"Two different organizations in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories are using video tools to help both Arabic and Jewish youth to understand the conflict and bridge gaps between them, creating spaces for interaction and communication where they can share their dreams, concerns and thoughts regarding the complex situation they live in."
Containing the world's largest repository of information on the Holocaust, Yad Vashem is a leader in Holocaust education, commemoration, research and documentation. Located in Jerusalem, Israel, Yad Vashem's 45 acre campus comprises museums, exhibitions, memorials, sculptures, gardens, and world class research and education centers. Millions each year access Yad Vashem's vast resources in order to study, teach and commemorate the Holocaust.
Connecting people in repressed societies by using new technologies that encourage education, communication and participation.
D2 puts information into the hands of people who are most in need. While censored
information places communities and individuals at risk, advances in mobile and internet
technologies are reshaping societies around the world. Every day these technologies
become cheaper, simpler and more reliable. D2 is developing information and
communication tools to address the needs of the vulnerable and disempowered
communities with whom we have been working. Our work strengthens social bonds
within and among communities, fostering networking and civic participation to improve
lives, expose tyranny and strengthen democracy.
We have been working for two years with the Burmese community in Thailand,
Bangladesh, India, and China as well as with resettled Burmese populations in Indiana,
Washington, DC and New York. D2 staff have published and presented research on
Burma with an emphasis on technology use by displaced Burmese groups. In addition
to Burmaʼs borders, we have conducted research in Cuba, Armenia, Mali, Zimbabwe,
South Africa, and Israel.
Defending the Barricade
On Feb. 1, 2006, Associated Press photographer Oded Balilty was in the West Bank settlement of Amona when a violent confrontation broke out between Jewish settlers and Israeli security forces. The troops were attempting to enforce a government order to tear down nine houses built on private Palestinian land after Israel's Supreme Court rejected a final appeal by the settlers.
Balilty, camera ready, stood about 3 meters from the end of the barricade. Crowds lined up on a wall overlooking the holed-up settlers, while Israeli troops in riot gear advanced. "Nili, a young settler ... was standing 15 meters away, biting her fingernails, when she saw them coming and ran toward the barricade," Balilty said.
Said Nili: "I felt a stranger pushing me to defend the barricade. It was God who gave me the courage."
Moments after Balilty took the photograph that won him the Pulitzer Prize, Nili was beaten by club-wielding police.