Moving Images Make Change: Mondoweiss Videos in 2015

We’ve all experienced it. No matter how many times you tell someone facts, if they don’t want to hear them they find ways not to. But most of us have also had a contrasting experience–where our own preconceived ideas have been jolted or even dislodged entirely by a powerful new perception.

One of the most important tools to achieve that transformative impact is video. As we look back at 2015 in Mondoweiss, I want to share with you some of our successes in bringing important video journalism to the world, and ask for your help to grow our ability to produce more groundbreaking video in the upcoming year.

For all of us seeking to change minds and policy regarding Israel/Palestine, it is essential to understand the power of video for documentation and persuasion. The most common reason I hear for Americans to change their minds about Palestine is when they have personally visited; video is the closest we can come to giving them that experience.

In 2015, Mondoweiss has increased our use of video to tell the stories of Israel/Palestine as our remarkable correspondents have provided exclusive footage capturing important events and stories.

On October 10, for example, Dan Cohen brought Mondoweiss readers a story and a video showing howIsraeli soldiers shot protestors along Gaza’s border, killing seven and injuring 145. The impact of seeing bodies carried away while young men and boys refused to back down was clearly significant; the video was shared on Facebook till it reached nearly 1 million people. –read more below–

And just last week, Sheren Khalel and Abed Al Qaisi recorded a moving resistance effort in Bethlehem at Christmas time. They also showed us the experience of Palestinian workers risking their freedom and even their lives to enter Israel for better-paying jobs. The live testimony of these men speaks volumes. “When I walk in Israel or Jerusalem alone at night, I’m scared that maybe an Israeli will shoot or stab me, but he’s also maybe scared of me.” –read more below–

There are many other examples from the past months.In addition to the videos produced by Mondoweiss correspondents, we have been privileged to share with the world the work of other journalists on the ground, as well as ordinary people with smartphones–all of whom have valued the audience Mondoweiss serves. If we are to continue building this part of Mondoweiss journalism, we need your help.

Obtaining powerful live footage is difficult, often dangerous and costly. The process of transmitting it to Mondoweiss quickly and at a high quality level is not simple, nor cheap. Our plan for 2016 is to increase video coverage significantly, but we can’t do it without you. Please give today so that we can reach our $90,000 goal by year-end–and unlock the bonus $50,000 pledged by our challenge donors.

Here are some of the remarkable video recordings published by Mondoweiss over the past six months. The following slide show will remind you of these moments captured and shared; click on the links below the slideshow to see original videos and the stories that accompanied them.

Quite simply, no twenty-first century journalistic enterprise can realize all its goals without a sophisticated capacity to produce and critique video. Thank you for helping us achieve in the world of video what we accomplish using words and still photos.