The Goodman Initiative - Pens

Speak Up, Speak Out: Responding to Hatred on Campus

Aliza Goodman — Thu, 18 Jun 2015 15:30:26 +0000

Deepen your understanding of Israel advocacy and discover how to stand up for Israel on your college campuses! In this workshop we will dissect pro-divestment video from Northwestern University as a way to hone compelling, authentic pro-Israel messages. Together we will create our own video that brings together and highlights our individual stories and connections with Israel.

Curriculum Themes:

Materials Required:

Program Duration:

1 hour

Physical Space:

Number of Campers:

Age of Campers:

Explanation:

To warm up your group, do three rounds of sharing. Be sure to take notes on a large post-it:

Share something you love about Israel
Share something meaningful that connects you to Israel
Share something you've heard/hear about Israel that makes you proud

Say to participants, we are talking about what we love about Israel -- but obviously there are a lot of people who don't share our views. Is there anyone who has dealt with anti-Israel stuff on campus? Can you share your experiences with us? How did it make you feel?

After participants have shared some experiences, say to them: "Now we are going to watch a video from Northwestern University, whose student senate passed a resolution calling on the university to divest from a list of companies that they suggest 'support the occupation.' This video was part of a campaign to build support for divestment. As you watch the video, pay attention to how the video makes you feel."

[Before playing the video, make sure everyone understands the basic premise of the BDS movement and why it is such a big issue right now on campuses. Be sure, though, to emphasize that much like all things related to Israel and conflict, it is a complicated issue and we are not going to teach you everything you need to know about BDS in this session. What we aim to do is give you a new perspective in to the complexities of such issues related to Israel.]

Play video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zjcy5v_WzwA.

After the video finished, ask participants to share in one word how the video made them feel. Be sure to stop anyone who wants to talk about the specific arguments -- we want to get our feelings on the table in this part of the program, not go into the details of the "facts" and "arguments" being made in the video. Make sure participants feel comfortable and know that this is a safe space where all feelings are welcome and respected.

Now say to participants, "now that our feelings are out on the table, I want to put them aside for a few minutes. We are going to watch the video again, and this time, pay attention to the values that are being expressed through the statements in the video. Don't focus on the content (and whether you feel it is right or wrong) -- just focus on what values you think these students are expressing through their statements."

Play the video again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zjcy5v_WzwA.

Make a list of values that you heard being expressed through this video. Once that list is up, you can take the discussion in a variety of directions. Some questions include:

What do you notice about these values?
Do they resonate with you?
How does looking at the video and arguments through this lens help you make sense of what is going on, on campus?

If you want, you can ask participants to think of these values and come up with their own expressions of these values as they relate to Israel -- essentially, what are the statements they would make if we were creating our own video like this?

Yes We Can! Jumping Into the Israeli Knesset

Natalie Blitt — Tue, 04 Nov 2014 23:03:55 +0000

The Israeli Knesset that was elected in 2015 had representatives from 10 political parties and way more personalities than any one building can usually handle. It may seem like an impossible task to make the Knesset relevant and interesting to teens today -- but creating a mock Knesset allows teens to do many of the things they love most: negotiating, arguing, striking deals, breaking deals, and trying to get their way. And BBYO's CLTC staff has created the step-by-step tools to make the program a success.

Curriculum Themes:

Dreams & Realities

Materials Required:

Program Duration:

90 minutes

Physical Space:

Large Room (capacity 100+)

Number of Campers:

Large Group (75+ campers)

Age of Campers:

Core Learnings:

Participants will be able to formulate their own opinions on Israeli issues

Participants will be able to identify the major players, issues, and challenges of the process

Participants will be able to understand that Israel is a diverse society that often requires compromises

Participants will be able to understand Israel’s value of human rights

Explanation:

Time Table:

00:00 – 00:05 Group Introduction
00:05 – 00:20 Parties read and discuss their profiles, and discuss their positions on the main issues.
00:20 - 00:40 Parties negotiate and try to form coalitions.
00:40 - 01:00 Final presentations are read and the Knesset votes.
01:00 - 01:15 Return to large group, wrap-up.

Set Up

If possible, tables will have assigned seats with designated name cards for each political party. Participants will be instructed to sit in their assigned seats. The tables will already have materials spread out, such as pens and background information on the party’s stances.

Pull 10 teen leaders together in advance. Brief them on the program as a whole and assign each to be the leader for one of the parties. Give them their party’s information. Give them an opportunity to do additional research if possible. Answer any questions they may have. When you begin the program, remind them to sit at their assigned party. They’ll lead the first bit of the program, in small groups.

Each party leader should get enough copies of the following for each of the participants in their group:

the two page brief explanation of all the political parties
the in-depth explanation of their party

Detailed Procedure

Introduction: 0:00-0:05

Group facilitator welcomes everyone and gives a brief overview of the program.

