Search for Common Ground Update, July 19, 2005

The Shape of the Future Documentary TV Series
First Ever Simulcast on Israeli, Palestinian, and Arab Satellite TV
July 2nd - 23rd Broadcasts

This month, our The Shape of the Future became the first TV series ever simultaneously broadcast on Israeli, Palestinian, and Arab Satellite TV. The series explores - on a very human level - how Israelis and Palestinians might make peace. The emphasis is on building the future, not on reliving the past.

These unprecedented simulcasts are being aired on Israel's Channel 8, the Palestinian Ma'an Network, the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC), and on Abu Dhabi satellite TV. The four 30-minute programs are being broadcast on consecutive Saturday nights throughout July.

The series explores the background, the various positions and the options for resolution of the most challenging final status issues: Israeli Settlements, Palestinian Refugees, Jerusalem, and Security.

David Broza and Said Murad, two popular Israeli and Palestinian performers, wrote background music for the series. The theme song, In My Heart, was released as a music video and has been widely played on Israeli and Palestinian radio.

John Marks, who wrote and produced the series, said on NPR's Weekend Edition (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4727953), "I really want people to see that it is possible to reach agreement and that it is possible to end this conflict."

SFCG is working with Palestinian and Israeli organizations to produce viewer's guides and to maximize the use of the programs in schools and civic and religious organizations.

Here is what former President Jimmy Carter has to say about the programs:
This documentary series examines the fears and aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians in an even-handed way. It shows how a negotiated agreement could address those fears and do so without threatening the national existence of either side. Israel and Egypt were able to accomplish this task at Camp David more than 25 years ago and this series supports the belief that Israelis and Palestinians can do the same.
The series has received wide media attention:

It peels away the human layers of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, without using stereotypes and without showing even a drop of blood. - Akiva Eldar, Ha'aretz
Unlike most films on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the documentary does not stop at analyzing the problem. It tries to give suggestions as to what the solution could look like. - Daoud Kuttab, The Daily Star (Beirut)

An objective and substantive documentary series that will inspire people to think positively about the importance and possibility of finding a solution to the conflict. - Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation

Groundbreaking - Associated Press
Unprecedented - Jerusalem Post

DVDs and videotape copies of the series are available in English, Arabic, and Hebrew (in NTSC or PAL format), with a discussion guide, through the series website, www.theshapeofthefuture.tv.