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Israel: The Building of a State

Abstract

Winning was easy, young man. Governing’s harder.” (from the musical Hamilton) Immediately after its establishment in 1948, the newly-minted State of Israel found itself fighting for survival. Israel’s leaders struggled to find solutions to ensure its existence. In this lesson, learners will ask themselves questions like these: Would you accept money from Germany as reparations for the Holocaust? Would you put a temporary hold on immigration so that you could stabilize the economy and set up future immigrants for success? These are only two of the major dilemmas that the government of Israel faced during the first years after its establishment. Students will research these issues and 

then discuss what they think about the path that the State of Israel ultimately charted.

The learner will:

  1. understand why Israel’s leaders and citizens were conflicted about the right way to ensure the state’s survival

  2. know the political and financial challenges that Israel faced in its early days

be able to debate both sides of the issues that Israel had to confront to ensure its survival

Unpacked for Educators materials include:

  1. An educator’s guide that  contains many rich components. These are organized under the following titles: 

  • review (questions that relate to the video)

  • discussion

  • activities

  • reflection

  • further learning

  1. A video designed to spark interest in the topic.

Student Handouts,computer, projector

The website link includes a “further learning” section in the educator’s guide

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