Lia Tarachansky
Encyclopedia
Lia Tarachansky is a Canadian-Israeli video-journalist. She has published in both video and print form for a variety of publications, but primarily produces video reports for The Real News Network. Tarachansky is an example of what is known as a 'solo VJ', a video-journalist who works alone in carrying out all research, interviewing, filming, and editing. Tarachansky's work focuses primarily on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
.
, USSR, today the capital of Ukraine
, Tarachansky and her family moved to Israel
in 1991 as part of a massive Soviet Jew migration. Soon after, the family moved from central Israel to Ariel
, one of the most controversial settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank
.
In a recent interview with The Real News Network's Senior Editor Paul Jay
, Tarachansky described how it is possible to live in a settlement like Ariel, surrounded by Palestinian
villages, and never experience any real contact with Palestinian people.
When she was 15, the family moved again, this time to Ottawa, Canada.
, Free Speech Radio News
, Canadian Dimension
, and JNews. The majority of her work is with the independent video news service, The Real News Network.
.
Tarachansky is one of very few journalists who have looked into the economics of the Israeli occupation. She received a great deal of recognition for her 2009 report, Remote Control Occupation.
and launched a three-day bombing campaign that left 15 dead, including two children.
Tarachansky published a video report that included an interview with Israeli military spokeswoman Avital Leibowitz. Leibowitz admitted that Isreal's evidence of Gazan involvement was not complete, relying primarily on the discovery of Kalashnikov
bullets in Eilat. The Kalashnikov, or AK-47 as it's commonly known, is the most widely used assault rifle in the world. Leibowitz said that “Kalashnikov rifles are very common in Gaza”.
Prime Minister Netanyahu soon pulled the plug on the bombing operation. According to Israeli daily Ha'aretz, this wasn't due to a lack of evidence, but rather to a “lack of international legitimacy”.
's ninth Freedom Flotilla
were Al Qaeda mercenaries. The incident was a result of an Israeli navy raid on board the Mavi Marmara that left nine Turkish activists dead and dozens injured. In 2011, when another Flotilla was to set sail for Gaza, she once again exposed how Israel intended to stop it, this time without "physical contact".
were killed. Tarachansky interviewed the men's families and found falsities within the Israeli army spokesperson's claim regarding the killed and the details of the raid. According to witnesses on site, Tarachansky reports that the killed men may not have resisted arrest, as the army claimed, but were killed on sight.
. According to Tarachansky, it is “an exploration of the power of denial” that questions “what Israelis learn, know, and sometimes choose not to know about the 1948 war”. The film, for which a release date has not yet been set, boasts interviews with many of the surviving veterans of the war and Isreal's New Historians
. An excerpt of the film can be seen here: SEVEN DEADLY MYTHS - Amnon Noiman.
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
.
Early life
Born in KievKiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, USSR, today the capital of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Tarachansky and her family moved to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in 1991 as part of a massive Soviet Jew migration. Soon after, the family moved from central Israel to Ariel
Ariel (city)
Ariel is an Israeli settlement and a city in the West Bank. Ariel was established in 1978. Its population at the end of 2009 was 17,600, including 7,000 immigrants who came to Israel after 1990. It is the fourth largest Jewish settlement city in the West Bank., after Modi'in Illit, Beitar Illit,...
, one of the most controversial settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
.
In a recent interview with The Real News Network's Senior Editor Paul Jay
Paul Jay
Paul Jay is a journalist and filmmaker, and is creator and CEO of The Real News. Jay was born and raised in Toronto and holds dual-citizenship with the United States. Jay is the nephew of screenwriter Ted Allan.- Film and television work :...
, Tarachansky described how it is possible to live in a settlement like Ariel, surrounded by Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
villages, and never experience any real contact with Palestinian people.
When she was 15, the family moved again, this time to Ottawa, Canada.
Journalism
Tarachansky has been published with a number of outlets including The DominionThe Dominion
The Dominion was a Canadian transcontinental passenger train operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway. It first began as a summer service between Toronto, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia, operating in 1931 and 1932...
, Free Speech Radio News
Free Speech Radio News
Free Speech Radio News is an independently produced half hour daily national and international radio news program focusing on peace and social justice issues in the US and around the world. FSRN is collectively run by its workers and reporters...
, Canadian Dimension
Canadian Dimension
Canadian Dimension is a Canadian leftist magazine founded in 1963 by Cy Gonick, and published out of Winnipeg, Manitoba 6 times a year, with a circulation of 3,000 copies....
, and JNews. The majority of her work is with the independent video news service, The Real News Network.
