As educators we are still struggling over the best ways to address Israel and the Gaza conflict with our students.
In the article 'It's Time to Think Slowly,' Jan Katzew says, "We owe it to ourselves and to our students to teach our story, to tell our truth and to create a safe space for others to do the same." How can we face the challenging task of engaging students while educating them about such a conflicting topic? This article offers strategies that support learners of all kinds.
You can also introduce students to Farah Baker to help them gain some understanding of the daily life of students across the world who are directly affected. This 16 year old took to twitter to bring her message to 166,000 people. Baker explained, "I am triyig to tell the world about what I feel and what is happening where I live." Read more about Farah here.
The first two weeks of the school year in Israel included discussions of Israel's oporation in Gaza. Students were encouraged to talk about their personal experiences and to use projects to express their feelings. It is still the time to encourage our students to express their own thoughts and feelings.
Looking for additional resources to encourage student expressions? Follow our Israel Pinterest board for collections of videos and resources, including Rachel Frankel's speech at the UN, Michael Oren's blog "In Defense of Israel," and Rabbi Menachem Creditor's blog "I'm Done Apologizing for Israel."
For older student (grades 9 and up) Babaganewz also just published a new Hot Topics lesson on "Critiquing Israel" that helps students explore their feelings about whether it is ok to explore criticism of Israel's polocies. You can read more about that lesson here.
