The Israel Project - Jerusalem Media Resource Center

The Israel Project- Jerusalem Media Resource Center (TIP-IO) opened in July 2005. It is located in downtown Jerusalem on 23 Hillel St. Marcus Sheff is the executive director. Prior to joining The Israel Project, Marcus worked as a media and communications professional in Israel for 20 years, first as a political reporter for the The Nation and an editor at The Jerusalem Post, then setting up a marketing communications and PR company whose clients included government ministries, many of Israel's Top 20 companies and international publishers and advertising agencies. Rachel Fishman is the administrative director of TIP-IO and responsible for all public events. Leah Soibel is the research director, focusing principally on Arab terrorist groups. Joining The Israel Project for the third year as the coordinator of the Israel Media Fellows is Deena Friedman. All of these staff members will be involved in working with and helping the Fellows while they are in Israel.

The Israel office works in close coordination with Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Israel Defense Forces Spokespersons Office, the Government Press Office as well as the Foreign Press Association.  

General Information:

The 2008 Media Fellowship program runs from June 15 - Aug. 15. Each fellow will receive a $2,500 stipend, to be paid in two installments. The first installment will be paid upon completion of the four-day training seminar and the second payment will be made upon the successful completion of the program. The Fellows are responsible for paying their own roundtrip airfare to Israel and housing costs while in Jerusalem. Please note that the $2,500 stipend does not cover either the cost of travel to/from Israel or housing in Israel. Therefore, Fellows selected for the Israel-based Media Fellowship should expect to spend a minimum of an additional $1,500 for food and travel while in Israel.  

All travel during work hours will be paid for by The Israel Project. In addition, there will be occasions when TIP will provide lunch and dinner to the Fellows during their stay.  On weekends (Friday and Saturday), Fellows are permitted to travel on their own. The Israel office will also assist Fellows seeking to be set up with families for Shabbat hospitality.

Work days/hours are Sunday-Thursday from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Fellows are expected to be on time to work and wear casual business attire.  Because some meetings will be held outside of the office, Fellows should expect to work longer hours from time to time. For all meetings outside the office, Fellows will be expected to wear formal business attire. During particularly busy or demanding times, Fellows will be expected to work additional hours. 

This is a working Fellowship. Fellows will be assigned projects and will be expected to complete them in a timely fashion. In addition to assigned tasks, Fellows will be expected to work on the following:

• Backgrounders
• Fact sheets
• Extensive research on the Internet
• Monitoring anti-Israel websites and news outlets
• Conducting online pro-Israel advocacy

Time and circumstances permitting, Fellows may also be authorized to initiate projects of their own under TIP-IO guidance. Such projects might include starting a blog, writing pieces for their hometown newspapers, writing op-ed articles and generally coming up with ways to promote and communicate current affairs in Israel to their home communities. 

All Fellows will also be expected to do general office work. This will include helping with the daily tasks of running an efficient office, such as updating names, addresses and phone numbers in TIP's database, basic Internet research, preparing press kits for journalists and press conferences and staying late to make phone calls.  

Fellows who have laptop computers are encouraged to bring them to Israel. Each Fellow will be provided an Israeli cell phone while in Israel. TIP-IO will provide basic phone service. Fellows are responsible for all additional calls (to family, friends etc.) by adding "calling cards" to their phones. 

Health Insurance:

The Israel Project will pay for health insurance coverage for the Fellows during the duration of their Fellowship in Israel. Once accepted into the program, Fellows will receive insurance forms and will be expected to complete and immediately return them to the Jerusalem office via fax. 

International Travel and Workers Compensation Insurance:

The Israel Project will provide the Fellows international travel and workers compensation insurance coverage at no additional cost. This coverage will be valid for the entire course of the Fellowship. Insurance cards will be provided immediately following the four-day training seminar at the beginning of the Fellowship.

Housing:

Fellows are responsible for paying the cost of their own housing while in Israel. From our experience and research, the best option in terms of price and location is the Gesher Youth Hostel, located at 10 King David Street (across the street from the King David Hotel) in Jerusalem.

It is a 10-minute walk from Gesher to the TIP-IO office as well as to the center of town. The rooms reserved for TIP Fellows are located on the third floor. All of these rooms have been recently renovated (click here to see pictures). Although each room was initially designed to house four people, we intend to place only two people per room in order to make it more comfortable. Each room has its own bathroom with a shower and air-conditioner.

Each Fellow is required to pay $30 per night at Gesher. This price includes breakfast, which may not be separated out from the total cost. Because the Fellowship lasts 57 nights, Fellows will be required to pay Gesher a total of $1,710. Those Fellows who would like to eat additional meals at Gesher must pay an additional cost:  Dinner during the week is about $8, and dinner on the weekends/Shabbat is $15. There are no kitchen facilities at Gesher. TIP-IO will provide a small refrigerator and microwave at Gesher that will be shared by all of the Fellows, but lunches, dinners, snacks and drinks will not be provided or paid for by TIP-IO. Fellows who choose not to stay at Gesher during the weekends or holidays are still responsible for paying the entire $1,710 cost of staying at Gesher during the Fellowship. Fellows who wish to stay at Gesher for only part of their stay may do so as long as they make arrangements before leaving for Israel. No changes may be made following arrival in Israel.

Fellows who do not wish to reside at Gesher may find their own housing in Jerusalem. One viable option that some Fellows have taken in the past is staying with family or friends, provided the location is central to the TIP-IO office. Additional travel costs to/from the office are the responsibility of the Fellows. Those who opt not to live at Gesher will be responsible for finding their own housing. All such arrangements must be finalized before arriving in Israel. TIP-IO staff is available to help and advise the Fellows, but the ultimate responsibility for these arrangements rests with the Fellows.