"This is just propaganda!"

Sometimes people briefly visit our site and leave with the impression that we're pushing "anti-Israeli propaganda". Vermonters for a Just Peace advocates the application of international law in the Middle East. Although that position puts us squarely at odds with Israel's current policies, we are definitely not "anti-Israeli". We are a diverse group of Vermonters with personal links in both Israel and occupied Palestine. We are firmly opposed to all acts of violence against civilians.

"What about the Israeli victims? You only show the Palestinian side."

We report all the occupation-related conflict that occurs in Israel and Palestine every day, usually from Israeli, Palestinian, and international sources. If today's pages don't report violence against Israelis, it's very likely there was none to report.

Our site strives to present a reasonably accurate "daily snapshot" of Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands. Because our media deliver such a blurry and selective picture of this conflict, we go directly to sources on the ground to get the close-up view the newspapers miss. When the details of an event are disputed or unclear, we try to post several versions from a range of sources.

"Your news is biased."

Nearly half of our daily news stories come from the Israeli press, including Ha'aretz, Globes (Israel Business Arena), and YNet News (Yediot Ahronot), and sometimes the Jerusalem Post, JTA, the Forward and others. We cover the latest events and trends in Israeli government, economy, and society, especially as they relate to the occupation and human rights, our primary concerns as an organization.

An approximately equal fraction of our coverage comes from Palestinian and other Arab sources, including Electronic Intifada, MIFTAH, the Palestinian National Authority (WAFA, International Press Center, Palestine Media Center, Palestine Monitor) and dozens of others. The remainder includes British, US, Australian, New Zealand and Asian press reports from the Middle East.

The resulting picture may be unfamiliar and ugly, but it is a better approximation of the reality of the occupation than the picture presented by our present US media. If it doesn't square with your picture of the occupation, why not compare your news sources with ours for awhile, and then see what you think?

We hope that this site will serve as a gateway to a better understanding of the region and the issues at hand. Thank you for visiting.

We are happy to receive questions and constructive comments via e-mail. Please write to vtjp@vtjp.org