The group "Parhessia", named after the Old Hebrew word for "public", is raising something of a stir in Israel.

It was founded two years ago by Israeli writers, artists and teachers with the objective of establishing a new language for the Israeli public sector, throwing a critical light on the ethnic, religious and social complexity of the country's society.

Parhessia's most recent high-profile initiative is the result of a collaboration with the Israeli association "Zochrot". This group has been working for some years on informing the Israeli public about the Nakba, the Palestinian trauma of flight and expulsion in 1948, and its consequences – in Hebrew, with the aim of breaking down the general taboo concerning the war and its outcomes.