A series of campaigns and other initiatives were carried out during the multiple rounds of elections held in Israel between 2019-2022, aimed at advancing the notion that the Arab community is a legitimate partner in government.
COVID-19 Pandemic
Israelis showed their gratitude during the coronavirus pandemic by cheering and saluting healthcare workers. Israel’s healthcare system is one of the most successful models of coexistence and Jewish-Arab partnership. Approximately 40% of healthcare workers come from the Arab community, and approximately 68% of those in the Arab community who participate in national service do so in the healthcare field.
In March of 2022, at the start of the pandemic, we created a campaign video centering around teams of medical professionals from the Arab community. The video was viewed millions of times on social media and became the most-viewed video posted in Israel at that time. The video was also broadcast on various networks including N12 News, where it was featured during peak viewing hours. The video was also used in a campaign and broadcast in Arab cities.
We then created another video – “I have no other country” – featuring Arab Israeli citizens who were front-line workers during the pandemic, some of whom were negatively impacted by it. The video aimed to strengthen our message – all of us here are partners in fate.
2021 Election
Ahead of the 4th round of elections held in March 2021 (during the political crisis), we created a series of deepfake videos containing messages of partnership, presented by Israeli political leaders, giving the speeches we’d like to hear them give in reality.
The Government of Change (Bennett–Lapid Government)
As part of the negotiations headed by Yesh Atid Party Chairman Yair Lapid, aimed at forming a Coalition for the new ‘government of change’, we came together to support and strengthen both Jewish and Arab leadership, and empower them to take advantage of that moment and to make history: creating the first government with a Jewish-Arab partnership.
Anyone interested in participating and supporting our message – Partners in Fate, Partners in Government – was invited to send us a photo, which we used to create billboards placed at major intersections all across the country, and on digital billboards projected on huge screens.
2022 Election
Ahead of the 5th round of elections held in November 2022 (during the political crisis), following the collapse of the ‘government of change’, we created a series of videos and initiatives aimed at both encouraging the Arab community to come out and vote on election day, and at strengthening the legitimacy of Jewish-Arab partnership within the Jewish community.
Encouraging the Arab Community to Come Out and Vote on Election Day
As part of our partnership with the ‘Coalition for Encouraging Arab Voters to Exercise Their Right to Vote’, we created an Arabic language video which became one of the most viral videos of the campaign. It was even broadcast in full as part of a news report on Channel 13 News, presented by Senior Political Correspondent Raviv Druker.
Google Street View Video
A week prior to election day, we published a short video targeting both Jewish and Arab audiences alike. We consulted with experts from both communities. Our goal was to invite the Jewish community to take an inside look at the world their neighbors come from, and to invite the Arab community to see that it does have partners within the Jewish community who see them and fight for them.
The video was a first of its kind in Israel using the Google Street View technology. It whisked the viewers away, dropping them in the streets of an Arab village, while a Hebrew narrator explained the complexities, the struggles, and the needs of the Arab community, highlighting the ways in which we are all connected.
The video was viewed over half a million times on Facebook. It was shared on WhatsApp, and was even broadcast on N12 News during commercial breaks, 9 times in the week prior to the election. The video received broad support in both the Jewish and Arab communities.
Response Video to the Campaign Delegitimizing Arab Political Parties
As part of our efforts to block the attempts of delegitimizing Jewish-Arab partnership, and proving that this partnership was legitimized long ago, even by the Israeli political right wing, we created a video of public statements made by right-wing politicians where they clearly spoke in support of Jewish-Arab partnership.
Click to watch the video
