Our International Reporting Program prepares foreign reporters to explore the world and share the stories of real people. Classes cover economics and globalization, human rights, immigration, religion, climate change, U.S. foreign policy and development, preparing students to put stories in global context, avoid stereotypes and help audiences understand the trends that link us all.

Roadblock. Impasse. Stalemate.

Never in the nearly seven-decades of struggle between Palestinians and Israelis has the situation seemed so bleak. Stalled peace talks, attacks and reprisals, and a growing sense that neither side has leaders who can bring the unending cycle of violence to a halt, have led to rage and frustration that many fear will have an explosive end.

It was into this setting that 18 journalists of the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism’s International Reporting Program ventured this summer. From the heady scenes of Tel Aviv’s gay pride parade, to the tense borders between Israelis and their Arab neighbors, to the overpopulated streets of Haredim, and the seething towns and settlements of the West Bank, we found Jews and Arabs with deeply rooted and complex grievances and hopes.

But amid the despair we also found people who were forging their own paths outside the political sphere. The entrepreneurs of Israel’s booming hi-tech industry, the creators of the Arab world’s most progressive women’s magazine and the bipartisan non-violence movement are just some of those striving to bring the peace and prosperity all sides crave.

These are their stories.

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