The beginning of this unit comes after students have been busy for weeks preparing for the Film Festival and our final projects and after our discussions on the judgement and legacy of the Holocaust so I find it important to begin this unit with a refresher of what the Jewish connection to the land is.  And so we start with an analysis of Perek 137 of Tehillims (Psalms).  Here are some activities you can do with Psalm 137:
  • Discuss what Perek 137 describes.
  • Write a story detailing what Dovid HaMelech sees as he is writing this Perek.
  • How does this Perek of Tehillim explain the connection between the Jewish people and Zion?
  • Use other Judaic texts list other times where we as a nation recall Jerusalem.
Precursors to the IDF: 
In the 1930s, the British government drew back from the pro-Zionist commitment of the Balfour Declaration, and in 1939 eve barred Palestine as a place of refuge for the overwhelming majority of Jews trying to flee the Nazis.  Although Jewish resentment against Britain was great, when World War II broke out, almost all Jews rallied behind Britain to fight against the greater foe: Nazism.  As David Ben-Gurion, the leading figure in Palestine's Jewish community,  put it at the time: "[We shall] war against Hitler as though there were no White Paper, and we shall war against the White Paper as though there were no Hitler." 

Haganah

Irgun

Lechi

Palmach
In the course of our study we use Rabbi Joseph Telushkin's "Jewish Literacy" to ready summaries of key events through Jewish history - including the differences between the Irgun and the Haganah.  When possible, I attempt to use primary sources that I'm able to find from this time period before the creation of the Isareli Defense Forces.  In fact, I am consistently on the lookout for primary resources that I can use in the classroom.   One important site to visit to access the most unique source documents is the Center for Israel Education (more on them elsewhere). 

The Life of Irgun Members

"Jewish Units in the War" by Jabotinsky
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Irgun Letter - Shlomo Ben Yosef
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Repetition and consistency is key in communicating the overarching ideas to students.  One of the concepts we revisit throughout the year is the "Universe of Obligation" and we do so by talking about how various individuals - based on their actions in history - would view their Universe of Obligation.  How did feeling a core responsibility to the nation change the character of who these men and women were?  Would the nation exist without individuals who removed everyone but the nation from the center of their Universe of Obligation?  Those questions naturally transition into: so what does that mean for me and the way I structure my Universe of Obligation?  Our ultimate lesson is not just what happened in the past but it is about how does what happened in the past impact who we choose to become today.
The summer before creating this new course, I read Daniel Gordis' new book and was amazed by how he weaved together the elements of literature, heroism, history and true Zionism to create this important book.  I use passages from the book throughout my course and am seriously considering using it as a text for my 12th graders! 
Picture
An image I took on the hills of Hevron in the Spring of 2009.
The political differences that are manifest through the Irgun and Haganah camps eventually translates into the creation of modern Israel's early political parties.  

The United Nations Partition Plan

Every piece of history can be turned into an opportunity to practice literacy skills .  That's the case with studying the UN Partition Plan.  Not only do we learn the facts but we study what the Partition Plan's proposed map looks like, study a British cartoon on the matter after which students complete a rhetorical triangle and write a paragraph dissecting the cartoon.  After sharing our paragraphs out loud, we are able to have a class wide conversation about what led the British to abandon their mandate, the pros and cons of the UN Partition Plan and what students believe will happen next.

Israel Declares Independece

Following the United Nations' release of the Partition Plan, the age old Zionist dream of rebuilding a homeland for the Jewish people in our ancient homeland became a reality.  This leads directly to the official declaration of Israel's independence by Ben-Gurion.  Students read and annotate the Declaration. 

The War of Independence 

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Have you ever taught a class that did not enjoy watching a film in class?  I haven't.  In fact, I've never taught a class that did not ask at every instance that they could if we could instead watch a video during class.   I'm not a fan of films without purpose.  But one film I have found to bring a new perspective on Israel's War of Independence was "Above and Beyond" which shows the creation of Israel's new Air Force comprised mostly of men who had served in the Second World War for other nations.  These fighter pilots provided the precious air coverage that helped achieve victory by 1949 and were thus fundamental in the creation of the State of Israel.  With their role complete, they returned to their lives in both America and Israel but, in my humble opinion, have not yet achieved the fame and recognition that they deserve for the vital contribution.   Watch the documentary yourself by clicking the image on the left.

