School resources
Resources for Teaching pro-Israel Courses
The following links contain information and articles pertaining to pro-Israel course work and information. These resources complement our Curricula page that has fully-realized courses for students.
ADL: Fighting Back
This is a handbook for responding to anti-Israel campaigns on College & University Campuses.
Teaching Religious Zionism in a Yeshiva High School
A Religious Zionism curriculum should be viewed as a course that deals with Israel’s centrality in Jewish life throughout the ages. We outline here such a course, one that can be covered in one term at the rate of four or five periods a week. This course can be offered in either the Social Studies department or as part of the religious studies program.
World Zionist Organization: Israel Advocacy
The World Zionist Organization page for Israel Advocacy provides videos, quizzes and handouts about Israel, and defending against media bias.
High School Curricula: Teaching to Support & Defend Israel
These ready-made curricula, developed by other pro-Israel organizations, should help teachers and faculty to develop a pro-Israel class for their school. Some of these resources may require signing up before viewing.
Contact Avi Schranz at (201) 788-5133 or Avi@NORPAC.net for additional details or help.
I. CAMERA: Eyes on Israel Curriculum
Download: [Site Requires Free Sign-up]
The Eyes on Israel curriculum consists of four modules. Each module is composed of a group of interrelated lessons that encourage students with diverse learning styles to master clearly delineated instructional objectives. The four modules are:
- A Brief History of Modern Israel: An overview of the history of Israel from the late 19th century to the current day providing basic facts and events concerning the Arab-Israeli conflict.
- Journalism and Its Responsibilities: An introduction to the obligations of journalists in covering complex issues like the Arab-Israeli confrontation. Students will explore journalistic standards and ethics and their relationship to reporting on Israel.
- The 1967 Six-Day War and U.N. Security Council Resolution 242: A Case Study in News Media Coverage: An examination of the landmark 1967 Six-Day War and U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, a key diplomatic component of Arab-Israeli negotiations and how those talks are depicted in the media.
- What YOU Can Do: An instructional module teaching students how to advocate balanced and accurate coverage of the Middle East, being mindful of journalists’ responsibility to follow their own professional standards.
II. JeruslamOnlineU: Israel Inside/Out High School Curriculum
Download: Full Curriculum [PDF] Teacher’s Guide [PDF] Course Outline [PDF]
More information: JerusalemOnlineU [Site]
Israel Inside/Out is an online, media-based college course. It was designed by the organization JerusalemOnlineU.com to help university students become knowledgeable about Israel and proud of their heritage. In this course students learn about the Land of Israel, current issues, and the complexities of the conflict in the Middle East, exploring Israel’s politics and sociology in an exciting and interactive forum. Animated maps, diagrams, and original film footage give students an insider’s view into one of the world’s most intriguing and mystifying countries – with no airfare required!
III. StandWithUs: Israel 101
Download: Israel 101 Teaching Presentation [PDF]
More Information: StandWithUs [Site]
StandWithUs’s Israel 101 lays the foundation for studying modern Israel. Students will learn about Israel’s position geographically and demographically in the wider region and in the world as well as basic geographic and topographic facts about the country. The curriculum introduces students to Zionism, the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, which led to the founding of modern Israel in 1948. It encourages understanding of Zionism and the founding of present-day Israel by introducing Jews as a national/ethnic group that has preserved its identity since ancient times and has kept its homeland central to its beliefs.
IV. The David Project: Modern Zionism
Download: Modern Zionism: Teacher Edition [PDF] Modern Zionism: Student Edition [PDF]
More Information: The David Project [Site]
Modern Zionism is a complex, multi-faceted set of ideologies that were formed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Students will gain insight into why the movement took shape and how so many young Jews became a force for change in modern Jewish life. By considering a set of enduring understandings and focusing on the following essential questions, this unit aims to give students an understanding of the origins and early history of Zionism.
Established Goals:
- Students will understand the foundations of the modern Zionist movement.
- Students will use an understanding of modern Zionism to estab – lish their personal connection to Israel
V. The Jewish Education Center Israel NOW Response Curriculum
Download: Israel NOW [PDF]
More Information: The Curriculum Resources Department of the JECC [Site]
This response curriculum is designed to help educators consider age-appropriate ways to support the United Jewish Communities Israel NOW Solidarity Initiative. The curriculum focuses on six big ideas:
- Israel is a special place for Jews worldwide.
- Just as we stand by a friend in times of trouble, the Jewish community stands by Israel at this difficult time.
- It is important to be “critical consumers” of media, carefully evaluating the veracity and slant of the news about Israel.
- Israel anchors the Jewish people as a spiritual, national, and cultural center .
- To equate the actions of the Israeli army with those of Palestinian suicide bombers and militia, draws a moral equivalency that does not exist.
- There are specific actions we as American Jews can do to support Israel.
VI. Ramah Israel Leadership Initiative
Download: RILI Curricular Units [Site]
The Ramah Israel Leadership Initiative (RILI) offers a set of curricula which can form the basis for formal curricular units as well as informal programming for peulot erev, y’mei meyuchad, etc.
Each unit includes several formalized sichot/peulot (referred to as “core sessions”), sample Divrei T’fillah/Torah, suggested vocabulary lists, and additional programming resources. The units all contain primary source material (Israeli graffiti art, short stories, Israeli raps/songs, newspaper articles, historical documents, etc.) so that campers can interact and engage in a “first-hand” encounter with Israeli society.
Each of the RILI units has been designed to be experiential, interactive, and informal, in order to facilitate dialogue between campers and inspire critical thought and reflection related to their values and attitudes.
Informational Presentations on Israel Advocacy
Feel free to check out and use our ready-made presentations on pro-Israel advocacy topics. Please note these presentations require PowerPoint or an application that can view PowerPoint slideshows.
I. Introduction to the Legislative Process