Even though it’s too early to check the November 2016 statistics, those from October indicate that around 30,000 individuals visited This Week in Palestine’s websites; 29,370 individual visitors in a 31-day period to be exact. We actually have two websites. The first is the current www.thisweekinpalestine.com, which holds the content of all the issues from August 2014 till today, and the second is http://archive.thisweekinpalestine.com/, which contains all previous issues beginning with the first back in December 1998 to that of July 2014. It is not surprising that approximately 84 percent of our visitors go to our archival website since it holds 195 issues with literally thousands of articles about Palestine and Palestinians. We consider this huge compilation of material to be our greatest single achievement during the 18-year history of This Week in Palestine. Given this accomplishment, and armed with a solid team behind the project, we believe that it is time to take TWiP to another level. It is, in fact, time to fly.
As a content-based magazine, TWiP has become a key source of information about Palestine, hence our slogan: “Promoting and Documenting Palestine.” Our aim has always been to offer snapshots of various aspects of Palestine, such as tourism, the economy, cultural heritage, IT, water, gender, education, etc. At the same, though, we have never claimed to be an authority on any of the subjects we’ve dealt with. We have simply highlighted certain themes, hoping to arouse interest and point out stakeholders. Judging from the statistics on TWiP, however, our concept has found favor among our readers, who have grown in number as each new issue appears.
Oddly enough, every time I am asked for a description of our target group, I seem to stutter, unsure how to reply. First and foremost, I would immediately think of our local reality and answer by saying that we target Palestinians, in whom TWiP instils much needed hope. Then come the expatriates who live in Palestine. At an international level, I would reply by saying that we target friends and foes of Palestine everywhere. To be honest, though, I have never felt satisfied with my response. Irrespective of the exact identity of the magazine’s target group, however, I have always sought to make TWiP a main source of information for all Palestinians, and for those of Palestinian descent, worldwide. The Palestinian Time or Newsweek magazine, if you like.
In order to address this formidable challenge, we need to engage in serious international promotion to expand our market. The lack of external funding compels us to continue to depend on our own resources. Making TWiP’s website accessible by subscription only is one way to ensure the availability of resources needed for this expansion. Your subscription would go a long way to sustain and expand a project that has been promoting and documenting Palestine for the past eighteen years. It is time for Palestine to fly.
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year filled with joy and peace,