The Jews of Arab Lands

My Reflection Assessing Failures and Thinking about Next Year:

The title of my class is Jewish History.  And we are literally talking about the history of the Jewish people and therefore the title is apropos but soon the reality set in that we are studying "Ashkenazi History".  While elements in the creation of the state of Israel allow for talk about the Sephardic elements of our society, they are largely ignored in our curriculum.  This is something that I aim to rectify in future renditions of this course so that there is a more adequate teaching of Jews in Arab lands.  

The Eichmann Trial

The question I wish to raise for my students is to what extent do the people and nation of Israel need to own the Eichmann trial - and conduct it themselves - to really move into the future?  The Eichmann trial is the ultimate in Jewish justice.  For me, I believe that the nation needs this moment in order to move onwards and to rectify the past with their own hands, with their own sentence rather than watching other nations or the UN put on Nazi trials.

The Six Day War

Judea and Samaria

This section is focused on learning about the ancient territories of Judea and Samaria that are reunited with the nation of Israel after the Six Day War.  At this point, I purposely do not have presentations and conversations about the political nature of the addition of this territory for two reasons: 1) the political aspects of the Six Day War are presented in the beginnings of the next course: "Modern Israel" and 2) it's June and time is running out (oh no!).  What I want my students to know about through this unit is the Jewish people's connection to this land and about the incredible individuals who had to make many sacrifices for making this land part of the Land of Israel.  
Ruth Gavison is an Israeli legal scholar.  She was born and raised in Israel, studied law at Hebrew University, and received her doctorate in philosophy of law from Oxford University.  Gavison currently serves as a law professor at Hebrew University.  She served as President of the Israeli Association for Civil Rights and now heads the Metzila Center, an institute she established to promote the legitimacy of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.
Is it possible to justify the existence of a Jewish state?  This question, raised with increased frequency in recent years, is not just a theoretical one.  Israel will endure as a Jewish state only if it can be defended, in both the physical and the moral sense….
Over the many years in which I have participated in debates about Israel’s constitutional foundations and the frights of its citizens, I did not generally feel this question to be particularly urgent.  Indeed, I believed that there was no more need to demonstrate the legitimacy of a Jewish state than there was for any other nation state, and I did not take claims to the contrary very seriously.  Those who denied the legitimacy of Israel as a Jewish stat were in my eyes, little different from the radical ideologues who dismiss all national movements as inherently immoral, or who insist that Judaism is solely a religion with no right to national self-expression; their claims seemed marginal and unworthy of systematic refutation.
Today I realize that my view was wrong.  The repudiation of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state is now a commonly held position, and ne that is increasingly seen as legitimate.  Among Israeli Arabs, for example, it is nearly impossible to find anyone willing to endorse, at least publically, the right of Jews to national self-determination in the land of Israel.  Rejection of the Jewish state has in fact become the norm among most representatives of the Arab public – including those who have sworn allegiance as members of Knesset…
More worrisome, perhaps, is the fact that many Jews in Israel agree with this view, or at least show a measure of sympathy for it. 
Task #2: “Covenant and Conversation” by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
Today the overwhelming majority those who challenge Israel’s right to exist believe in Israel’s G-d, that is to say, the G-d of Abraham.  They belong to the large family of faith known as the Abrahamic monotheisms. 
To them, we must humbly say: when it comes to political conflict, let us search for a political solution.  Let us work together in pursuit of peace.  But when it comes to religion, let us not forget that without Judaism, there would be no Christianity and no Islam.  Unlike Christianity and Islam, Judaism never sought to convert the world and never created an empire.  All it sought was one tiny land, promised to the children of Israel by the creator of the universe, in whom Jews, Christians, and Msulims all believe.
Sadly, Rabbi Isaac was right, and Rasi was right to quote him at the beginning of his Torah commentary.  The Jewish people would be challenged on its right to the land, by people who claimed to worship the same G-d.  that same G-d summons us today to the dignity of the human person, the sacticty of human life, and the imperative peace.  And that same G-d tells us that in a world of 82 Christian nations and 56 Msulim ones, there is room for one small Jewish state.