I’lam Media Center for Arab Palestinians in Israel is a non-profit organization based in Nazareth. Founded in 2000 by a group of Palestinian journalists and academics, I’lam is deeply committed to the influencing of Israeli media policy towards impartiality, fairness, and equity, and the empowerment of Palestinian media practitioners and institutions, as vital steps towards the promotion of democracy, national and civic equality, and human rights. These goals are effected through two main program areas: Media Rights and Empowerment.



The Media Rights Program supports impartiality, fairness, and equity in Israeli media policy, in conformity with values of democratic pluralism, and rooted in a recognition of basic principles of human rights. Through research, advocacy work, lobbying, and outreach and coalition building, we encourage Israeli media institutions and practitioners to adopt more professional, unbiased standards, particularly as regards their coverage of Palestinian citizens of Israel.



In our Empowerment Program, we motivate and equip Palestinian society and media practitioners with the training, networking, and support required to expect, and produce, more professional and courageous media reporting, responsive to the needs and concerns of the Palestinian citizens in Israel.



While Palestinians are an indigenous minority that make up 18% of Israel’s citizenry, research and monitoring of the Hebrew media indicate that Palestinian citizens are represented in only 1% of all Hebrew-language journalistic reports, 80 to 90% of which promote a negative image. Palestinians account for a mere 0.03 - 1% of the total staff employed in all Israeli media institutions. They are totally excluded from participation in media policy making bodies, and are underrepresented on the boards of media regulation bodies.



More than 50% of Palestinian children in Israel live below the poverty line, and the vast majority of the poorest towns in Israel are largely Arab. There are no large companies that are Arab-owned that could invest in the Arabic media. There are only two Arabic-language daily newspapers, both burdened economically, alongside ten regional and national weekly newspapers, and one Internet-based news website.



Additionally, there are no media training institutions in Israel that offer instruction in Arabic, and almost no learning material in this language. Training programs and reference materials offered by Israeli academic institutions are directed towards the development of the Hebrew media landscape, and consider the specific culture, identity, and needs of the Jewish population, while neglecting the Arabic media landscape, and the Palestinian society and its needs.



The weak economic base, and the lack of suitable educational and practical opportunities for the Palestinian society in Israel are key issues of concern, expressed in meetings with our target constituency. I’lam works to address these obstacles through lobbying and advocacy, but also thorough the support of unique community media initiatives, grassroots organizing, and intensive trainings for journalists and recent media graduates, on subjects ranging from human rights reporting to Arabic written skills to basic English interviewing skills.