The Goodman Initiative - Specialized Activity Area

Soldiers Eat S’mores Too!

Carl Schrag — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:02:32 +0000

This activity provides opportunities for high-school-aged campers to delve into the reality of the military challenges facing Israel. Starting with a late-night sneak-out, progressing to a campfire and a military mission, the program culminates with the Goodman Educator and shlichim sharing stories from Israel's wars.

Curriculum Themes:

A People’s Hope

Materials Required:

Program Duration:

90 minutes

Physical Space:

Number of Campers:

A Division/Age Group (30 – 50 campers)

Age of Campers:

Core Learnings:

Key milestones in Israel's fight for survival: the War of Independence, the Six Day War, and the Yom Kippur War

Grapple with the reality of war as experienced by Israeli staff (and, where applicable, campers)

Explanation:

Step 1: The Surprise

As campers are getting ready for bed, staff rushes into the cabins and announces that they have 15 minutes to prepare for a very special late-night activity. Instruct them to wear sturdy shoes, bring flashlights, and be in the appointed place in exactly 15 minutes.

Step 2: Gadna Training

The facilitator greets everyone and announces that the campers will undergo a brief military training exercise, a mini-Gadna activity. The shlichim lead them through an obstacle course and a late-night run around camp. During this activity, shlichim bark orders at campers and exert enough pressure so that the participants feel they are being challenged, but not so much as to intimidate or overwhelm them. (The GE should plan this with shlichim in advance, and keep careful tabs on how it is being implemented in real time). This entire exercise should last about 15 minutes. When everyone returns to the assembly point, campers gather around a campfire for another comfortable setting that is conducive to storytelling, refreshments are served.

Step 3: War Stories

After everyone has enjoyed their snacks, the facilitator (ideally one of the shlichim) tells the group:
- "Tonight you are going to learn about the wars Israel has fought since its creation. But first, we wanted to make sure you understand a bit about what it means to be a soldier. Being a soldier means you follow orders from your commanders. It means you are prepared to work hard all the time. It means your life is on the line for a cause that means everything to you. That's what we tried to show you as we were running around camp just now, and that's what we are going to show you by sharing our stories with you now."
At this point, another shaliach (or two) step up and address the group to share very brief reflections on what it means to serve in the IDF. They stress the idea of defending their homes and their families, and they also speak about the camaraderie among soldiers in a unit.
Now, a series of presenters (ideally shlichim, but American staff can also participate) shares with the group a personal story about each of 4 Israeli wars (War of Independence, Six Day War, Yom Kippur War, and Operation Cast Lead). The GE should have worked with each of these presenters in advance to craft a story that can be told in first person about the war. (If the presenter has a personal connection to the war, such as a grandparent, parent, or family friend who fought in the war, then this should be the basis for the story. Otherwise, it can be a fictionalized account, but should be told in first person nonetheless). Each story should take 2-4 minutes to tell, and the presenter can engage campers in Q&A before handing the floor to the next presenter.

Step 4: Wrap-up

After all 4 presenters have shared their "personal" war stories and campers have had ample opportunities to ask questions, the facilitator tells the group:
- All of you have spent the past hour hearing stories about the people who have fought in Israel's wars. Here in America, we tend to think of war as something for history class, the movies, or video games. But in Israel, war is a very real part of every person’s reality. Not because there’s a war going on every day in every part of the country, but because the possibility of war is always very real, and it touches the lives of every Israeli. You've heard how it’s touched the lives of some of our friends, our shlichim, and you've heard stories from the past 70+ years that sum up highlights of some of the most important wars that Israel has fought.
Time permitting, the facilitator can invite shlichim to share more of their own personal reflections and ecnourage campers to ask more personal questions.
To wrap up the activity, the facilitator stresses that the IDF is a people's army supported by near-universal conscription and asks the campers to think about a couple of questions that few Israelis ever think twice about:
- What is worth fighting for?
- What, if anything, is worth dying for?
At the conclusion, staff bring campers back to their cabins and to bed. Campers sleep in late tomorrow.

Variations:

There is a lot of material in this activity, and it my be too much to do in the middle of the night.

Options include:

Break the activity into two separate parts that can be started at night and completed the following day.
Do the entire activity as an evening program.
Forgo the campfire discussions focused on past wars, and instead ask the shlichim to discuss their personal experiences in the army.

Background Cards:

Supporting Materials:

War Stories Background.docx

Curricular Subjects:

My Israel Meme

Natalie Blitt — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 22:00:16 +0000

During this activity, staff or older campers will delve into their own relationship with Israel, creating memes on "How I see Israel" in relation to their parents, friends, classmates, teachers, and the media.

