Dear Tiziano Project,
In a statement issued by the Tiziano project in February 2012, you announced the Tiziano Project’s intention to “complete a documentary project on Jerusalem” in March and April of 2012 that will be “open to participants from both East and West Jerusalem.” Your statement specified that your “program will specifically be made up of community members and not activists from either East or West Jerusalem.”
According to a Facebook post on the official Tiziano Project Facebook page you explained that “Directly after our program in Palestine, we will also be doing a program in Jerusalem to not only present both sides to the story, but also to foster dialogue between Israel and Palestine.”
In a letter written to you by the participants in your Ramallah Training [link to letter] you asked to “respect the BDS call by not conducting any future activities/projects with Israelis who don't recognize our inalienable rights as included in the BDS call” or they would have to pull out of the class. As you failed to respond to the points listed in that letter, we would like to explain to you again why continuing with your project as planned contrary to the highest journalism standards you claim to adhere to.
The project you are pursuing means that you are repeating deceitful propaganda as opposed to adhering to the truth.
Rather than exposing these realities, your project propagates the Zionist myth of a “(re)united city.” In reality, the term “East Jerusalem” is a term invented to describe the old city of Jerusalem, it's immediate surroundings and land confiscated from 28 surrounding Palestinian villages around which Israel expanded West Jerusalem's municipal borders in 1967 following its occupation thus illegally annexing that land. The Palestinians in the annexed areas are suffering ongoing slow ethnic cleansing and dispossession while Israel continues to hand their land and homes over to Jewish settlers. This process is barely disguised but the Tizaino project seems to insist not to ask the questions that need to be asked to expose this and instead take Israel’s propoganda about one city at face value.
By making sure to exclude activists you ensure that if any of these issues might be addressed it would be my chance, rather than including those who would confront such issues and share narratives that expose truth.
Due to your refusal to even acknowledge the request of Palestinian participants in the Ramallah Training, Palestinian participants and organizers chose to discontinue the Tiziano Project trainings.
As an organization whose mission is to work in conflict and post conflict zones and empower those who lack access to express their narratives, we ask again that the Tiziano Project learn about the situation in Palestine, including occupied East Jerusalem. We ask that you educate yourself and pursue the truth rather than repeating false Israeli propaganda and We ask that you respect the Palestinian Call to BDS.
In a statement issued by the Tiziano project in February 2012, you announced the Tiziano Project’s intention to “complete a documentary project on Jerusalem” in March and April of 2012 that will be “open to participants from both East and West Jerusalem.” Your statement specified that your “program will specifically be made up of community members and not activists from either East or West Jerusalem.”
According to a Facebook post on the official Tiziano Project Facebook page you explained that “Directly after our program in Palestine, we will also be doing a program in Jerusalem to not only present both sides to the story, but also to foster dialogue between Israel and Palestine.”
In a letter written to you by the participants in your Ramallah Training [link to letter] you asked to “respect the BDS call by not conducting any future activities/projects with Israelis who don't recognize our inalienable rights as included in the BDS call” or they would have to pull out of the class. As you failed to respond to the points listed in that letter, we would like to explain to you again why continuing with your project as planned contrary to the highest journalism standards you claim to adhere to.
The project you are pursuing means that you are repeating deceitful propaganda as opposed to adhering to the truth.
Rather than exposing these realities, your project propagates the Zionist myth of a “(re)united city.” In reality, the term “East Jerusalem” is a term invented to describe the old city of Jerusalem, it's immediate surroundings and land confiscated from 28 surrounding Palestinian villages around which Israel expanded West Jerusalem's municipal borders in 1967 following its occupation thus illegally annexing that land. The Palestinians in the annexed areas are suffering ongoing slow ethnic cleansing and dispossession while Israel continues to hand their land and homes over to Jewish settlers. This process is barely disguised but the Tizaino project seems to insist not to ask the questions that need to be asked to expose this and instead take Israel’s propoganda about one city at face value.
By making sure to exclude activists you ensure that if any of these issues might be addressed it would be my chance, rather than including those who would confront such issues and share narratives that expose truth.
Due to your refusal to even acknowledge the request of Palestinian participants in the Ramallah Training, Palestinian participants and organizers chose to discontinue the Tiziano Project trainings.
As an organization whose mission is to work in conflict and post conflict zones and empower those who lack access to express their narratives, we ask again that the Tiziano Project learn about the situation in Palestine, including occupied East Jerusalem. We ask that you educate yourself and pursue the truth rather than repeating false Israeli propaganda and We ask that you respect the Palestinian Call to BDS.
B.D.S is the least we can do for Palestine.
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