Week #6 - 1948 and Hope

Our topic for today is hope.

We'll start with some writing about hope - what does it mean when a person has hope?  What kinds of things do we hope for?  Why?  We brought these together in short poems about hope, and then we shared them.

We looked back at the words to Hatikvah, the Israeli National Anthem.  We discussed what kinds of hope it represents, and what people were hoping Israel would represent and be.

Then we looked back at the State of Israel's Declaration of Independence and asked the same questions of it.  Some of the ideas we listed were: Israel hopes to have no prejudice, a sense of justice, peace, human rights, open to Jews from around the world, solve past problems, learn from past mistakes and injustices.

Lastly, we talked briefly about what it means to be a refugee.  After we brainstormed some definitions, we read a short memoir by Waseem Bakr, a 17 year-old Palestinian.  We followed that with a handout about the Palestinian Refugee problem, from 1948 to the present.

We closed with a survey about Israel and our attitudes about it - here are the results:

1. Been to Israel?  No -8; Yes - 1
2. How close do you feel to Israel emotionally?
     Very close - 0; Fairly close - 3; Fairly distant - 5; Very distant - 1
3. "Caring about Israel is an important part of my being a Jew"
     Agree - 8; Disagree - 0; Not sure - 1
4. Importance of U.S. - Israel relations
     Very important - 6; Somewhat important - 3; not important -0
5. Optimistic, pessimistic, or neutral about peace between Israel and Arabs?
     Optimistic - 5; pessimistic - 3; neutral -1
6. Do you consider the search for peace in Israel
     Very important - 7; Somewhat important - 2; not important - 0
7. Do you believe most Israelis consider the search for peace
     Very important - 7; somewhat important - 2; not important - 0
8. Do you believe most Palestinians consider the search for peace
     Very important - 1; somewhat - 4; not important - 3; don't know - 1
9. When Israel is mentioned in the media, do you take time to read it?
     Always - 0; usually - 2; sometimes - 5; not usually - 2; never - 0
10. When you hear about Israel, do you feel
     Proud - 1; ambivalent - 8; embarrassed - 0
11. If you were Palestinian, how would you feel when you heard about the Palestinian territories?
     Proud - 3; ambivalent - 3; embarrassed - 2; not sure - 1
12. In your opinion, is media coverage of the Israeli / Palestinian conflict
     Fair - 0; biased - 5; don't know - 4
13. Which quality is most important to your Jewish identity?
     Being part of the Jewish people - 7
     Religious observance - 1
     Support for Israel - 0
     A commitment to social justice - 0
     other (following the 613 mitzvot) - 1
14.  Is anti-semitism around the world a...
     very serious problem - 7; somewhat serious - 1; not a problem - 0; not sure - 1

Week #5 - Founding of the State of Israel, part 2. Plus, a look at the story of Gilad Shalit

We will start this week with a walk around the synagogue looking for ways in which "Israel" is represented.   What did we find?  Which locations had information?  Which didn't?  What messages is the synagogue sending about the meaning of "Israel"?


Gilad Shalit

we'll watch this video from Gilad's father trying to rally international attention demanding his son's release.

this video was released by Hamas during his time in captivity - it shows a commentary from Shalit.

here is a video broadcast from the military wing of Hamas, showing the capture.

he was returned to Israel this week.  Here is a brief excerpt of his first interview.

However, there are several questions remaining.

Here is a statement about Shalit's release from the URJ.

Here is a short poem about his release by a local poet.

Here is an editorial from the New York Times about Shalit and the implications of his release on the future of the peace process.

What do you think about all of this?



Founding of the State of Israel

What should a Declaration of Independence for Israel contain?  Why?

Here is the text of the Declaration of the State of Israel

As we continue our conversation about the founding of the State of Israel today, we will refer to this commentary on the Declaration.

We'll also look at the text of Hatikva, the Israeli national anthem.

Week #4 - Founding of the State of Israel - 1948

To start today, we'll visit the sukkah to share our bagels and a few thoughts about the holiday.

Then we'll briefly look at this article and discuss the freeing of Gilad Shalit.

Then we'll return to our look at the history of Israel.

Last time we learned about the role of the British Empire and the White Paper, as well as the Balfour Declaration.

Today we'll recap a bit of that by watching this video.

Other resources we'll use today:

Founding of Israel Video

Declaration documentary - English subtitles

Zippy's letters

Text of Declaration

United States of America - Declaration of Independence

David Ben Gurion's Independence Speech

USA recognizes State of Israel

Hatikva - Bergen-Belsen

Hatikva - Background

Declaration - document

Zippy letters - questions

Week #3 - Zionism and the Early 20th Century

Today we will talk about the origins of the Zionist movement and Theodore Herzl.

What is Zionism?

We'll refer to this booklet several times this year.

Here's one video we will watch today.

Here's another one about the British Mandate and the Balfour Declaration.

Here is a link to the text of the Balfour Declaration itself.  And if you want a little more info you can go check out what Wikipedia has to say about it.

Then of course is the British White Paper of 1922.

We'll discuss these ideas and what the above documents and beliefs have to say about them:

• The Jews are indigenous to the land of Palestine.
• The Jews have the right to restore their homeland.
• The scattered Jews should be brought together again in Palestine.
• The Jews developed the land and established a national culture in Palestine.