October 20, 2015

THE BASICSTopic: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

A peace movement poster: Israeli and Palestinian flags and the words peace in Arabic and Hebrew.(Wikipedia)

Articles “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Decries Violence, Says Mahmoud Abbas Is to

Blame” (10/20) (U.S. News) “UN chief appeals for calm during visit to Jerusalem” (10/20) (BBC) “Misperceptions that fuel Israeli-Palestinian violence” (opinion) (10/20) (The Straits Times) “Kerry Says Need for Clarity to Help End Israeli-Palestinian Violence” (10/19) (The NY Times) “In Grief, a Growing Partnership: Parents Span Israeli-Palestinian Divide” (article and radio piece)

(10/17) (NPR) “If Tunisia Could Do It, So Can Israel and Palestine” (opinion) (10/16) (Haaretz) “Obama Calls for Regional Restraint to Calm Jerusalem Violence” (10/16) (Voice of America)

Questions to Consider

How does different reporting of the violence from the Israeli and Palestinian sides add to the difficulty in achieving resolution of grievances? Which sources consider both points of view? How does the meaning and interpretation of events depend on your personal history and on the accumulated history of your people?

What is the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict? Are there different versions of this history? Why?

How has social media escalated the violence? How do hate speech and rumors fuel the conflict? Why are Israeli citizens being asked to carry weapons? Palestinian attackers are young and often well-educated. What does that mean? If the recent terrorist attacks are “lone wolf”, how do opinion leaders in the area stop the violence? What is an intifada? Is the recent violence a Third Intifada? What “excessive force”? What is the duty to protect citizens during conflict? What is a settlement? How are the holy sites of both Israelis and Palestinians involved in the recent conflict? What is the UN Security Council?

What makes the United States’ position in the Middle East so complicated? How is the current violence related to the failure to reach agreement on an overall peace treaty

between the Israelis and Palestinians? What is the role of the United Nations? What is the role and responsibility of the United States to promote a peaceful solution between

Israelis and Palestinians? What could peace look like between the Israelis and the Palestinians? What should it look like? Where are the models for reconciliation: Tunisia? South Africa, and Northern Ireland?

THE EXTRASPre-teaching, Extensions & Further Reading

“A Brief History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict” (The New York Times) “History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict” (attempts to give both perspectives) (PBS) “Role of the Security Council” (United Nations) “Think You Can Solve the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict? Play This Game” (Mother Jones) “Peace in the Middle East, 4/15/14” (Susie and Tyler’s Current Events Archive, Classroom Law Project)

Lesson Plans

“The Conflict Zone: Understanding Both Sides of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict” (series of four videos) (National Geographic)

What’s the Connection? Constitutional

“2003 Permanent Constitution draft” (The Palestinian Basic Law) “Why Doesn’t Israel Have a Constitution” (ProCon.org)

Oregon “’No zero-sum solution’ to Israeli-Palestinian conflict” (Episcopal News Service)

o Diocese of Oregon Students

“Teaching Tolerance: Five Israeli schools unite Jews and Palestinians” (informed Comment)

Oregon State Social Science Standards8.26. Examine a controversial event, issue, or problem from more than one perspective. HS.9. Identify historical and current events, issues, and problems when national interests and global interest have been in conflict, and analyze the values and arguments on both sides of the conflict. HS.19. Evaluate how differing points of view, self-interest, and global distribution of natural resources play a role in conflict over territory.HS.31. Describe United States foreign policy and evaluate its impact on the United States and other countries.HS.33. Explain the role of government in various current events.HS.35. Examine the pluralistic realities of society (e.g., race, poverty, gender, and age), recognizing issues of equity, and evaluating need for change. HS.59. Demonstrate the skills and dispositions needed to be a critical consumer of information.HS.60. Analyze an event, issue, problem, or phenomenon form varied or opposing perspectives or points of view.

CCSS Anchor Standards2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words. 8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.

We the People Lesson ConnectionsMiddle School, Level 2

Unit 6, Lesson 28: What is the relationship of the United States to other nations in the world?

High School, Level 3 Unit 6, Lesson 37: What key challenges does the Untied States face in the future? Unit 6, Lesson38: What are the challenges of participation of the United States in world

affairs?