Last month we asked you and other Mondoweiss readers to help build our capacity to deliver independent news by increasing our community of regular monthly donors. We’re thrilled to report our campaign was a smashing success. Thank you for your faith in our work!
Jonathan Cook writes: “The passage, and now the enforcement, of laws prohibiting entry for BDS advocates are part of the effort to silence voices from outside Israel/Palestine. But Israel is fighting a losing battle, due to the persistence of Palestinian journalists, the slow opening of cracks in the mainstream media, and the new opportunities for freelance journalists like myself through electronic media such as Mondoweiss. The existence of Mondoweiss and other online outlets means that I can report honestly what I learn from witnesses and documents—information that ‘established’ media have been too cowardly to publish.”
We’re delighted and grateful to announce Mondoweiss supporters have met a $5,000 challenge set by a generous donor last weekend, which means our 2017 summer campaign, “They Fear The Truth: We Report It” is only about $9,000 short of the $75,000 goal. We know that for some readers, appeals for donations distract from core news coverage. So we’ve decided to do something unconventional in the world of fundraising: thank all our supporters, and wind down the drive a bit earlier than planned. All funds raised through this campaign are earmarked to pay freelance journalists on the ground in Palestine for their vital reporting. But starting now, we won’t be soliciting full-force as we have been. We simply want to thank you for believing in the value of Mondoweiss and the work we publish.
One of Mondoweiss’s most dedicated readers wrote to us: “I am constantly outraged and devastated by the abuses Palestinians confront, and I know that informing the widest possible audience is the best way to challenge the regime oppressing them. So I’m issuing a challenge. I will match every gift you receive by the end of July, up to a total of $5,000.” Can you step up and meet the challenge? Whatever you give by the end of July will have double the impact.
Last year, we ran a satirical post titled “Birthright ends trips to Israel — ‘American Jews are better off imagining Israel than seeing it.’” Who could have known how right we were! Last month, Brand Israel Group released a study comparing a 2016 survey they did of Americans to one in 2010 and it shows the more Americans learn about Israel, the less they support it. This explains why Israel’s supporters fear the truth: people who learn about Israel’s actions understandably come to reject them. And that’s the core of Mondoweiss’s mission and our daily work. Please contribute today so that we can keep them shaking in their shoes.
Ofer Neiman, an Israeli who has spent years fighting for Palestinian equality and against apartheid, describes the experience of being ostracized within his country. “The anti-apartheid camp in Israel is simply way too small. So we desperately need to communicate with the outside world. And for those who seek justice and full equality in Palestine/Israel, Mondoweiss empowers via information, commentary and action alerts. The sense of utter isolation is why I’m writing to urge your support of Mondoweiss today.”
This year, Mondoweiss is spending well over $100,000 to recruit, translate, edit and pay freelance journalists in Palestine who take risks to share the truth with you and the world. We are almost halfway to our summer fundraising goal and Mondoweiss will need hundreds more gifts in the coming days to keep paying brave reporters in the field for the news only they can deliver. Mondoweiss is able to publish news only because of contributions from people like you — help support fearless journalism from Palestine today.
“Alaa,” a journalist in the West Bank who asked us not to use her real name for fear it could lead to reprisals from Israeli authorities, explains Israel’s efforts to control reporting using legal requirements, surveillance, and censorship: “I think that when you’re far from Israel/Palestine it can be easy to forget how far the invasion and destruction of basic, fundamental rights has gone. I am grateful every day that Mondoweiss continues to spread the news about human rights violations in Israel/Palestine. The name you chose for the current campaign rings very true to me. ‘They fear the truth–we report it.’ I urge those who value the truth to contribute so we can keep defying censorship and awakening the world to injustice.”
Photojournalist Hamde Abu Rahme writes, “Palestinian journalists defy the continuous harassment and abuse, and thanks to the internet and outlets like Mondoweiss, we are succeeding. Using the web’s broad and rapid global reach, we are exercising our fundamental right to freedom of expression and challenging Israel’s constant portrayal of Palestinians as violent terrorists. If you are among those around the world who believe in what I do—in the value of journalism in exposing Israel’s crimes—please decide how you will give material impact to that belief. You can buy my book. And you can donate to Mondoweiss, which supports the work of me and others seeking to spread the truth.”
Mondoweiss is proud that day in and day out, by publishing articles, photos and videos covering events in Palestine, we support the work of brave journalists and its impact toward dismantling apartheid in Israel/Palestine. As a reader-supported nonprofit, we are able to pay dedicated, talented reporters only because of contributions from people like you. Please donate to Mondoweiss today to invest in our work informing the world of events in Palestine.