The goal is to reveal the Palestinian perspective and impart personal experiences from the Conflict.  This is a priceless opportunity for personal contact with people living directly in a troubled region at the centre of the international focus.  It will allow the international participants to gain valuable insight into what the people directly involved in this conflict are thinking. 

Likewise, it will provide the Palestinian students with a chance to see how they are perceived by the outside world.   The open dialogue will reveal very valuable facts and information to both sides that the each needs to know in order to fully understand the other’s stance and viewpoints. 

Executive summary:

Unfortunately the media often twists and sensationalizes the news, in the process creating false perceptions and a negative image about the Palestinians and their struggle for freedom from Israel occupation.  Few reporters spend any real time in the West Bank.  They are often afraid of even being there or disliking the lack of comfort as opposed to the comfort available in modern Jerusalem or Tel Aviv.  Even worse, most of them have no concept of Arabic or Palestinian culture, or the region’s history.  They normally do not speak Arabic or personal knowledge of the different locations in Palestine.

Hundreds of daily human rights abuses and recurrent killings of Palestinian civilians do not get reported or receive just scant notice.  This grossly favors the Israeli side of the conflict and contributes to the process of dehumanization of the Palestinians.  For impartiality, people must look more at the Palestinian side of the issue:  to humanize them and see what reasons there are for what they are doing.

This struggle is a struggle for independence and an independent state.  The Palestinians are struggling to end foreign occupation and gain freedom from their oppression.  However, no one will understand this if we do not engage in direct dialogue with the world, in order to dispel misperceptions and even lies about the Palestinian people. 

Through the Video Conference, An Najah would like to discuss the hot topics of our conflict with the Israelis and reveal the motives behind the Palestinian actions.  We will show you what we know and what we believe.  We are trying to show the Palestinian side of the issue, with real facts and information, not propaganda.  Our point of view is something that might be new for some of you.  Our students and teachers will talk to you live from the midst of more than 2 years of uprising and 35 years of Israeli occupation of our lands.  The Israelis have had innumerable opportunities to present their side of the Conflict.  Now it is our turn.

 Institutional background:

 An-Najah National University is one of the oldest and most respected universities in Palestine.  It is located in Nablus, at the heart of Palestine.  The University is proud to have an ever growing body of students that now stands at approximately 10 000, with 600 staff and faculty members.  Most of the students and faculty members are native to Palestine

 The Zajel Youth Exchange Program originated from a dream to develop an exchange program that brings together youth of diverse regions and backgrounds from around the world in order to interact with and learn about each other and Palestinian Society.  Through the Zajel Program, everybody can express his/her own point of view, where they all can discuss and understand each other, and the Palestine question. 

Zajel aims to create a dynamic learning environment for cultural understanding, and to provide experience in sharing and partnership in order to achieve better understanding and respect between people.  Overall, its goal is to build a wide network of young people willing to make a difference and truly act as democrat leaders for change in their societies.

 Program Goals

   1.  To raise awareness of the issues and problems facing the Middle East and enhance understanding of the Palestine Question.  This would be of particular benefit to broaden the understanding of students of Journalism, Political Science, Middle East Studies, History and International Relations.

   2.    To provide a clearer picture about what is happening in the occupied lands.  Since the current uprising there have been nearly no visitors or tourists from abroad who can tell about the circumstances in the villages and cities of Palestine.  So, we would like to get benefit of the technology of the Video Conference in order to shed light upon this information.

   3.    To give first hand accounts of the occupation.  To reveal insight into the life and thoughts of the people living in Palestine.  It will also allow Palestinians to see how they are viewed from abroad.

   4.    To learn about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict from a perspective rarely brought into the mainstream Western discourse.  The hope is to initiate an open-minded discussion that includes the Palestinian perspective. 

Topics

The forum will allow us to discuss such well known subjects as: 

1. Occupation.

2. The Peace Process.

3. Islam and other related topics.

Specifications

The Video Conference duration is 90 minutes.  The exact timetable of the Video Conference and topics will have to be worked out mutually by both sides in the partnership.  The dialogue will allowing the participants to:

 Debate and discuss their opinions about the Conflict

          Express his/her opinion about the Middle East Conflict

          Reply to one another’s questions  

Participants

 Our proposal is to organize the Video Conference between both our universities for a specific time.  It would include students and lecturers from both sides.  The exact number can be worked out mutually according to the details worked out in the partnership.  Ideally, it should not include more than 10 - 12 students and the lecturer on each side. 

 There should also be facilitators for the Video Conference on both sides, who will conduct the discussion and dialogue.  The facilitators will ensure that the dialogue should be as calm as possible and the agreed upon timetable.

 The partnership:

We request your help and cooperation in the following: 

• Providing the participants from your institution

• Preparations:  logistics and technical issues

• Providing your facilitator to help prepare the topics in details, and make sure the time schedule is followed during the conference

• Funding the expenses of the international Video Conference call for 90 minutes.

Note: We use the ISDN lines.  The Video Conference lines are :

• 00972 9 2345801

• 00972 9 2345802

• 00972 9 2344803

• 00972 9 2344804

• 00972 9 2346605

• 00972 9 2345806

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