Tel Aviv Uni Students show their brand of Israeli PR
“Is.Real” is a project initiated by students from the Tel Aviv University (TAU) branch of the StandWithUs Fellowship, in cooperation with the TAU Student Union The “Is.Real” series will cover the lives of four young Israelis from diverse social and ethnic backgrounds, including one from Sydney.
Through documenting their daily lives, their exposure to international public opinion will provide a fresh new insight into the “real Israel” that isn’t shown in news stories.
The series follows the lives of Yair, Shay, Ayman and Savannah.
Savannah Zwi-Navon is a 27 year old singer-songwriter. She is a native of Sydney, Australia and first arrived to Kibbutz Ma’agan Michael, where she fell in love with the country. She ventured her way to Tel Aviv, where she has established a loyal fan base. Savannah dreams of musical success both in Israel and abroad. Her musical style combines raw emotional ballads, jazzier upbeat numbers and tension filled rock. She is currently working on a project, “Call from Home”, of poetically translated contemporary Israeli songs which she delivers in English with her own jazz-oriented twist.
“When I arrived in Israel I had no idea what to expect. This country took me by surprise. Bit by bit, I fell head over heels in love with this place, but it was always impossible to explain why to my friends & family abroad. The Is Real Project grabbed my attention immediately – it enables me, in my own unique way, to share this magical country with you, to invite you into the life I lead which is so exciting and meaningful.
What can I say – it’s about time the world understood what this place is all about…” -Savannah
The TAU students, who see themselves as ambassadors of Israel, believe that this project has the potential to make a widespread impact on the global public opinion of Israel. “We wanted to incorporate art, new media, and our desire to show other people our age, in all corners of the world, the reality of daily life for us young people in Israel,” explains Tel-Aviv University StandWithUs fellow Or Shahar.
Check out our project at:
Is.Real website: www.isreal2011.com
YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/IsReal2011TLV Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/IS.REAL2011TLV
The other characters
The series also follows the lives of Yair, a 26 year old tour guide and Capoeira instructor from Beit Horon (West Bank); Shay, a 26 year old professional basketball player who plays for the Israeli National Team, and Ayman, a 20 year old Arab-Israeli originally from Kfar Yasif (Northern Israel) who works in a fashion chain and lives in Tel Aviv.
About the StandWithUs Israel Fellowship:
In its fifth year, the StandWithUs Israel Fellowship brings together 150 of Israel’s elite students from six major Israeli universities and trains them to be effective global ambassadors for Israel and to assume leadership roles in Israeli society. The fellows’ training topics include lectures, debate skills, running campaigns, building coalitions, and media skills. Their final projects must highlight a positive aspect of Israel to share with the global community. Visit www.standwithus.co.il and www.standwithus.co.il/fellowship.
About StandWithUs:
StandWithUs (SWU) is a 10-year-old, international, non-profit Israel education organization that ensures that Israel’s side of the story is told on campuses and in communities, libraries, schools, and the media. SWU hosts speakers, programs, and conferences in cities around the world, takes missions to Israel, offers Web site resources, and creates globally distributed brochures and materials about Israel in a variety of languages and on a variety of topics. Based in Los Angeles, the organization has 14 chapters across the U.S., Israel, the UK and France. Visit www.standwithus.com, www.twitter.com/StandWithUs, and www.facebook.com/StandWithUs.
This is a phantastic idea and the best approach to tackle the pro-hamas/hizb’allah terrorist romancers and their historically illiterate fan club. Hope we will see these four and their stories on a balanced Q&A on “Our ABC” one day. Should I hold my breath?