I5: 50 Years of Israel

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Declaration of Independence

Read out the diary entry for 1948. Get two volunteers to act out an improvisational role play - one is the driver of the car carrying the declaration, the other is the policeman. Does the policeman believe the driver? How does the driver convince him? This can be quite funny. Get other members of the audience to swap with either one of the "actors" and keep switching.

How about a few of you dressing up smartly, hanging an Israeli flag up and re-creating the announcement and signing? One of you can be Ben-Gurion, and can read out some excerpts from a translation of the declaration (see book 1, chapter 7). Then the rest of you can sign the bottom of the "parchment" before leading the whole assembly in the Hatikvah (see back page).

Six Day War

Read out the diary entry for 1967. Ask for a show of hands of who has been to the Kotel (the Western Wall). Ask for people to recall their feelings the first time they saw it, and the first time they went up to it and touched it. Was it anything more than a big wall, or did it have special significance for anyone? Did anyone have their Bar Mitzvah there? Brainstorm as to why the paratroopers were so overwhelmed with emotion on arriving at the Wall for the first time. Is there anyone can think of where they were filled with such emotion (not just in Israel)?

Operation Solomon

Read out the diary entry for 1991. Brainstorm on the sort of problems immigrants face when entering a new country (language, culture, money, racism etc…). Rank in order of what the audience think are the biggest problems, to the easiest-to-deal-with problems. Ask for suggestions as to why these problems exist. What can be done by a) immigrants, and b) non-immigrant citizens, in order to try and avoid these problems? Does it make it easier that the Ethiopian immigrants went to Israel, or could that have led to added problems?

Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin

Such an important date in the calendar should be marked with a full assembly rather than just part of one. One idea is to commemorate the event with a ceremony including readings and even prayers. Appropriate readings (secular and religious) can be obtained from Makor-AJY (020 84468020). Makor-AJY has also produced a resource book with lots of background information on this great man, as well as ideas for discussions and activities.

Israel quiz

The quiz can be used in various ways and can be used whole on in smaller chunks over a few assemblies. It can be an oral quiz, a written quiz, a team game, written on a chalk-board, called out, handed out to take away, prize competition, trigger to check your audience's knowledge of Israel…. Use your imagination!

Many of the answers to the questions can be found in the timeline, diary entries and back page facts. A full list of the answers is printed here:

Geography

Eilat, The Dead sea, The Kinneret, The Negev, The Golan Heights

Politics

Labour, Golda Meir, The Knesset - 120 seats, Weizman, Ben Zvi, Shazar, Ketzir, Navon, Herzog, Weizmann, David Ben-Gurion

Ivrit

Bet Sefer, Moreh/Morah, Sefer, Chinuch, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda

Society

Asian, African and oriental countries (originally Spain), Ethiopian Jewish Aliyah, Just under 20%

Who am I?

Theodore Herzl, Benjamin Netanyahu, Topol

What am I?

Felafal

What happened when

A=declaration of independence, B=start of 6 days war, C=start of yom kippur war, D=entebbe rescue, E=intafada begins, F=declaration of principles signed with palastinians, G=rabin assassinated

Written by Raymond Simonson
Illustrated by Jacqueline Zarum
Designed and produced by Sonia Winner
Web edition designed and programmed by David Century