PART 1: 0:05 – 0:20 Intro (each group is led by the party leader)

The party leaders (teen leaders you pulled in advance) should:

Walk their group through an overview of their party’s platform.
Review the four bills that will be up for a vote. Each party should determine how they will vote on each bill. Remember that parties must vote as a block – the number of votes (seats) each party has is listed on the overview sheet.
Each party will have an opportunity to publicly support or oppose one bill in front of the full Knesset. Your presentation can be verbal, through posters, a rallying cry, a letter, etc… You’ll have two minutes to present.
Plan your negotiations! For a bill to pass, it needs 61 votes. Who can you get to vote with you? What can you offer in order to get them on your side?

PART 2: 00:20 – 00:40 Negotiate

This is the fun part. Four bills are up for debate and each party will have the opportunity to vote on each bill. A majority (61) of votes is needed to pass a bill.
As soon as the bill is handed out, the politicking begins. Your party should devise a strategy of how to get your bill passed—who to bargain with and who to fight with. As ambassadors for your party, work with the other parties to negotiate passing bills.
For example, Shas might decide that they can strike a deal with Likud. They send an ambassador to Likud with the bargaining chip that Shas will vote for Likud's bill if Likud votes for Shas' bill. Another example is: Meretz might send an ambassador to UTJ saying that, if UTJ votes against Yesh Atid's bill, then Meretz will vote for UTJ's bill.

PART 3: (0:40-1:00) The Knesset Meeting

When we call for the Knesset meeting, all bargaining will cease and parties will sit together in the main room for final voting.
Each party may choose one bill to present an argument for or against. You will have up to 2 minutes to make an argument.
Each party will be called out, and you will announce how you are voting (For or Against) concerning the bill at hand. Each party must vote as a bloc. After the vote, you'll have the chance to inform the group if there were any deals brokered that influenced your vote.
Feel free to break secret deals to advance your own party's interests. This is meant to be a realistic simulation of what really happens in the Knesset!

PART 4: 01:00 – 01:15 Wrap-up

Program leader facilitates wrap-up discussion. Ask campers what they learned from the experience, challenge them to describe the process as well as the positions of different parties in the Knesset.

Variations:

This program can easily be expanded to last much longer. It could be a half-day activity or a full-day activity. If you want to expand it, be sure to include opportunities for diverse ways of presenting information. Each party can write, practice, and present a cheer or song; promotional posters can be hung in a central area of camp, advocating for and against various bills; and more. Additionally, with more time to prepare each group's leader can learn more in advance about his or her party's positions and history (shlichim, the GE, and Goodman Fellows all can be great resources for this!).

The wrap-up discussion can include an opportunity for campers to discuss their personal opinions on some of the issues that came to a vote during the activity. While role-playing members of Knesset, campers had to tow their party's line, but a follow-up discussion can provide opportunities to stake out personal views and explore the issues from multiple perspectives.

Background Cards:

Supporting Materials:

Mock Knesset Party Backgrounds.docx

CLTC Mock Knesset - Full Program Updated 6-25.docx

mock knesset table tents.pdf

Attribution:

BBYO - CLTC

Movin' On Up!

JAR — Tue, 03 Dec 2013 15:09:17 +0000

The campers will experience a modified 'Aliyah' to Israel either as immigrants or existing citizens, where they will get to engage in dialogue and learn about Aliyah from a personal place.

Curriculum Themes:

Materials Required:

Program Duration:

Physical Space:

Open Space

Number of Campers:

Age of Campers:

Core Learnings:

The process of Aliyah

The role customs and traditions play in social interaction

The diversity of Israel's population

Explanation:

The participants will spend the first five minutes of the session doing a series of warm-up activities to get comfortable in the room. After the warm-up, one facilitator will remove half the group and take them outside the room.

The group outside the room will be given two sheets of paper. The first is an empty registration/application form for making Aliyah to Israel. The goal is to get the participants to create, quickly, an identity of a person they imagine might be making Aliyah (including information such as number of children, profession, age, etc.). The participants in this group will then be given a second piece of paper, empty, for them to write an answer to the following question: “Why are you making Aliyah?”

The group inside the room will spend the first few minutes collectively deciding on specific weird customs (such as pointing at a person when they begin speaking). Once those customs are agreed upon and memorized, the group will discuss the different kinds of people who exist as Israeli citizens in 2013. Each person in the group will assume one of those identities and spend a few minutes writing down an answer to the following question: “What does it mean to be Israeli?”

The outside group will be invited back into the room for a cocktail party during which they can schmooze and meet the people in the inside group. This will be framed as new olim meeting current Israeli citizens to ask them one question: “What does it mean to be Israeli?” The Israelis can ask the olim “Why are you making Aliyah?”

