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Deepening Understanding

Discover an array of resources below, including films and documentaries, non-fiction books, stories about October 7th and Gaza, fiction books, trusted news sources, podcasts, and impactful social media accounts--all curated to deepen your understanding of Israel, Palestine, and peacebuilding efforts.

Films & Documentaries

Movies and books are excellent mediums for bringing the most incredible stories of human suffering, pain, resilience and hope to you and your community. If you are interested in having conversations that bring together stories of The Holy and the Broken, here is a list of artistic creations that could make for excellent viewing or reading in a monthly Film Club or Book Club.

Netflix: Israeli

  • Image of Victory תמונת הניצחון

  • The Lesson שעת אפס

  • East Side

  • Fauda

  • The Spy

  • When Heroes Fly

  • The Girl from Oslo

  • Hit and Run

  • Never Stop Dreaming - Shimon Peres

  • Beauty Queen of Jerusalem

  • Remember Baghdad

Netflix: Palestinian

  • Image of Victory תמונת הניצחון

  • The Present

  • Farha

  • Salt of this Sea

  • Omar

  • Born in Gaza

  • Pomegranates and myrrh

  • 200 Meters

  • Precious Life

  • A world not ours

  • 3000 nights

  • Mo

AppleTV+

  • Tehran

  • Incitement 

  • Golda

  • Paradise Now

  • Rabin, The Last Day

  • Omar

  • A Tale of Love and Darkness 

HBO

  • Our Boys

  • Oslo

  • Valley of Tears

Books about October 7 and Gaza

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The Gates of Gaza: A Story of Betrayal, Survival, and Hope in Israel's Borderlands by Amir Tibon

​A gripping first-person account of how one Israeli grandfather helped rescue two generations of his family on October 7, 2023. 

In the book, Amir Tibon captures the paradoxical complexity of a society that manages to be tightly knit and bitterly divided at the same time. Since much of the action unfolds in and around Nahal Oz, the kibbutz itself becomes a protagonist in the story. The settlement’s journey from agricultural commune in modern Israel’s earliest days to bloody battleground on 7 October tracks the rise and fall of an idealistic socialist conception of Zionism that is now rarely evoked by that word. In interludes of relative calm, when peace seemed viable, tentative cultural and economic ties were woven across the border with Gaza. The citizens of Nahal Oz were readier than many Israelis to see Palestinians as neighbours, not enemies. At the end of the story, the kibbutz lies abandoned.

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Daybreak in Gaza: Stories of Palestinian Lives and CultureEdited by Mahmoud Muna and Matthew Teller with Juliette Touma and Jayyab Abusafia

Daybreak in Gaza is a record of an extraordinary place and people, and of a culture preserved by the people themselves. Vignettes of artists, acrobats, doctors, students, shopkeepers and teachers offer stories of love, life, loss and survival. They display the wealth of Gaza’s cultural landscape and the breadth of its history.

Daybreak in Gaza humanises the people dismissed as statistics. It stands as a mark of resistance to the destruction and as a testament to the people of Gaza.

Want to dive deeper?

Download my full book list for a carefully curated selection of reads on Israel and Palestine. 

News Sources in English

Reading news from a wide variety of sources is essential to having a broad understanding of current events. These are news outlets from a range of perspectives. 

Israeli Sources:

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972mag.com

Far Left

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jpost.com

Right

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Palestinian Sources:

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aljazeera.com

Qatar Government funded - Islamist perspectives, promoting the Muslim Brotherhood, pro-Sunni and anti-Shia bias

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Secular nationalist -- Pro-Palestinian Authority

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al-shabaka.org

Leftist, Intellectual, Anti-Palestinian Authority

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alquds.com

Most popular newspaper in Jerusalem

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palestinechronicle.com

Diaspora Palestinian Perspective

How to recognize a fake news story

1

Read past the headline

2

Check what news outlet published it

3

Check the publish date and time

4

Who is the author?

5

Look at what links and sources are used

6

Look out for questionable quotes and photos

7

Beware of confirmation bias

8

Search if other news outlets are reporting it

9

Think before you share

Podcasts

For those looking for podcasts with insightful conversations about history, current events and human stories of courage and resilience, I recommend: 

Unholy

Yonit Levi of Channel 12 Israel and Jonathan Freedland of The Guardian are ‘two Jews on the news’. Each week on the podcast, Levi in Tel Aviv and Freedland in London give their take on developments in politics and life in Israel, the US, the UK and around the world. Since they’re Jews, you can expect to hear far more than two opinions at any given time.

