Shomrim’s (The Guardians) mission is to strengthen Israeli democracy through investigative journalism.

A non-profit, free of commercial or political bias newsroom, we aim to strengthen the flow of fact-based and data-driven information to the public; incubate investigative reporting projects with potential for social impact; examine issues of importance to communities that are often overlooked; and publish our work in partnership with big and small media outlets.

Our biggest challenge is to create real-world effect. Making an impact is a lengthy process that builds on growing recognition, and trickles down from reporting and shaping the conversation to driving policy change.

Core Principles

Fact-based reporting
Data driven storytelling
Visual documentary
Diversity of news staff
Shedding light on societal challenges and marginalized voices
Collaboration with local news outlets and media platforms
Forming a community of investigative and public interest journalists

Our inspiration: ProPublica

Inspired by the American model of ProPublica, and in parallel with the global rise of non-profit media organizations, Shomrim was established to serve as a gatekeeper among gatekeepers and to safeguard Israeli democracy through the powerful tool of investigative journalism.

In order to dive into social injustices and systemic problems afflicting the poor, voiceless or forgotten, Shomrim is committed to pursuing investigative stories and investing in projects with a lens on inclusivity.

Shomrim will play a key role in building up a new journalism at the forefront of public interest that will spur debate and stir action.

ProPublica's President and the Editor-in-Chief in an interview to Shomrim

Our Stories in English

All of Shomrim's stories are published in Hebrew. Here is a small sample of our stories translated to English and published in American media outlets

In Israel, Black activists push change through art | Zella Kotler Hadari

The money trail behind the Jerusalem eviction battle that sparked the latest Israeli-Palestinian violence, exposed | Uri Blau

Sheikh Jarrah is just latest battle for Israeli who has spent 20 years fighting Arabs — and Jews — to “redeem land” | Uri Blau

Growing numbers of Yom Kippur War veterans are seeking PTSD treatment | Renen Netzer

Requests for ‘psychological first aid’ spiked in Israel during the recent conflict, suggesting possible long-term effects | Zeela Kotler Hadari

The EAPC Leaks| Daniel Dolev

The leaks and damages to EAPC pipes: A special Shomrim Investigation

Before the Zin disaster: More than 240,000 liters of oil seeped into the Negev. The public was kept in the dark

It took the EAPC more than seven years to remove millions of liters of oil from a 60-year-old pipeline it once called “a ticking time bomb”

Official EAPC document: It was a miracle there wasn’t an oil leak in Haifa

The writing was on the wall: Another oil leak on the Ashkelon-Haifa pipeline

The FinCEN Files | Uri Blau, In collaboration with ICIJ

Thousands of Suspicious Activity Reports from banks worldwide were revealed to the public in the framework of the so-called FinCen Files affair, led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, of which Shomrim is a member

Leaked docs: Arab Bank was involved in potential terrorist financing until 2016

Companies Linked to Roman Abramovich Donated $100 Million to E. Jerusalem Right-wing Group

Leak: Israel aerospace giant paid $155m to opaque firms linked to Azeri elites

Shomrim Conference for Investigative Journalism 2021

Steve Kroft, Correspondent, Sixty Minutes, CBS News, in conversation with Ilana Dayan, host, Uvda (Fact), Israeli Channel 12, Keshet

Jodi Kantor, Investigative Reporter, The New York Times, in conversation with David Horovitz, Editor of The Times of Israel

Martin Baron, Executive Editor of The Washington Post, in conversation with Ethan Bronner, Senior Editor at Bloomberg and Founder of Shomrim

Marisa Kwiatkowski, Investigative Reporter, USA Today, in conversation with Shaul Amsterdamski, Economics Editor, Kan

Stephen Engelberg, Editor of ProPublica, in conversation with Ethan Bronner, Senior Editor at Bloomberg and Founder of Shomrim

Janine Gibson, Assistant Editor, The Financial Times, in conversation with Robert Shrimsley, Political Correspondent, The Financial Times

All the interviews and panels

Collaboration with Local Testimony

As part of this initiative, Shomrim offers two cash prizes - one for a still image expressing a meaningful democratic issue at the heart of public discourse and another for a video piece.

This collaboration is intended to endorse documentary photographers who shine a light on the complex reality of our region and through their camera lens and exclusive capture of an event, enable viewers to look at Israeli democracy straight in the eye.

Photographer Oded Balilty was the Winner of the Shomrim Award for Still Image in the Category of Democracy and Social Justice.

Local Testimony 2020

Cloaked in trauma | Renen Netzer

Shomrim’s flagship project in 2020 dealt with the issue of post-trauma in Israeli society

The youth of the Gaza-border communities reach the age of enlistment in the Israel Defense Forces and the trauma slams home hard

40 percent of the children in the Gaza border exhibit post-trauma symptoms and are prone to behavioral regressions

Our Galleries

Photographer Kobi Wolf documented Israel’s most recent war.“Whatever desire there is for co-existence, it appears hidden from view"

Photographer Bea Bar Kallos went into the COVID-19 units at various hospitals and documented the fight against the pandemic that changed the world

Photographer Jonathan Bloom went out into the field to document just some of the eyesores that remind us that profits for the few means losses for the rest of us

How Easily Did We Agree to Give Up on Our Freedom? They no longer need to use the army, the police, or weapons

Collaborating with The Movement for Freedom of Information

Public enlightenment is the foundation of Shomrim’s journalism. In Israel, the implementation of the Freedom of Information (FOI) law continues to pose a significant challenge for journalists.
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As part of Shomrim’s collaboration with The Movement for Freedom of Information, the lattersubmits FOIA requests to government agencies / public bodies on issues relevant to Shomrim’s investigative reporting and if necessary, files court petitions for information disclosure.

Shomrim’s Code of Ethics

As a unique non-profit news organization in Information the Israeli landscape, we saw great importance in composing a Code of Ethics setting standards for the conduct of our newsroom.

The Code is founded on three principles: obligation to credible, accurate and complete information; balancing the right to informationand right to privacy; and compliance with professional journalism practice, includingprotecting resources, data security and proper data handling and presentation.

Shomrim’s Code of Ethics