Dear Reader,
After Operation Cast Lead, it became impossible to read the news.
The gap between conversations my friends and colleagues were having and the story being told by mainstream news outlets was unbridgeable. People around the world were getting one sliver of the story, while the most critical elements were missing. Something had to be done.
So a group of us — journalists and bloggers, most of whom were already writing in English on our own blogs — got together and came up with the idea that became +972 Magazine. We wanted to create a platform that would amplify progressive voices coming out of Israel and Palestine and make sure that they were heard throughout the world.
We started with seven writers and no more than a few hundred readers a day;
By the second year, we were being quoted by some of the top newspapers and the site had been visited by tens of thousands readers the world over – US, Europe, Canada, the Arab world, and right here in Israel/Palestine;
Now, as we begin our fourth year, the +972 collective includes over 20 journalists, bloggers and photographers. The site offers platform for dozens of Israeli, Palestinian and international contributors. Thanks to support from readers like you, we’ve been able to hire a lean and expert staff to edit and promote our content and we’ve re-launched the site with a ton of new features, among them channels focusing on culture, on social and economic issues, a photography blog, a channel focusing on asylum seekers and migrant workers, and much more.
Altogether, we have published nearly 4,000 articles, providing a critical political, social, and economic analysis of what’s gong on in Israel and Palestine to the millions of people that visit the site — including diplomats, activists, civil society servants, and others whose work directly influences the issues +972 covers. This is our community – you are the ecosystem within which we operate.
Now it’s time to take +972 to the next level. In order to continue expanding our activities and stay completely independent we need the support of the +972 community — readers, like you, who understand the critical role that +972 plays.
Next year, we’re planning to launch a Hebrew channel, aiming to bring unheard stories to our Hebrew-speaking readers – issues like Palestinian nonviolence that receive little to no coverage in the local news sites; at the same time, we will expand our English-language coverage, adding voices from underrepresented communities and covering stories which most of the media chooses to ignore.
To achieve all that and more, we need your help. The best way to give is to become a monthly supporter of our site, using the button below. You can also make a one-time donation at this link. Other support options and frequently asked questions are answered here.
Your feedback is just as important to us. Please contact me directly at noam@972mag.com with any thoughts, ideas or questions. You will find contact information for all our bloggers on their channels, and you can contact the site’s editors at info@972mag.com
Yours,
Noam Sheizaf
CEO
+972 Magazine