Israel Story

The current series, “Wartime Diaries”, tells the story of how everything in this corner of the world changed on Saturday, October 7, 2023. All around us, friends, family, colleagues, people have died. People are missing and kidnapped. Amidst the uncertainty, Israel Story brings you voices and testimonies that paint a picture of these devastating times.

Echad Beyom אחד ביום

Israel’s most listened-to podcast, each 30-minute episode explores one topic dominating the news in Israel each day, taking you behind the scenes to explain everything you need to know to follow the news. The Hebrew podcast is produced by the N12 news channel and features some of the most well-known journalists in Israel.

Jerusalem Unplugged

This is the only podcast dedicated to Jerusalem, its history, and its people. Dr. Roberto Mazza interviews scholars, activists, politicians, artists, journalists, religious men and women, and everybody that in one way or another is connected to Jerusalem. This podcast will bring you closer to the city to understand its complex layout. You will encounter Jerusalem as never before.

PreOccupation: A-Not-So-Brief History of Palestine

This is the only podcast dedicated to Jerusalem, its history, and its people. Dr. Roberto Mazza interviews scholars, activists, politicians, artists, journalists, religious men and women, and everybody that in one way or another is connected to Jerusalem. This podcast will bring you closer to the city to understand its complex layout. You will encounter Jerusalem as never before.

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Stories from Palestine

Listen to lively stories and inspiring interviews about the history and cultural heritage of Palestine and the ongoing Palestinian struggle for justice and equality. 

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Peace Podcasts

Groundwork

This is a podcast about Palestinians and Israelis refusing to accept the status quo and working to change it. Hosted by Sally Abed, Dina Kraft and Noam Shuster Eliassi. 

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Unapologetic Third Narrative

It is time for a new voice to rise concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We are two Palestinian-Israeli Citizens, who are unapologetic about our views, and our vision for a better future for both Israelis and Palestinians. Join us as we record the war going on in Israel and Gaza, as we delve deeply into the roots of the war, and the way forward.

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Instagram accounts promoting peace, equality, and justice for all Israelis and Palestinians

Organizations and Initiatives

Standing Together Movement

A progressive grassroots movement organizing Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel against the occupation and for peace, equality, and social justice.

Follow on Instagram (English)

Follow on Instagram (Hebrew)

Solutions Not Sides

An education programme that exists to provide humanising encounters, diverse narratives and critical-thinking tools in order to empower young people with the knowledge, empathy and skills to promote dialogue and conflict resolution, and to challenge prejudice in the UK.

Follow on Instagram

Hand in Hand Schools

A growing network of bilingual, integrated schools and communities that are building inclusion and equality between Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel. Hand in Hand schools are public schools, recognized and overseen by the Israeli Ministry of Education, and open to all parts of the Arab and Jewish populations in Israel.

Follow on Instagram

The New Israel Fund

The New Israel Fund (NIF) helps Israel live up to its founders’ vision of a society that ensures complete equality to all its inhabitants. Our aim is to advance liberal democracy, including freedom of speech and minority rights, and to fight the inequality, injustice and extremism that diminish Israel.

Follow on Instagram

Breaking the Silence

an organization of veteran soldiers who have served in the Israeli military since the start of the Second Intifada and have taken it upon themselves to expose the public to the reality of everyday life in the Occupied Territories. 

Follow on Instagram (English)

Follow on Instagram (Hebrew)

Peace Now

Under the mission of arriving at peace agreements between Israel and its neighbors, Peace Now currently works to ensure Israelis embrace the only viable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: two states, meaning the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. 

Follow on Instagram (English)

Follow on Instagram (Hebrew)

Combatants for Peace

CFP’s mission is to build the social infrastructure necessary for ending the conflict and the occupation: communities of Palestinians and Israelis working together through non-violent means to promote peace.

Follow on Instagram (English)

Follow on Instagram (Hebrew)

Alliance for Middle East Peace

ALLMEP is a coalition of over 160 organizations—and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and Israelis—building cooperation, justice, equality, shared society, mutual understanding, and peace among their communities.

Follow on Instagram

Interact

An initiative that uses story-telling, art and technology to help people connect across war-torn divides: whether those divides be political, cultural, ethnic, religious, geographic, or socio-economic.

Follow on Instagram

The Parents Circle

a joint Israeli-Palestinian organization of over 700 families, all of whom have lost an immediate family member to the ongoing conflict. Moreover, the PCFF has concluded that the process of reconciliation between nations is a prerequisite to achieving a sustainable peace.

Follow on Instagram

The Abraham Initiatives

a Jewish-Israeli and Palestinian-Israeli organization that advances social inclusion and equal rights for Israel's Palestinian citizens by influencing public policy, shaping public opinion and demonstrating practical models for a shared society.

Follow on Instagram (English)

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