This project is a continuation of The Locals – Eye-Level Dialogue campaign, which in its first year (2019) focused on the implications of the Nation-State Law on the Arab citizens of Israel, and in 2020 dealt with inequality in budget distribution between Arab and Jewish citizens.

This year (2021), we have chosen to emphasize an important and less familiar angle to most Jewish society in Israel and convey a more optimistic message.
The Jewish mainstream’s familiarity with Arab society remains at the level of stereotype and the ease of looking through one-dimensional glasses, so the common narrative disparagingly labels Arabs as incapable and lacking in initiative.
The Jewish public is not aware of most of the success stories in Arab society, and the stories that are known are perceived as exceptional.

A different point of view enables the Jewish mainstream, most of whom do not tend to believe in the potential for a possible partnership between Israel’s Arab and Jewish populations, to entertain the possibility.

This helps to cultivate a more complex consciousness regarding the identity of the Arab population in Israel,
removing psychological barriers to meeting authentically, and normalizing the idea of partnership in building the civic future in Israel.

We believe that the videos we have produced will help those who drive through Arab localities to deviate from this main road to other roads and side streets, where a multidimensional picture of society is revealed, which most Jews are unaware of.

Through these “side roads” the audience will be exposed to local and even international success stories, and through them will connect to human sentiment that allows empathy for people as people.
The campaign includes a glimpse into the world of successful business men and women, entrepreneurs, academics from diverse fields, ventures in education, social action and more.