Jerusalem

Media Projects

Under The Same Sun

Our full-length feature film, Under The Same Sun, is ready for screening.  Produced in Israel and the Palestinian Territory, this entertaining and moving docu-drama follows the lives of two businessmen — one Palestinian and one Israeli — as they struggle to forge a business relationship leading to surprising results.  Set in the near future, it focuses on how these business leaders cope with the unique political and personal challenges posed by operating in societies where there is a strong stigma against working with the “other”.  The film was produced by Amir Harel, an Academy Award-nominated Israeli producer, together with our own Common Ground Productions (CGP), and was directed by Sameh Zoabi, a leading Palestinian filmmaker.

Under the Same Sun seeks to humanize the “other” for both Israeli and Palestinian audiences, and aims to dispel the belief held by many that there is no partner on the other side.  Ultimately, it is grounded in the idea that for meaningful peace negotiations to resume, the two publics need a vision worth striving for. The docu-drama stems from our 2005 CGP four-part documentary, Shape of the Future, broadcast on Israeli and Arab TV, which focused on the final status issues which, if solved, could lead to an Arab/Israeli peace agreement

Funded by the European Union and the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Under the Same Sun will be broadcast simultaneously on both Israeli and Palestinian TV in 2013.  Plans are in place for its international distribution in the near future.

Strengthening Palestinian Citizen Participation and Democracy

A two-year grant from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs is enabling us to partner with the Ma’an Network, based in Bethlehem, to provide additional Palestinian television and radio programming and to organize a series of public town hall meetings.  These initiatives will highlight the needs of Palestinians and help build their society by engaging the public with local authorities on critical social issues.

The President

As part of this multi-platform project, the Ma’an Network and SFCG are currently producing a reality series for Palestinian television, The President.  The programme aims to have a significant impact on public opinion and on the overall political environment.  Viewers will participate by casting their votes via SMS in a democratic election process to choose a young person aged 25-35 who embodies the qualities they would hope to see in a President of Palestine.  The series is designed to educate a mass Palestinian audience in fundamental democratic values and procedures at a time when Palestinian confidence in governing structures is low and future elections loom.

The Carmel Fire

The Carmel Fire is a documentary being co-produced by the Ma'an Network and Common Ground Productions.  It tells the story of the historic cooperation between firefighters of the Palestinian Civil Defense and the Israel Fire and Rescue Services during the tragic Carmel fire in December 2010 near Haifa. The story is told through dramatic historical footage and interviews with Palestinian and Israeli firefighters.

The blaze that began on Mount Carmel and swept through hills around the coastal city of Haifa was the deadliest in Israeli history, claiming 44 lives.  It was also historic for the unprecedented cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian firefighters who battled the conflagration for four days.

By highlighting the common humanity of the firefighters, and the shared humanitarian concerns of their institutions, the film explores the intersection of human values, national institutions, and statehood.  The Carmel Fire sheds light on how civil security institutions can lay the groundwork for future progress in the region through trust-building activities, capacity development, and practical cooperation.

The film is currently in production and is due to be broadcast on the Ma'an Network by the end of 2013.

Read more about SFCG's projects on Media...

Leadership Projects

Israeli-Palestinian Leadership Network

The Israeli-Palestinian Leadership Network is a multi-year initiative to build a broad-based, cross-sector network of Palestinian and Israeli leaders in the Middle East that can effect positive change in the region. Working in close partnership with the Outward Bound Center for Peacebuilding (OBCP) to ensure outstanding results, activities include outdoor wilderness expeditions, retreats, local meetings and individual coaching which focus on strengthening leadership and conflict resolution skills and building deep personal relationships among strategically positioned emerging leaders across key sectors.  With funding from the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the Norwegian Church, the Fetzer Institute and private sources, this programme addresses the distrust, tension and instability that undermine possible relationships between Israelis and Palestinians leaders and encourages a culture of positive engagement.

The Leadership Network already comprises civil society, political, business, and religious leaders.  In 2013, the network is expanding to include a cadre of Israeli and Palestinian women leaders. The women leaders program will formally kick off in May with a 10-day wilderness expedition overseas, followed by various activities that will culminate in the women joining the Leadership Network by the end of 2013.

Health Projects

Cooperative Disease Monitoring System

Since 2001, Search for Common Ground has facilitated cross-border health cooperation between Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Territory.  Our flagship initiative is the Middle East Consortium on Infectious Disease Surveillance (MECIDS), which guards against threats posed by natural disease outbreaks and biological attacks.

At its core, MECIDS is a network that enables the Israeli, Jordanian, and Palestinian Ministries of Health and research institutions to share data about disease patterns and to coordinate swift cross-border responses in the event of an outbreak.  Food- and water-borne diseases are the primary health concerns monitored by MECIDS.

With its administrative secretariat in Jerusalem and its scientific secretariat in Amman, MECIDS is connects and collaborates with a wide range of regional academic institutions, national centers for disease control, and health ministries.

Search for Common Ground works in close partnership with the Nuclear Threat Initiative’s (NTI) Global Health and Security Initiative, which provides funding for the programme.

Interfaith Projects

Universal Code on Holy Sites

SFCG's Jerusalem office has partnered with three other NGOs—the Oslo Center for Peace, One World in Dialogue and Religions for Peace—to develop a universal Code on Holy Sites. After a three-year process, which included meetings amongst religious, political and civil society leaders from Europe and the Middle East, and input from senior leaders of the world's major faiths, this groundbreaking Code was completed in January 2011.

Funded by the Norwegian Government, it maps out a detailed code of conduct in relation to sacred places worldwide.  With endorsement by senior religious leaders from over 15 faiths, and following a pilot implementation of the Code in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we are commencing a pilot project in the Holy Land together with the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land.  In addition, we are working to use the Code as a basis for a legally adopted UN resolution, which would set up a monitoring mechanism to assess the progress of countries committed to abide by it.

The Universal Code on Holy Sites is a practical document, created for religious leaders, so that they have an agreed upon way in which all holy sites can be better safeguarded for their adherents. We believe that the existence of such an agreed upon text promotes religious respect and interreligious harmony through the mutual acknowledgement that all sacred places are holy in the eyes of their followers. Preserving them with care and respect, and providing mechanisms to reduce friction around them before it erupts, will minimize conflict in the world.

• For more information on the Universal Code of Holy Sites, click here...
• To visit the Facebook page for the Universal Code of Holy Sites, click here...

Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land

The Secretariat of the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land (CRIHL) rents space in SFCG's Jerusalem office, enabling a close working partnership on the Holy Land pilot of the Universal Code on Holy Sites.  CRIHL comprises the Israeli Chief Rabbinate, the Palestinian Ministry of Waqf and the Shari’a Courts of Palestine, as well as all the Patriarchates and Bishoprics in Jerusalem.