Facts & Perspectives

We believe in providing people with a balance of facts and perspectives presented from several points of view to pop the media bubbles we live in.
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Lava
Two cultures and people existing in one place that has a history of conflict.

Timeline


Context

  • The Israeli–Palestinian conflict (Arabic: النزاع الفلسطيني - الإسرائيلي‎‎ al-Niza'a al'Filastini al 'Israili; Hebrew: הסכסוך הישראלי-פלסטיני‎‎ Ha'Sikhsukh Ha'Yisraeli-Falestini) is the ongoing struggle between Israelis and Palestinians that began in the mid-20th century.
  • The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is sometimes also used in reference to the earlier sectarian conflict in Mandatory Palestine, between the Jewish yishuv and the Arab population under British rule.
  • It has been referred to as the world's "most intractable conflict", with the ongoing occupation of Palestine reaching 49 years.
  • Despite a long-term peace process and the general reconciliation of Israel with Egypt and Jordan, Israelis and Palestinians have failed to reach a final peace agreement.
  • The remaining key issues are: mutual recognition, borders, security, water rights, control of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements,[11] Palestinian freedom of movement,[12] and Palestinian right of return.
  • The violence of the conflict, in a region rich in sites of historic, cultural and religious interest worldwide, has been the object of numerous international conferences dealing with historic rights, security issues and human rights, and has been a factor hampering tourism in and general access to areas that are hotly contested.
  • Many attempts have been made to broker a two-state solution, involving the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel (after Israel's establishment in 1948).
  • In 2007, the majority of both Israelis and Palestinians, according to a number of polls, preferred the two-state solution over any other solution as a means of resolving the conflict.
  • Moreover, a majority of Jews see the Palestinians' demand for an independent state as just, and thinks Israel can agree to the establishment of such a state. The majority of Palestinians and Israelis in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have expressed a preference for a two-state solution.
  • Mutual distrust and significant disagreements are deep over basic issues, as is the reciprocal scepticism about the other side's commitment to upholding obligations in an eventual agreement.
  • Within Israeli and Palestinian society, the conflict generates a wide variety of views and opinions. This highlights the deep divisions which exist not only between Israelis and Palestinians, but also within each society.
  • A hallmark of the conflict has been the level of violence witnessed for virtually its entire duration. Fighting has been conducted by regular armies, paramilitary groups, terror cells, and individuals.
  • Casualties have not been restricted to the military, with a large number of fatalities in civilian population on both sides. There are prominent international actors involved in the conflict.
  • The two parties engaged in direct negotiation are the Israeli government, currently led by Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), currently headed by Mahmoud Abbas.
  • The official negotiations are mediated by an international contingent known as the Quartet on the Middle East (the Quartet) represented by a special envoy, that consists of the United States, Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations.
  • The Arab League is another important actor, which has proposed an alternative peace plan. Egypt, a founding member of the Arab League, has historically been a key participant.
  • Since 2006, the Palestinian side has been fractured by conflict between the two major factions: Fatah, the traditionally dominant party, and its later electoral challenger, Hamas. After Hamas's electoral victory in 2006, the Quartet conditioned future foreign assistance to the Palestinian National Authority (PA) on the future government's commitment to non-violence, recognition of the State of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements.
  • Hamas rejected these demands,[19] which resulted in the Quartet's suspension of its foreign assistance program, and the imposition of economic sanctions by the Israelis. A year later, following Hamas's seizure of power in the Gaza Strip in June 2007, the territory officially recognized as the PA was split between Fatah in the West Bank, and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
  • The division of governance between the parties had effectively resulted in the collapse of bipartisan governance of the PA. However, in 2014, a Palestinian Unity Government, composed of both Fatah and Hamas, was formed. The latest round of peace negotiations began in July 2013 and was suspended in 2014.

Perspectives

Jana Jihad

I am 10 years old and am a local journalist in Palestine. I decided to become a journalist because I saw that there were many horrible things happening here at home that were not being covered in the media, like my friend Mustafa getting murdered, so I decided to cover them myself.

Shlomi Eldar

I am a columnist for Al-Monitor’s Israel Pulse. For the past two decades, I’ve covered stories on the Palestinian Authority and especially the Gaza Strip for Israel’s Channels 1 and 10, reporting on the emergence of Hamas.

Yael Marom

I report on the stories of the oppressed activists in the Occupied West Bank. Too many abuses on behalf of Israeli forces are not covered by the media, so I do my best to cover them on my blog.

Dusty

I cover the injustices and antisemitism that the people of Israel suffer with no coverage due to the rising anti-Israeli public opinions. I remain anonymous because of personal fears for having this stance.

Janna Jihad

A 10-year-old reporter in Palestine.

June 20th, 2016 - AJ+ (Al Jazeera) did a story on me! Thank you for giving me a more international voice.