Following the cocktail party, the entire group will sit on the floor in a circle and the facilitator will guide a group discussion about Israel, during which the customs will emerge. After a few minutes of this, the facilitator will end the exercise and begin a debrief of the entire program.

Variations:

The group discussion should NOT be a debrief on the session itself. So, you can change up the subject matter of the group discussion so as to facilitate the customs being brought to the fore without stymying any debrief or talkback on the session itself (and on the Aliyah portion of the session, in particular).

Supporting Materials:

Aliyah Form for Movin on Up.pdf

Curricular Subjects:

Current Social Issues

Oh, the Places You'll Go: A Scavenger Hunt

Rachel Levin — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 21:35:09 +0000

Campers will break into teams and collect information and artifacts related to cities in Israel from counselors, other campers, CITs, and shlichim. The group with the most points at the end wins!

Curriculum Themes:

A Land & Its People

Materials Required:

Program Duration:

1 hour

Physical Space:

Outdoor Space

Number of Campers:

Age of Campers:

Inter Camp (10 – 12)

Core Learnings:

Israel is a small but very diverse country, as seen by the differences between each of the cities and sites campers will encounter

Each city is known for its specific historical or religious characteristics/sites (the Kotel in Jerusalem, the Bahai gardens in Haifa, Kabalah in Tsfat, etc.)

Everyone who has visited or knows about Israel has unique personal stories to share

Explanation:

Stage 1: Getting Ready

Divide the campers into groups of 3-5 by handing each of them pieces of a puzzle. Ask them to find their team members who will each have the same color paper as them. Instruct the campers to put their puzzles together upside down and tape the back together. When they flip it over, they will see that it is a map of Israel.
Explain that they will be going on a scavenger hunt to find out facts about different areas of Israel.

Stage 2: The Hunt is On!

Give each group of campers a scavenger hunt sheet (see attached resource).
In order to fulfill the tasks, campers will need to interview counselors, staff, CITs, shlichim, and other campers who have visited or know about Israeli cities and sites.
Each interviewee can only answer two questions. (This may not work for your group. Feel free to change the rules if you need!)
Before the activity, inform people around camp that campers will be approaching them with questions. Before campers ask a question, they must point to the city or site about which they are asking.
Give the campers 30 minutes to complete as many tasks as possible without splitting up as a group. The whole team must stay together!
If each group has a digital camera to record them doing activities then this will help prove their accomplishments (and more challenges can be added to the list).

Stage 3: Wrap-up

At the end, each of the groups will present their findings and share their stories.
Ask what were the most surprising facts they learned or the best stories they heard.
Counselors should add up the points each team achieved.

Variations:

More questions and challenges can be added to the existing list, along with more cities/sites.
Staff members can be assigned to answer certain questions about cities with which they are familiar and the campers will need to find that specific counselor.

Background Cards:

Supporting Materials:

Israel Scavenger Hunt.docx

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:

Declaration of Independence - Sharing our Values

Adam Stewart — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 13:21:00 +0000

Campers use Israel's Declaration of Independence as a jumping off point for discussing the kinds of values that they want in their communities, including their cabins, tents, and units.

Curriculum Themes:

Materials Required:

Program Duration:

1 hour

Physical Space:

Number of Campers:

A Bunk/Cabin/Chug (10-20 campers)

Age of Campers:

Core Learnings:

Israel became independent with a Declaration of Independence on May 14, 1948.

Israel was founded as a Jewish State and as a homeland for all Jews.

Israel's Declaration of Independence addresses core values, including: Israel as a safe place for Jews, the right to self determination, Israel's relationship to its neighbors, the rights of non-Jewish citizens, and the values of the Hebrew Prophets.

Explanation:

Part One: Setting the stage

The length of this opening activity -- a short text study of the Declaration of Independence -- will depend on the age and ability of the campers. Since this activity is designed for the beginning of the camp session, there is no assumption of knowledge or attempt to draw on previously learned material.

In this activity, we will learn about the founding of the State of Israel and its Declaration of Independence. Using the values within Israel's Declaration of Independence, we will create a cabin/tent "covenant" or "brit."
- This could be a good opportunity to introduce the Hebrew word "brit" (meaning covenant). Most campers are familiar with the word (although they may know it by the Ashkenazi pronunciation "bris") from the circumcision ceremony. You can further explain the meaning of covenant, and point out that the Hebrew word for United States - "Artzot Habrit" - is a reference to a group of states that is bound or united together by a covenant (the Constitution).
- You could also introduce the word "megillah" (scroll) as the Declaration of Independence is called the "Megillat Ha'atzmaut" (the Scroll of Independence). Campers may be familiar with the word "megillah" from Purim: "Megillat Esther." You can refer to the covenant that you are creating as a "Megillat HaTzrif" (Scroll of the Cabin) or "Megillat HaOhel" (Scroll of the Tent).
An effective hook for this activity might be to begin by asking campers if they know the beginning of the American Declaration of Independence:
- "When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands..."
This is how the Israeli Declaration begins:
- "The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious, and political identity was shaped."

