Educators call for November to be named 'Israel History Month'
Five key events in Israeli history, including the passing of two UN resolutions, took place in November.
By DONNA RACHEL EDMUNDS Former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and former defense minister Shimon Peres on the stairwell leading into Hebron's Tomb of the Patriarchs in 1976.(photo credit: YAAKOV SAAR/GPO)
An Israeli educational organization is calling for November to be recognized as Israel History Month, with the goal of engaging young Jews in Israel's rich history.May is more commonly associated with Israel, given that the State was founded during that month. But digital educators from Jerusalem U have suggested that significant dates in November could be used to introduce young Jews worldwide to the complexities of the making of the modern state. They have launched Unpacked for Educators, a digital teaching resource designed to delve into some of those key events.“November is packed with some of the most important building blocks of the Israel story and deserves to be highlighted,” said Noam Weissman, Senior Vice President of Education at Unpacked for Educators.“The goal is to explore the Jewish story in all its complexity, intellectual depth and sophistication, but in a way that makes it easy for today’s students to understand and appreciate."November marks anniversaries of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, the passing of UN Resolution 3379 in 1975, which equated Zionism with racism, and the signing of the Balfour Declaration in 1917.The month also saw the launch of Operation Moses in 1984, in which thousands of Ethiopian Jews were brought to Israel, as well as the passing of the Partition Plan in the UN in 1947.Unpacked for Educators provides teaching professionals with a range of materials, including videos and activities, to bring each of these historical moments to life.The materials compliment those already offered by Unpacked for Educators on Memorial Day, Independence Day and Jerusalem Day, which have been used by more than 25,000 students in 220 educational establishments this year.“We want to make sure students learn more about Israel than just Memorial Day and Independence Day,” said Dina Rabhan, CEO of Jerusalem U. “These videos and associated programming are designed to make key historical events and moments that have shaped the landscape of modern Israel come alive.”
