival BOTTOM : Bahia Amawi accepts the Lives of Commitment Award at Auburn Seminary, with members of the Just Vision team and board

TOP

tracker, just two of the resources we developed for broad audiences to explore the impact of anti-boycott legislation

A SPECIAL THANKS TO THE JUST VISION TEAM, BOARD AND ADVISORS OVER THE YEARS

Team and Board OVER THE YEARS

JUST VISION TEAM OVER THE YEARS

Yuval Abraham

Muntaha Abu Dayyeh

Fadi Abu Shammalah

Basel Adra

Emma Alpert

Layla Attia

Ronit Avni

Suhad Babaa

Julia Bacha

Shiri Barr

Hannah Bossert

Glenda Cognevich

Will Colan

Lydia Dallett

Jessica Devaney

Isabella Dominique

Leora Gal

Alix Gerz

Nadav Greenberg

Haithem Hammad

Ana Heeren

Sarah Hopkins

Anat Langer-Gal

Hannah Lawrence

Hannah Losman

Kaite Lower

Joline Makhlouf Rukab

Jen Marlowe

Yali Marom

Haggai Matar

Lisa Michener

Yonit Mozes

Izzedine Mustafa

Eva Najjar

Irene Nasser

Daniel Nerenberg

Orly Noy

Nicholas Peterson

Mariem Qamruzzaman

Meron Rapoport

Ari Remez

Amir Rotem

Megan Rolfe

Moriel Rothman-Zecher

Anya Rous

Nahanni Rous

Jordana Rubenstein-Edberg

Rula Salameh

Emily Schroder

Kate Schwartz

Adam Sitte

Matt Sokolowski

Julianna Takacs

Ruth Turaew

Guy Yadin Evron

Rami Younis

Lisa Zbar

Oren Ziv

JUST VISION BOARD OVER THE YEARS ADVISORY COUNCIL

Dorothy Abbott

Bradley Abelow

Rebecca Abou-Chedid

Jennifer Atala

Ronit Avni

Edward Ayoob

Suhad Babaa

Sam Bahour

Mary Ellen Bennett

Mickey Bergman

Ravida Din

Allison Fine

Ruth Flicker

Eleanor Friedman

Deirdre Hegarty

Michael Hirschhorn

Deborah Kanafani

Anna Lefer Khun

Stuart Levi

Wissam Nasr

Jehane Noujaim

Ariadne Papagapitos

The late Joan Platt

Julia Pimsleur

Janice Rous

Christopher Schroeder

Haroon Sugich

Hanan Watson

Nadia Z. Ismail

Ahmad Zuaiter

Dr. Mohammed Abu-Nimer

Deanna Armbruster

Gillian Caldwell

Sandi Dubowski

Hanna Elias

Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater

Judith Helfand

Ned Lazarus

Rachel Liel

Sami Michael

Wissam Nasr

Emad Omar

Abderrahim (Rahim) Sabir

Lucas Welch

Marieke Van Woerkom

Countless talented photographers have helped document the Just Vision story in these pages. Many thanks to those whose names we could not locate, and to those we could, including: Eileen Barroso, Leda Dederich, Tatyana Gitlits, Ben Kelmer, Esperanza Moreno, Maike Schulz, Emily Smith and Oren Ziv.

A special thank you to the many talented cinematographers, editors, producers, animators, musicians, sound technicians, graphic designers and more who helped bring our films to life.

Just Vision fills a media gap on Israel-Palestine through independent storytelling and strategic audience engagement. justvision.org