Eretz Acheret

Eretz Acheret was an independent Israeli nonprofit publication devoted to understanding Israeli society, the Jewish people and the connections between them. Founded by journalist Bambi Sheleg, who also served as its editor-in-chief, the magazine published its first issue in October 2000. Its central purpose was to bring difficult and underexamined subjects into public discussion at a time when much of the media was increasingly drawn toward scandal, celebrity, entertainment and short news cycles.

The project was distinctive in both its editorial mission and its institutional structure. It was published by an association made up of people from different sectors of Israeli society, with varied beliefs and backgrounds. As a result, Eretz Acheret was more than a magazine: it was an attempt to create a shared space for serious Israeli and Jewish conversation without reducing social realities to slogans or partisan categories.

Journalism Built Around Subjects

Each issue centered on a major subject and examined it from multiple perspectives. The magazine combined in-depth reporting, analysis, cultural writing and opinion essays. When it addressed particular communities, many of the contributors came from the communities they described. That editorial choice helped bring first-hand knowledge and internal voices into discussions that were often handled more superficially elsewhere.

Among the subjects covered were the dangers of privatization in late 2002; Israel’s lowest income decile in 2004; poverty in 2003; the privatization of prisons in 2006; and the policies of the Ministry of Finance in 2007. Other issues examined the Dovrat Report on education, life in the communities surrounding Gaza, the Chief Rabbinate, and art outside Tel Aviv’s cultural mainstream. The magazine’s range reflected its conviction that public life must be understood through social, economic, cultural and spiritual dimensions together.

Representing Israel’s Diversity

Eretz Acheret gave sustained attention to communities and groups that were not always represented in their full complexity by the mainstream press. Its issues included discussions of Israel’s Arab citizens, the difficulties faced by Ethiopian immigrants, immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Haredi society and Israel’s elite. These were not treated only as political constituencies. The magazine explored their cultures, economic circumstances, spiritual worlds and relationships with the wider society.

Devoting an entire issue to a subject made room for history, context and competing voices rather than a single news report. For readers, educators, cultural figures and social activists, the magazine became a continuing record of debates about identity, public responsibility, majority-minority relations, social policy and the search for a common language in a diverse society.

Serious Print Journalism in a Changing Media World

The editors understood their work as a response to the weakening of print journalism across the Western world. As food, fashion, art and entertainment occupied more space and attention, investigative and interpretive coverage of social consequences often diminished. Eretz Acheret sought to preserve a different kind of journalism: deliberate, contextual and willing to follow public policy into the lives of ordinary people.

The print edition published 67 issues in Hebrew and seven in English. In February 2013, the magazine moved online and began appearing as a monthly publication. Each online edition focused on a central topic and generally included five articles on that subject, three cultural articles and two opinion pieces, whose frequency varied. The change in format reflected the transformation of the media environment while preserving the publication’s commitment to thoughtful public discussion.

A Forum for Israeli and Jewish Dialogue

Eretz Acheret’s contribution extended beyond its pages. The organization held conferences, discussions and cultural forums connected to the subjects covered in the magazine. These gatherings turned journalism into an opportunity for encounter, allowing readers and members of different communities to consider difficult questions together.

The magazine’s Jewish significance was not limited to articles about religious institutions or explicitly Jewish communities. It lay also in its effort to understand the Jewish people as a diverse society shaped by different memories, beliefs, migrations and forms of belonging. Its attention to immigration, religion and state, minority communities and Israeli identity helped illuminate Jewish life in the modern State of Israel as a complex, ongoing conversation.

Why this legacy belongs in Moreshet

Eretz Acheret merits a place in Moreshet because it preserved and deepened a record of central questions in Israeli society and Jewish life during a period when sustained journalism faced growing pressure. Through 67 Hebrew issues, seven English issues, its website, conferences and public forums, it created an enduring platform for encounters among communities and perspectives.

The publication’s importance lies not simply in the topics it selected, but in the method it brought to them: turning complex social questions into material for learning and public discussion, inviting communities to describe themselves, and seeking common ground without erasing disagreement. For Moreshet.com, Eretz Acheret represents the power of independent journalism to preserve social memory, strengthen understanding among Jewish communities and contribute to a more responsible view of Israeli society.