Curriculum Themes:

Materials Required:

Program Duration:

1 hour

Physical Space:

Number of Campers:

Age of Campers:

Core Learnings:

"My Israel," my relationship to and view of Israel, may be very different than other people's perspectives

For staff, it is important to understand one's own relationship to Israel before teaching others about Israel

Sharing stories and experiences related to Israel helps others understand "My Israel"

People's views of Israel change over time and are influenced by their knowledge, their experience with Israelis, whether they have traveled there, and what they believe

Explanation:

We are now going to create memes that reflect our personal vision of Israel and other people's ideas of Israel.
Each participant should receive one large piece of paper with six spots for photographs. If computers are available, they can do this exercise with a google image search. Otherwise, print out the photographs provided. For a low tech version, participants can write or draw their visions.
Participants are encouraged to choose their own labels for each box. They can even choose specific people in their lives if they have distinct views of Israel (i.e. a certain member of their family or friend, a group of students at school, etc.). Below are examples:

What my parents think it's like.
What my friends think it's like.
What the media thinks it's like.
What my grandparents think it's like.
What my rabbi thinks it's like.
What my teacher thinks it's like.

Included in each meme should be "What I think it's like" and "What it's really like."
Allow them to choose the photographs that work with each heading.

Variations:

This activity is great for staff week as a way of reminding the staff that when we say Israel, we "see" many different things and receive many different contradictory messages. As educators, our job is to know and be able to tell our own story, in contrast to other people's stories.
Campers can create memes after participating in other activities that focus on specific Israeli cities or figures.

Supporting Images:

Battleship: 1948

Carl Schrag — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:00:08 +0000

Campers use boats to re-enact the "illegal" immigration of Jews to pre-State Israel in the 1930s and 1940s. As they try to evade "British officers" (staff) and reach the Promised Land, they will gain understanding of the obstacles faced by early pioneers who wanted nothing more than to settle Palestine and help create the Jewish state.

Curriculum Themes:

A People’s Hope

Materials Required:

Program Duration:

Physical Space:

Number of Campers:

A Division/Age Group (30 – 50 campers)

Age of Campers:

Core Learnings:

People were willing to take great risks to get to Israel

Before the State of Israel was established, Jews had no safe haven in times of need

Explanation:

If the activity begins at the Low Ropes Course, the Ropes staff, along with the GE, engages the group in team-building activities, while explaining the importance of collaboration in tough situations. Concepts of leaving no one behind and working for the greater good are stressed. These activities can last 15-30 minutes.

After the Ropes activity (or as the start of the activity, if you are not using a Ropes Course), campers hear a very brief introduction to Aliyah Bet, or "illegal" Jewish immigration to Palestine, in which would-be pioneers tried to evade the British blockade of Palestine. The GE provides a brief introduction to prepare the campers for the video clip they are about to watch.

Staff then screen a brief excerpt from Exodus, in which the Jews have escaped from detention and boarded boats, but they are stopped by the British under the command of Captain Sutherland. A brief discussion ensues, with opportunities for campers to gain understanding of why the British banned immigration, and why the Jews were determined to circumvent the ban.

Questions can include:

What other choices did Holocaust survivors have?
How do you think the games you played at the Ropes Course relate to the challenge that faced Holocaust survivors who wanted to get to Palestine?
Do you think the survivors acted heroically, rashly, or...?

Campers then head to the lakefront, where each individual is given a small bag of snacks and a printed instruction sheet. In addition to mapping out the route they are to take, the instruction sheet tells them that when they reach the shore, they will be greeted by Jews who already live in Palestine.

Campers are told they are Holocaust survivors and they are about to try to break the British blockade. Staff divides campers into groups and assigns them to rowboats and kayaks. Their instruction sheet gives them a route and a mission that they must complete before returning to shore. Along the route, staff in boats can taunt the campers but not capture or detain them. When campers approach the shore on their return, they are ambushed by staff members who direct them to a "detention center." They may attack the Zionists with water balloons, use a bullhorn, or other props.

On shore, campers are divided into small groups, each led by one British officer/staff member. The British officers then "interrogate" each camper individually, asking them to state why they should be allowed to enter Israel. The GE may offer a prize for the best/most creative/most compelling responses. After all campers have been interrogated, the British officers announce who will be allowed into Israel. Then everyone moves to a shady spot for a debriefing of the activity.

Variations:

Beginning at the Low Ropes course makes this activity take 90 minutes. It can be closer to 60 minutes if it begins with a brief introduction to the video clip.

The video clip from Exodus can be replaced with other video resources, including from Toldot Yisrael, or with a dramatic presentation by staff members who role play characters trying to get to Palestine and British soldiers trying to block them.

While the activity will be similar whether the campers are 13 or 16, the discussions can go deeper with older campers.

Younger campers will focus more on the emotional impact of the activity
Older campers can be encouraged to delve into the then-and-now comparisons between 1947 and today.

Background Cards:

Curricular Subjects:

Illegal Immigration (pre-state)