in conjunction with:
The Israel Ministry of Education,
Culture and Sport 
Key Theme for 5757 and 5758:
"The Centenary of the first Zionist
Congress
&
Fifty Years since the Establishment of the State of Israel"
Director-General Circular
Curricular Structure / III Proposals for Experience-based Projects
Over the next two years, the Israeli and worldwide Jewish educational
systems will have the opportunity of eliminating the quotation marks
around the word "Zionism" and the accompanying cynicism.
In addition to the value-related and ideological discussions, it is
important to include a large number of experienced-based projects
on Zionism generally, based on mapping or taking an in-depth
look at the individual's immediate surroundings: parents, family, school,
the locality where s/he lives, connections etc. - in Israel or the Diaspora.
Obviously, Israel itself is a hands-on resource for learning about
Zionism:
- Every single place in Israel has ties of some kind with the history
of Zionism.
- Israel's flourishing culture is based on artistic, literary, musical,
and dramatic foundations which took root in Israel and in the Diaspora
at the beginning/s of Zionism.
- The language, with its different layers, commenced its revival at
the very beginnings of Zionism.
In approaching the entire area of study, in order to be able
to understand Zionism - what it was and what it has become - it is necessary
to go back and investigate its sources over the course of the last hundred
years.
Below please find a list of suggestions for projects on a personal
/ class / school / locality / regional level. This is simply a set of
titles, not a developmental framework of ideas. A school or youth facility
deciding to tackle one of the following proposals will need to develop
the project to suit its own circumstances, its population, and the time-frame
available.
In our view, the possibilities are endless, making
it possible to exploit imagination, develop creativity and extend the
scope to many factors beyond the participants' immediate circle. Some
of these proposals could be seen as providing an opportunity for community
activities, in conjunction with the local authority, community centers,
municipal museums, colleges, and universities in the area, the youth
movements, and any community body in the locality.
List of Proposals
- The history of Zionism as reflected in Hebrew song
(by subject: Holocaust and heroism, defense, upbuilding of the country,
landscapes, localities, styles, songs written "then" and songs written
today about periods in the past, etc.).
- The history of Zionism as reflected in Hebrew literature.
- The history of Zionism as reflected by children's literature.
- The history of Zionism according to the stories of the students'
families.
- The names of children and their relatives as a
reflection of the spirit of the period.
- The history of a locality or region in Israel or a family's / community's
association with a locality in Israel (collecting personal testimony,
objects, pictures).
- Mapwork: streets in an Israeli locality: (Is there
any locality in Israel which does not have a street called "Herzl",
"Ahad Ha'am", "Weizmann", "Rabbi Kook", and so on?) For example, a
study can be carried out of streets which cross or run parallel to
each other, and see whether the thinkers' ideas also crossed or paralleled
each other, and so on...
- Names of schools in a twinned town or Jewish schools in a town as
related to the history of Zionism and Zionist thinkers. (How many
students at schools called "Ahad Ha'am" know who the man was and what
his opinions were?)
- Economic development as shown by posters and advertising. (There
is a very extensive collection of such material at the Zionist Archives;
Israel Embassy and Israeli tourist brochures provide a good trigger
for this study.)
- The story of the world Zionist movement as reflected
in the history of the classical Zionist youth movements.
- The development of the Hebrew language as reflected
in each period's songs or literature, or children's songs, or the
press, and later in radio programs or TV.
- Newspaper workshops in the spirit of a particular period.
- Studying the stories of the life
and outlooks of outstanding figures in Zionist history:
Herzl, Trumpeldor, Jabotinsky, Ben-Gurion, Kalischer, Alkalai, Pinsker,
Nordau, Ussishkin and others. (Another useful idea is to find anecdotes
typical of each individual).
1 . Encouraging students to write computer games,
particularly adventure games, on Zionism - possibility of making this
competitive.
2 . Encouraging students to produce multimedia presentations
on Zionism - can be competitive.
3 . Teaching episodes from Zionist history with the aim of writing
and performing short dramas (up to 15 minutes) reproducing
these chapters. (This proposal was put forward by young people at every
single meeting!)
4 . Students teach students - encouraging students
or groups of students to prepare single lessons on a subject close to
their hearts in the area of Zionism.
5 . Encouraging 11th grade students who are studying the history of
Zionism to conduct sessions for lower classes at their
school (individually or in groups).
6 . Role play: Giving students a real feel for how
things were, particularly in the lower classes by bringing stories to
life, e.g., exploring the pioneering way of life, for example, and asking
the students: "What would you have done if you had been in that place
at that time?"
7 . Encouraging meetings with people who have a personal
tie with Zionism, or who made a special contribution to Zionism, with
Israelis / olim / returning citizens (especially students).
8 . In addition to regular written assignments, developing personal
projects of a creative and experience-based nature, such as
diaries, stories in the mood of a particular period, advertizing copy
for a particular period, and so on..
9 . Collection projects - collecting stamps, coins,
news clippings, photographs, advertisements, certificates and other
documentation, arranging them by period, and learning everything that
can be learnt from the collection (which can be very informative).
10 . Approaching a topic by specific fields: the history
of fashion in Israel, the history of cinema in Israel, and so on...
11 . Unsolved mysteries (personal or group projects):
* What exactly happened to the 23 members of the Haganah lost at sea
on a World War II sabotage assignment to Tripoli, Syria (Yordei Hasira).
* What did Trumpeldor say before dying in defense of Tel Hai?
* Who assassinated Arlozoroff?
12 . Controversial topics: selective immigration,
Sarah Aaronsohn and the WWI pro-British Jewish espionage group Nili,
Rudolf Kasztner (a Hungarian community leader who after WWII was accused
of having collaborated with the Nazis), the attitude to the Holocaust
of the Jewish community in Mandatory Palestine (personal projects, public
mock trials).
13 . Identifying with children who grew up in different
periods, during different events (the essence of what they experienced,
the difficulties).
14 . "Hyde Park" - open-air debates on controversial
issues.
15 . Having youth movements bring a subject to life.
16 . Involving student councils (on a school, regional,
national level) in designing and implementing the program.
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