Flash Briefing: Palestine-israel Crisis Explained – High school students in the United States will receive free digital access to The New York Times until September 1, 2021.
In the second week of the violent conflict, Palestinians and Israelis are starving, and there have been several killings known to have occurred on both sides of the region. Before dawn on Monday, Israeli warplanes bombarded Gaza City, worsening the situation for civilians living along the coast. Meanwhile, rockets from Hamas – the extremist group that has ruled Gaza since 2007 and does not recognize Israel – have been hitting Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv, the country’s commercial hub. As civilian casualties mount, the conflict has shocked Israeli society and the world and heightened tensions between Israel and the occupied territories in recent years.
Flash Briefing: Palestine-israel Crisis Explained
How can teachers bring the current conflict in the Middle East—a conflict rooted in complex history, steeped in recent events, and filled with strong emotions—into the classroom so that students understand what’s going on? Where are the problems?
Radioflash! Episode 8: Israel, Hamas And The Electromagnetic Spectrum
In this lesson plan, we give students a place to start. Through various educational activities, we invite you to learn more about the recent wars between Israel and Gaza, the history of the conflict in the region, the opinions of ordinary people and the role of social media.
Part I: Review what you know (or think you know) and what you think about the problem.
What do you think about the recent violence in the Middle East? Have you followed the news, talked to family, friends or school? What is your personal connection to the conflict?
Before reading the featured article, create a K/W/L chart to show what you know, what you want to know, and what you know.
Gaza’s Main Hospital Becomes Teeming Camp For Displaced People
In the “What I Know” column on the left, write what you know about the Middle East crisis (past or present), using key phrases, ideas, facts, names, dates, places, or anything else.
Then, write your questions about the conflict in the middle column, “I want to know.” Share your list with the class and add it to your chart.
Next, take five minutes to study one or more of the following sections that illustrate the scale, scope, and impact of war in the Middle East:
After reviewing these materials, add at least three items in the last column and one question in the middle column to your K/W/L chart. What is your reaction to what happened? Share and explain your answers with a partner.
U.s. Has ‘high Confidence’ Palestinian Militants To Blame For Gaza Hospital Blast
1. Mr. Leonhardt argues that the “broader reality” of the region is as important as the sparks of the recent conflict. What is this? Do you agree that this is important to keep in mind? Why or not?
2. In your own words, how would you summarize the example of Palestine, as Mr. Leonhard said? What two facts or details best support this statement? B’Telem, a human rights group, wrote: “The Israeli government implements laws, practices and state violence designed to reinforce the supremacy of one group – the Jews – over another – the Palestinian people.” How much satisfaction can you get for this price?
3. In your own words, how would you summarize the example of Israel, as Mr. Leonhard said? What two facts or details best support this statement? The newspaper asked a question many Israelis have asked their critics: “If a terrorist group (Hamas according to the US and EU) was determined to destroy your country with rockets, what would you do? How would you approach this question?”
4. What do most Palestinians see as a way forward? Why do most Israel supporters see a way forward? What do you think will happen next? Do you believe that peace and justice can be achieved, or do you believe that conflicts will escalate?
Israel Will Let Egypt Deliver Some Aid To Gaza, As Doctors Struggle To Treat Hospital Blast Victims
5. The newspaper noted that while President Biden has expressed his support for a ceasefire, the growing international outcry has not led to a back down from either side. What role do you think the United States should play in the current conflict? Do you think American leadership and recent foreign policy have contributed to this situation?
6. What is your reaction to the ideas and evidence presented in the newsletter? How has it changed or deepened your perspective and perspective on the current conflict in the Middle East? What else can you add to the K/W/L table? What questions do you have?
After reading, watching, or listening to at least one source from each section, create a chronology of the main events that shaped the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day. You can follow live updates here.
How does learning more about history help you understand the current war in the region?
Israel Hamas War Live Updates: Us Assessment Is Israel ‘not Responsible’ For Hospital Blast
First-hand accounts of life on the ground in a conflict zone can offer windows into places and experiences we might not otherwise see. The following essay shows how life in Gaza and Israel has been affected by the current crisis.
Read the following two essays posted in the comment section, then choose one or both to respond, either by writing a letter to the author or by choosing three quotes that resonate with you and explaining why. We’ve included the first two paragraphs below, but click on the link to read the full post.
“My son asks, can Israel demolish our building if the power goes out?” wrote Gaza City editor Refat Alarer.
On Tuesday night, my wife, six children and I gathered in the living room of our house, where there could be Israeli rockets or debris. We were watching live on Al Jazeera as Israeli warplanes destroyed Al-Jawhara (The Jewel), one of Gaza’s largest buildings, when the power went out. Linah, 8 years old — or, in Gaza’s time, two years old — politely asked if “they” could tear down our building after the power cut.
Israel Hamas War Updates: News On Gaza Conflict
“I am an Israeli surgeon. We are together in my hospital,” wrote Adam Lee Goldstein.
On Tuesday evenings I worked at Wolfson Medical Center, a hospital where I was the director of trauma surgery. The sun went down in every corner of Tel Aviv and suddenly sirens sounded, warning of incoming rockets. Our hospital is on the southern edge of the city, in a working-class neighborhood full of Jews and Arabs, recently filled with immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa and the former Soviet Union. The hospital interface came from a quiet, programmed voice: “Red alert.” “Please stay away from the windows and enter the protected area as soon as possible.”
As Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza and Hamas fires rockets into Israel, a parallel war is raging on social media.
Have you seen anything on social media about the conflict between Israel and Gaza? What did you see? What messages did these messages convey? What questions did they ask you?
Oct. 12: Israel Prepares For Likely Gaza Ground Invasion
Two recent articles chronicle trends in social media: one on how Palestinian unity is changing the online world, and the other on how lies and misinformation fuel the conflict. Read one or both articles and think about what you see on their social media pages and how they relate to both of these articles.
In researching this topic, we have selected a variety of opinion articles from the New York Times and foreign media for students who want to read different perspectives.
What we see now is the latest chapter in Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian people (as Rashid Khalid called the “Humanitarian Aid Approval”), which was approved by a majority of 153 in favor, 10 against and 23 abstentions in a Special Emergency Session.
Hostilities between Gaza and Israel have resulted in a dire humanitarian crisis, physical destruction and massive damage in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. The international community must use all its influence to prevent this crisis from worsening and to end it. Secretary General Antonio Guterres
Debriefed 13 October 2023: Israel And Hamas Conflict Hits Oil Prices; 1.5c ‘breached’; Lessons From India’s Flash Floods
The United Nations and its partners have published a plan that outlines the minimum needed to scale up humanitarian operations to support the 2.2 million people living in the Gaza Strip and 500,000 others.
