Bringing the Study of Israel to our Eighth Grade

With a topic as complex and close to the heart as Israel, building a curriculum required delicate thought and analysis. We quickly realized that the JCDS Habits of Mind and Heart had to lead our work and the students’ learning. Teaching students to view history as a tapestry, incorporating numerous contradictory voices and perspectives, is critical. It is vital to look at history through many lenses, and it is this engagement that allows our students to develop a stronger, more nuanced view of history and the world. We encouraged meaningful discussions of the complexities of Israel’s history and current events with curiosity, respect, and empathy. This did not mean avoiding political discourse. Rather, it meant providing equal access to resources from across the political and ideological spectrum. Our goal was for 8th graders to wrestle with the discomfort that comes with competing narratives, push past the instinct to quickly assess something as being “true or false,” and try to understand the human beings behind the sources we read. We felt strongly that if they encountered a stance on Israel they found challenging, it would be far better for them to first do so within the walls of JCDS rather than on unforgiving social media or the college campuses which ultimately await them. Thus, students were always presented with at least two different primary source perspectives and encouraged to question, respond and question again, before reaching their own conclusions. We looked at many different views on Zionism and the dream of a Jewish State. The students examined the differing goals and perspectives of the various waves of immigration to the land in the early 1900s, and the different ways those groups defined themselves and were defined by others. We analyzed the many perspectives on Israel’s Declaration of Independence and unpacked the Law of Return to tackle the perennial question of “Who counts as a Jew?” And for what would be the first time for many of them, students were also exposed to traditional Palestinian narratives of Israel’s history and development. We wanted to help them break through cultural and partisan divides all too common in the media and on the internet. Our goal was to provide students with the skills necessary to thoughtfully evaluate the content they encounter outside of our walls. Toward the end of our unit, students reflected on the idea of historical truth, and whether or not multiple narratives can even coexist. Our 8th graders’ responses were especially powerful and proved just how deeply they were able to consider the complexity of this topic. Developing Ahavat Israel (Love for Israel,) means supporting our students as they navigate both the particular and universal elements of its incredible history. Doing so in a rigorous yet thoughtfully nuanced way encourages critical thinking and a deeply personal understanding of, and feeling for, our Jewish Homeland.

“It seems like a lot of the narratives on both sides aren’t trying to tell a story, but to prove how the other story is wrong, and that’s not really fair.”

RUTI

“It’s kind of up to us to learn how to have conversations and find compromise, otherwise nothing is going to change.”

DANIELLE

“. . . there are opportunities to reach a middle ground . . . which might help discussions.”

LIOR

Thinking back to our initial goals for this unit, particularly how to teach our students to have nuanced and thoughtful conversations about Israel, it became even more evident that this approach ultimately empowers our students. By allowing them to speak their minds and disagree respectfully, we gave them the tools with which to forge their path into the future, and connect with the Jewish people.