http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com
February 2013/Adar 5773
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
Page - 21
Zionism 101: New Website Teaches Zionist History through Film to the YouTube Generation David Isaac is convinced
most people don’t know the first thing about Zionism. “Even people supportive of Israel, who describe themselves as ‘Zionists’—Jews and Christians— are fuzzy on the details. Most don’t have even a rudimentary knowledge of the modern Zionist movement,” he says. A journalist who has written on topics related to Israel and Zionism for many years, he has long been vexed by this problem, and recently decided to do something about it. He has created an educational website, Zionism101.org, which is dedicated to teaching about the history of Zionism through a series of short films. “If there’s one thing educators have learned, it’s that
students would rather watch a movie than read a book, so Zionism101 is filled with YouTube-style videos that make it easy to understand what the movement is all about,” he says. Easy to Navigate In fact, the site is impressive and easy-to-navigate. The 20 courses currently available contain films which average five to six minutes in length and cover aspects of the Zionist enterprise from its earliest beginnings (“Founding Fathers,” “Origins of Zionism,” and “Rivals to Zionism”) to the present day (“The Search for Peace” and “Attackers and Defenders”). In between there are videos on “The Rebirth of Hebrew,” “The British Mandate Period,” “USIsrael Relations,” and “American
Zionism.” Course 17 is entitled “Israel’s Geography.” Although the site was originally conceived for those interested in an elementary education in Zionism, Mr. Isaac says it will also be useful for those whose knowledge is more extensive. “While Zionism101 is primarily for those who want to learn the basics, more knowledgeable students will also find the site valuable as there are many details to the Zionist struggle known only by a few,” he says. Anti-Propaganda He insists Zionism101 is about education, not propaganda. If anything, he says, the education to be gained at the site about Zionist history will serve to negate the explo-
sively increasing anti-Zionist propaganda to which so many people are subjected. “You can’t learn about Zionist history and accept that Zionism is racism or that Jews dispossessed the Arabs. Yet, this sort of thing is widely accepted as fact, and too often by young Jews who are exposed to all sorts of anti-Israel propaganda in college for which they are totally unprepared,” he says. He is convinced that equipping young Jews with knowledge of Zionist history will enable them to withstand the propaganda, and, he says, he is pleased to see many college students registering at his site. Little-Known Facts According to Mr. Isaac, Zi-
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