During the COVID-19 crisis, Israel’s mass media, which had previously ceded much of its influence in favor of social media platforms, once again assumed a central place in the public arena. The public approached mass media outlets in search of reliable information; decision-makers appealed to the public through the news, and ratings shot back up.
But when the public sits at home and receives its information from the media, everything that is presented becomes fact. And when the public and societal leaders are fed an unreliable snapshot of reality, decisions are made that do not match needs in the field, going so far as to even harm citizens.
Therefore, at the peak of the COVID-19 crisis, following the negative reports that the ultra-Orthodox were not adhering to the guidelines, the mayor of Ramat Gan announced the construction of fences between his city and the nearby ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak in order to prevent residents from passing back and forth.
These two cities are so close to each other that one building may be situated in Bnei Brak while the one next door is already in Ramat Gan. The mayor’s extreme step did not have any health ramifications – the virus clearly does not stop spreading when it reaches a fence. However, the decision illustrated the public’s negative opinion of Bnei Brak in particular, and the ultra-Orthodox society in general.
The result was a huge crisis of trust between all the citizens of the State and the ultra-Orthodox society, and between the ultra-Orthodox society and the rest of the public and the media, whose work had instilled the public’s sentiments.
MAOZ Network members also felt that the reduced trust harmed them even more than the COVID-19 consequences themselves. As an ultra-Orthodox Network member said then: “I admit that in recent days I’ve already thought about the value that trust, which is engraved on MAOZ’s flag, has if not for a situation such as this. And I thought it would be better not to write in Whatsapp groups, as doing so would be a waste of time. I admit that I felt this way”.
And with that, the Cornerstone media initiative was launched with the aim of changing the coverage and public opinion towards the Arab and ultra-Orthodox societies. This was carried out through media exposure, in which we promoted COVID-19 heroes and shared stories about the ultra-Orthodox and Arab societies.
The initiative was led by MAOZ, in collaboration with Network member Eitan Zeliger, who owns and runs a public relations firm. The main and active partners in the initiative were the Arab and ultra-Orthodox Network members; they provided potential ideas and interviewees, with some even being interviewed themselves.
During its three months of activity, the initiative produced 25 published and/or broadcasted news segments about the Arab society. One of the initiative’s focuses was on Arab interviewees, and it included a series of interviews about Ramadan, which had previously been almost completely absent from the Israeli media.
31 positive news segments with ultra-Orthodox interviewees were also published and/or broadcasted. They delved into the effects COVID-19 had on the ultra-Orthodox society’s daily life, including the impact on businesses and students’ return to school.