SMC in Education
Sderot Media Center works to educate the public on the rocket terror impacting Sderot through visits , seminars , information packets , and campus visits . SMC is recognized as an official source and information provider by the Jewish Agency. SMC reaches out to a wide range of people and groups including student organizations , politicians and policy makers .
Politicians and Policy Makers
Sderot Media Center has hosted a number of VIPs including diplomats, foreign officials and political leaders in Sderot. SMC conducts political outreach among Israeli politicians and political representatives from abroad and works with the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Most recently, SMC director, Noam Bedein visited Capitol Hill to brief US Congressmen in February 2009. To read more about Noam’s Capitol Hill visit and its political and media impact, click on the titles of the articles below.
SMC’s Noam Bedein visits Capitol Hill
Ha’aretz: No Gilad Shalit, No Gaza Aid
Sderot Media Center: Capitol Hill Responds to SMC Director, Noam Bedein’s Visit
Sderot Media Center: US Congresswoman Shelley Berkeley Responds to Hamas Rockets and Gilad Shalit
Sderot Media Center: Gilad Shalit Supporters Wait for Hillary Clinton’s Reply
Israeli Media Coverage following Noam’s Visit to Capitol Hill (Hebrew)
Walla:Call to Stop US Aid to Gaza Until Shalit is Released
Israel MSN: US Aid to Stop Unless Gilad Shalit is Freed
Ha’aretz: Shalit Family Starts New Campaign before Government Changes
MyNet : Sderot Representative Stands before US Congress
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs –
The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially requested that the Sderot Media Center provide all Israeli diplomatic offices around the world with first-hand exclusive material and audiovisual materials. The packets were distributed to 101 Israel diplomatic missions by the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs and funded through StandWithUs.
MFA commends SMC’s high quality of journalistic work during Operation Cast Lead:
MFA Recognition Letter #1
MFA Recognition Letter #2
SMC Organizes Knesset Visits for Sderot Residents
Sderot Media Center: SMC’s Exclusive Report on Sderot residents’ visit to Knesset
Sderot Media Center: Establishing a Lobby in Sderot
Sderot Media Center: Progress in the Struggle of Sderot Residents with Israel Tax Authority
SMC Hosts Diplomats and Government Representatives
Denmark
United Nations Special Coordinator’s Office
VIPs Hosted by SMC
- Irish Member of UK Parliament, Jeffrey Donaldson
- US Congressmen Keith Ellison and Brian Baird
- Joe the Plumber
- Fmr. Arkansas Governor, Mike Huckabee
Visits
SMC conducts visits for members of the media, diplomats and students with the goal of spreading awareness of the situation in Sderot, and the routine of everyday life for people living with the reality of impending Qassam attacks. SMC encourage groups to volunteer and engage in projects to help the citizens of Sderot.
All of our trips are guided by professional guides, fluent in English and Hebrew, who live in the neighborhood of Sderot and areas surrounding Gaza. We offer tours Sunday through Friday, geared towards both small and large groups, and can accommodate individual group needs.
Seminars
Sderot Media Center has added a new program, Ambassadors of Tommorow to its Israel-advocacy activities with the object of training the students of today to be effective ambassadors of the Arab-Israeli conflict through the story of Sderot.
The program is an all day training seminar that provides Israel advocacy training for high school and college students in the field of media. Students at the end of the seminar will gain the knowledge skills necessary for presenting the situation in Sderot and southern Israel in the context of the Israeli-Arab conflict on college campuses and other venues. Read more.
Sderot Media Center is working to open a new visitor’s center adjacent to its office to house student groups and international press. To read more about the visitor’s center, click here: SMC’s Visitor’s Center.
Information Packets
The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially requested that the Sderot Media Center provide all Israeli diplomatic offices around the world with first-hand exclusive material that SMC has documented and produced.
Over 3,000 of these SMC comprehensive packets and audiovisual materials were distributed to 101 Israel diplomatic missions by the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs and funded through StandWithUs.
Campus Visits
SMC has given more than 200 presentations, across North America, the UK, and Norway to university and high school students, including 50 presentations on leading university campuses in North America.
SMC director, Noam Bedein has been on four campus tours across the United States, which have been sponsored by the ZOA, The David Project, Hasbara Fellowship, StandWithUs, and CAMERA. To read about Noam’s most recent US college tour (March 2008), click on the NY Times article below.
- New York Times: Israeli Photojournalist Shows the Human Face of his Nation’s Violent News
- Sderot Media Center: SMC Director Noam Bedein talks about his US college tour
Most recently, SMC’s Jacob Shrybman toured US college campuses on a StandWithUs tour (March-April 2009) and faced aggressive anti-Israel demonstration during his presentations on Sderot. To read more about his visit and the freedom of speech issue that resulted on US college campuses, click below on the following articles.
Sderot Media Center: SMC’s Jacob Shrybman tours US college campuses with StandWithUs
- Jerusalem Post: SMC Representative “Shell-shocked” at DePaul University
- St. Louis Jewish Press: St. Louis Jewish Press Reacts to Anti-Sderot Protests on College Campuses
SMC’s Anav Silverman visited London, England in June 2008, raising Sderot awareness across London and Birmingham in Jewish communities, synagogues, schools, and other venues. She met with journalists at the BBC and also spoke the BBC World Radio on the impact of rocket fire on Sderot. Click on the article titles below to read more about her visit.
Presenting Sderot to England
The Truth is Right There, BBC
BBC World Service Radio
Student Organizations
Sderot Media Center has conducted several Sderot awareness projects with Israeli college students and international students visiting Israel. Click below to read of Sderot Media Center’s outreach to student organizations.
- Students of IDC Hertzliya Support Sderot with SMC
- 150 Young Judea Participants Visit Sderot
- Students Organize anti-Hamas Rally in Jerusalem
- Following SMC tour, UK’s FZY students Initiate Sderot Awareness in England
- Dialogue with Arab Students
- Recommendation Letters