July 20th, 2016 - Muhyiddin Tabackhe child, 9 years old in the fourth grade, lives in Al-Ram, near Jerusalem, next to the Apartheid Wall, Israeli soldiers shot rubber bullets to kill him as he was going to buy bread for his family.
We need to be more nuanced with the way we consume media and propaganda!
July 5th, 2016 - We wakeup at morning while the Israeli army invades the village and shot live bullets targeting the people and shot teargas targeting our house

Shlomi Eldar

I am a columnist for Al-Monitor’s Israel Pulse. For the past two decades, I’ve covered stories on the Palestinian Authority and especially the Gaza Strip for Israel’s Channels 1 and 10, reporting on the emergence of Hamas. In 2007, I was awarded the Sokolov Prize, Israel’s most important media award, for this work. On Twitter: @shlomieldar

Yael Maron

I report on the stories of the oppressed activists in the Occupied West Bank. Too many abuses on behalf of Israeli forces are not covered by the media, so I do my best to cover them on my blog.

Dusty

I cover the injustices and antisemitism that the people of Israel suffer with no coverage due to the rising anti-Israeli public opinions. I am terrified that history will be repeated for the Jewish people, so it’s my mission to get their stories out there. I remain anonymous because of personal fears for having this stance.

Road
To solve the housing crisis in San Francisco, we need to add 50% more housing or fire half the people who work in the city.

Timeline


Context

  • A trend in urban neighborhoods, which results in increased property values and the displacing of lower-income families and small businesses.
  • Cities are becoming more attractive than suburbs and this change is pushing out those who used to live inexpensively in cities
  • For many years, the Mission has been the battleground for protests over evictions, tech shuttles, gentrification and the soaring cost of living.
  • Yet in San Francisco's oldest neighborhood, the issues are more complicated than two sides of a sharply divided protest. The Mission's longtime residents are struggling to make businesses work, fighting to keep a foothold in their homes and coping with an unprecedented influx of wealth.
  • The Mission started as a majority Latino neighborhood in SF.
  • Techies who work in the city as well as further south in Mountain View and Palo Alto are flocking to Mission for its and location.

Perspectives

Robert Hernandez

If you’ve never been to the Mission than you cannot begin to understand the attachment we have to it. Let me clarif: visiting doesn’t count. People come for the Mexican food, the beautiful Dolores park, the views...and I love all that. But you can’t understand the Mission until you connect with the people here.

Kai

I was walking around the other day and saw some tourists on the Mission District Tour. We didn’t have those when I was a kid. We weren’t treated as a spectacle and abnormality for the world.

Jillian Means

Cities are changing and I think people will have to change with them. We can’t hold on to a traditional and “golden” past that doesn’t exist. For me, living in the Mission allows me to be close to the Google headquarters while being close to my family in the city.

Will Lerst

The Mission has potential to be the best neighborhood in San Francisco and I want to be there to document and feed it. We’re not removing culture, we’re adding our own and are receiving a lot of hostility.

Robert Hernandez

A poet, painter, lowrider and musician of Mayan and Nicaraguan descent who was born and raised in the only city he has called home, San Francisco.

Mission & The People

If you’ve never been to the Mission than you cannot begin to understand the attachment the people who live here have to it. Let me clarify. Visiting doesn’t count. Spending a season here doesn’t count. People come for the Mexican food, the beautiful Dolores park, the views...and I love all that. But you can’t understand the Mission until you understand and connect with the people. Play soccer against the 30+ men soccer “team” or go to a slam poetry event, that’s how you see the Mission.


Mission & Our Soul

I keep hearing seeing my friends being evicted. That word gets thrown around a lot so let me try to make you feel it.


Imagine you’re vacationing abroad, waiting in the lobby of a hotel for a room you know you booked a while ago. You’re getting frustrated. Your family is there. You sleep in the lobby overnight waiting for this guaranteed room. The owners finally come out and tell you your room is no longer available. Someone else paid more. You’re kicked out on to the street. Now imagine you can’t just book another place, you can’t just fly back to your home. Your family has nowhere.
Now if that doesn’t help you see our situation, come down the The Mission and I’ll personally give you a tour.

Kai

Local who shares the thoughts and values of the neighborhood and has been evicted twice because of rent inflations

Space & Integration
People are coming into the Mission and saying they are part of the community but don’t show it. We have a community soccer field in the neighborhood that has always been open for everyone. Permits didn’t exist. A bunch of new tech workers were playing a game and would rather have played alone on their side of the field than join us. We played two separate games on one field. It still feels segregated at times.


Culture & Trends
I was walking around the other day and saw the Mission District Tour. We didn’t have those when I was a kid. We weren’t treated as a spectacle and abnormality for the world.


Across the street from my first home was a Latino bakery called Mi Rancho. Everyone in the neighborhood came here but it has since been replaced by a hip salon.

Home & Eviction
I just remember being in my house and having to stay in my room while people were going through closets and rooms and checking everything out. That’s when we were evicted.
I’m not a unique story. This is happening weekly.

Jillian Means

A blogger, designer, and human rights activist who loves the Mission

Work & Home
For many people, the Mission is a perfect blend of work and community. We're close to the bay and all the companies that are headquartered there but also in the best neighborhood in SF. We are bringing money to the area and helping the local economy while bringing in a bit of our own culture.

Will Lerst

A Facebook programmer who loves to play pickup soccer and report on local news

As a new member of the Mission community I hope to meet new people and make connections with a lot of the established businesses in this area.