SEARCH is a national non-profit human rights and educational organization, founded in 1972, which seeks a just Israeli-Palestinian peace based on the inalienable rights of both peoples. SEARCH’s focus is on improving media coverage on Palestine/Israel.

SEARCH’s Mission

SEARCH seeks to improve American media coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict by disseminating information about the issue and by urging journalists to cover the conflict accurately and to support a just peace in their editorials. 

SEARCH’s Perspective

SEARCH’s Work

SEARCH emphasizes outreach to journalists and informational work with them, as well as with three other important constituencies: American Jews, human rights organizations, and religious leaders.

Given the importance of the media in influencing public opinion and, eventually, policy, SEARCH seeks to improve American media coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict by disseminating information about the issue and by urging journalists to report the conflict accurately and to support editorially a just peace. On behalf of its supporters and in pursuit of a just peace

SEARCH

• Supplies journalists (and others) with important information, including articles from the Hebrew-language press in Israel;
• writes articles for magazines and newspapers;
• meets with leading TV, radio and print journalists as well as syndicated columnists throughout the US;
• trains people throughout the US how to work with the media and serves as a resource for grassroots media work;
• encourages Jews, human rights activists, and church leaders to support a just Palestinian-Israeli peace in their media work.

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  SEARCH’s Accomplishments

• Established itself as an accurate source of information on the Arab-Israeli issue. From 1975-1986, SEARCH ran the Middle East Resource Center in Washington, DC, a recognized, credible source of alternative information for journalists, national political leaders, and religious, human rights, peace, and foreign policy groups. Has had scores of articles and letters published in leading newspapers, magazines, and religious publications.
• Responsible for a major article by a Palestinian, Walid Khalidi’s "Thinking the Unthinkable: The Case for a Palestinian State," published in Foreign Affairs magazine in July, 1978. Khalidi’s article was then featured in a nationally syndicated column by New York Times columnist Anthony Lewis and was reprinted and distributed widely by the American Friends Service Committee.
• Developed personal contacts with scores of American journalists and brought together local activists with journalists throughout the country.
• Circulated four nationwide human rights petitions, the latest in 1999, on behalf of Palestinian rights signed by religious leaders, receiving worldwide publicity. (Human Rights Petition 1999)
• Addressed scores of university and religious audiences. Spoke twice to both the Open Forum of the US Secretary of State at the State Department, and the Nieman Fellows in Journalism at Harvard. Addressed the Cleveland City Club, an address broadcast three times by C-Span.
• Held media workshops throughout the country and at the conventions of the Unitarian-Universalist Association, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, and the North American Coordinating Committee for NGOs on the Question of Palestine.
• Published for nine years the Palestine/Israel Bulletin, sent to over 1,000 key journalists, members of Congress, and leaders of non-governmental organizations. The Bulletin's successor is the Palestine/Israel File.

SEARCH has a long and valued record: over 30 years of work for justice and equality in Palestine/Israel. And we’re still adding to it!

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What People Are Saying

"SEARCH is doing indispensable work and has been conspicuous in its help for those who strive for justice. I will ask all who share in the search for justice and mercy to help SEARCH." —Dr. Israel Shahak, Chair, Israeli League for Human and Civil Rights

"SEARCH is a responsible and reliable source of information and ideas not generally available in the United States." —David Riesman, Henry Ford II Professor of Social Sciences Emeritus, Harvard University

"SEARCH is an extremely valuable information service for human rights groups and all concerned with a just peace in the region." —Rosemary Radford Ruetber, Professor of Applied Theology, Garrett Theological Seminary

"For reliable, honest and objective information about the Arab/Israeli conflict in the Middle East, I recommend the publications of SEARCH." —Joseph C. Harsch, Former Foreign Affairs Columnist, Christian Science Monitor

"SEARCH has mastered the art of striking up solid credible relationships with editors and writers; no small accomplishment in a profession in which skepticism is a tool of the trade." —Jerry Levin, Former CNN Bureau Chief

"Thank you for your wonderful assistance in planning the ‘Call on Congress.’Reaching the press continues to be a troubling aspect of our work for Israeli-Palestinian peace. After your hard work contacting scores of press people and the FAX follow-up we were able to manage, there were about 15 reporters who came to the press conference or spoke with members of our committee. We would certainly not have received any coverage without your incredible efforts." —Anne Shirk, Director, Commission on Peace, Episcopal Diocese of Washington, DC

"An informed and active American public can make a significant contribution to more hopeful outcomes. For years, SEARCH has been working constructively to advance these goals, a task of great import for the people of the region, and well beyond." —Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

"SEARCH is perhaps the only North American group that concentrates on the media as its primary strategy. SEARCH has been able to establish regular contact with the editorial boards of major newspapers across the country. In addition to work with the secular media, SEARCH has maintained excellent relations with the religious press and has been influential with a number of churches, Jewish, and Muslim leaders, as evidence in its "Clergy Petition Drive" on human rights and peace in the Middle East." —Rev. Dr. Donald E. Wagner, Director, Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding

SEARCH for Justice and Equality in Palestine/Israel
P.O. Box 3452, Framingham, MA 01705-3452
Phone: (508) 879-0777 FAX: (508) 877-2611
Email: info@searchforjustice.org

SEARCH is a 501(c)3 organization. Contributions are tax deductible.

Copyright © 2006 Search for Justice and Equality in Palestine/Israel