The Real News Network
Most of Tarachansky's work with The Real News Network has dealt with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She has produced dozens of ten-minute documentaries chronicling current events in the region. Her work often includes historical and economic analysis in order to provide context that traditional two or three minute news reports can't. Her work is regularly shown on some of the most popular sites critical of the Israeli government, such as MondoweissMondoweiss
Mondoweiss is a news website devoted to covering American foreign policy in the Middle East, chiefly from a progressive Jewish perspective. It was founded in 2006 by journalist and author Philip Weiss and is currently co-edited by Weiss and author/activist Adam Horowitz...
.
Tarachansky is one of very few journalists who have looked into the economics of the Israeli occupation. She received a great deal of recognition for her 2009 report, Remote Control Occupation.
Eilat controversy
On August 18, 2011 eight Israelis in a series of terror attacks including suicide bombs, roadside bombs, and gunmen opening fire on an Egged bus. The attacks took place around the town of Eilat, an important port and tourist destination on Israel's Red Sea coast. The Israeli military immediately claimed that the perpetrators were from the Gaza StripGaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
and launched a three-day bombing campaign that left 15 dead, including two children.
Tarachansky published a video report that included an interview with Israeli military spokeswoman Avital Leibowitz. Leibowitz admitted that Isreal's evidence of Gazan involvement was not complete, relying primarily on the discovery of Kalashnikov
Kalashnikov
Kalashnikov is commonly used to refer to a type of rifle, but it and similar words also have other meanings:-People:*Mikhail Kalashnikov , Russian small arms designer*Maxim Kalashnikov , Russian writer and political activist...
bullets in Eilat. The Kalashnikov, or AK-47 as it's commonly known, is the most widely used assault rifle in the world. Leibowitz said that “Kalashnikov rifles are very common in Gaza”.
Prime Minister Netanyahu soon pulled the plug on the bombing operation. According to Israeli daily Ha'aretz, this wasn't due to a lack of evidence, but rather to a “lack of international legitimacy”.
Israel's Social Protests
Tarachansky was the first foreign journalist to cover the spontaneous outbreak of protests against the high cost of living in Israel on July 14. The movement became known as J14. Her reports touch on immigration, the economic striations in Israeli society, and how the social movement is tackling the issue of inequality outside the Jewish community in Israel.Freedom Flotilla
In 2010, Tarachansky exposed falsities in the Israeli government's statement that activists on board the Gaza Freedom MovementGaza Freedom Flotilla
The Gaza Freedom Flotilla, organized by the Free Gaza Movement and the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief , was carrying humanitarian aid and construction materials, with the intention of breaking the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of the Gaza Strip.On 31 May 2010,...
's ninth Freedom Flotilla
Gaza flotilla raid
The Gaza flotilla raid was a military operation by Israel against six ships of the "Gaza Freedom Flotilla" on 31 May 2010 in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea...
were Al Qaeda mercenaries. The incident was a result of an Israeli navy raid on board the Mavi Marmara that left nine Turkish activists dead and dozens injured. In 2011, when another Flotilla was to set sail for Gaza, she once again exposed how Israel intended to stop it, this time without "physical contact".
Israeli Army killings
Following an incident in December 2009 where the Israeli army retaliated against the killing of an Israeli settler, three Palestinian men in the city of NablusNablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
were killed. Tarachansky interviewed the men's families and found falsities within the Israeli army spokesperson's claim regarding the killed and the details of the raid. According to witnesses on site, Tarachansky reports that the killed men may not have resisted arrest, as the army claimed, but were killed on sight.
Middle-East bureau
Tarachansky is currently working on setting up a Middle-East Bureau for The Real News Network, which will be made up of producers from Israel and the Palestinian Territories. She speaks to The Real News' Senior Editor Paul Jay about it here: On Reporting from Israel and Palestine (pt.2).Seven Deadly Myths
Seven Deadly Myths is Tarachansky's first long-form documentary film dealing with the 1948 war that created the state of Israel1948 Palestine war
The 1948 Palestine war refers to the events in the British Mandate of Palestine between the United Nations vote on the partition plan on November 30, 1947, to the end of the first Arab-Israeli war on July 20, 1949.The war is divided into two phases:...
. According to Tarachansky, it is “an exploration of the power of denial” that questions “what Israelis learn, know, and sometimes choose not to know about the 1948 war”. The film, for which a release date has not yet been set, boasts interviews with many of the surviving veterans of the war and Isreal's New Historians
New Historians
The New Historians are a loosely-defined group of Israeli historians who have challenged traditional versions of Israeli history, including Israel's role in the Palestinian Exodus in 1948 and Arab willingness to discuss peace. The term was coined in 1988 by one of the leading New Historians, Benny...
. An excerpt of the film can be seen here: SEVEN DEADLY MYTHS - Amnon Noiman.