Part Two: The Birthplace of Values

To begin the activity, pass around a replica of Israel's Declaration of Independence (Hebrew version), copies of the English text (if you plan on doing a short text study), and the photo of the signers of the Declaration.
Open with a discussion of what it means that Israel was the "birthplace of the Jewish People." What did the signers (these people in the photo) mean by that?
Possible suggestions:
- It was the Land promised to Jews in the Torah.
- It is a Land that Jews have lived in for thousands of years.
- The Jews/Israelites became a free people in the Land of Israel.
- It's where many of the important stories in the Torah/Bible happened.
- It's a place where a Jewish language was spoken.
How does it "shape our spiritual, religious, and political identity"? Possible further questions:
- Is Israel or Jerusalem mentioned in our prayers?
- Do people from our camp go on trips to Israel?
- Have you or anyone in your family been to Israel?
- Do we have family or friends who live in Israel?
Is camp a place that has shaped our identity? How? Do we do things differently here? Do we feel differently? Do you think these signers may have had similar feelings about Israel?

Part Three: Deriving Values From the Declaration, and Determining Our Own Values

After discussing the first paragraph, we will examine the text of the Declaration of Independence and look for the values expressed.
Using the values below as guides, we will try to determine our own values for our "Megillat HaTzrif."
This part can be longer or shorter depending on the age or ability of the group and how much actual text study that you want to do. Please note that using all of the material in this section would make for a program longer than the proscribed time - pick and choose the issues/values you would like to highlight.

Value One: Israel as a Safe Place for Jews

"The catastrophe which recently befell the Jewish people - the massacre of millions of Jews in Europe - was another clear demonstration of the urgency of solving the problem of its homelessness by re-establishing in Eretz-Israel the Jewish State..."

Why did the Holocaust create an "urgency" for a Jewish State? Does that urgency still exist?
Do you think Israel is a safe place for Jews?

Value Two: The Right of a People to Have its Own Country

"This right is the natural right of the Jewish people to be masters of their own fate, like all other nations, in their own sovereign State."

Should all people have their own state?
What are the responsibilities of a people who have their own state?

Value Three: The Values Taught by the Hebrew Prophets

"THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open to the immigration of Jews from all countries of their dispersion; will promote the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; will be based on the precepts of liberty, justice and peace taught by the Hebrew Prophets; will uphold the full social and political equality of all its citizens, without distinction of race, creed or sex; will guarantee full freedom of conscience, worship, education and culture; will safeguard the sanctity and inviolability of the shrines and Holy Places of all religions; and will dedicate itself to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations."

What are the things that you value? Are they found in this document?
Are these values Jewish values? Are they important in the modern world?

Value Four: The Rights of Arab Inhabitants of Israel

"In the midst of wanton aggression, we yet call upon the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to return to the ways of peace and play their part in the development of the State, with full and equal citizenship and due representation in its bodies and institutions - provisional or permanent."

Are you surprised to learn that Israel offers citizenship to all Arab residents of the Land?
What responsibility does this give to Israel? What does it give to the Arab Residents?

Value Five: Peace to Israel's Neighbors

"We offer peace and unity to all the neighboring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all."

What does it mean that Israel offered peace to its neighbors in its first public statement? What should that mean about Israel's relationship with its neighbors today?

Value Six: Uniting Israel & Jews Around the World

"Our call goes out the the Jewish people all over the world to rally to our side in the task of immigration and development and to stand by us in the great struggle for the fulfillment of the dream of generations - the redemption of Israel."

Israel asked the Jews of the world to rally by its side. Do you feel the need to rally by Israel's side?
The paragraph suggests that the "redemption of Israel" is ongoing and is not complete? What do you think this means? Do you feel a part of this?

Part Four: Framing Our Values

After the discussion, campers and staff will determine the values that they want on their "Megillat HaTzrif."
- Using the provided sheet (with the original Declaration of Independence on one side), the campers will write their values on the other side.
- If you want, you can be creative (and maybe a little bit funny) and try to copy the format of the original Declaration. For example, "Camp Yisrael is the birthplace of Cabin Three. It is here that our values and identity have been formed."
- When finished, each of the campers will sign the Megillah at the bottom like the original signers.
When completed, the counselor should take a photo of the campers (you can try to mock the photo of the signers of the Declaration).
Later, print out that photo and place it in the space below the text, alongside the photo of the original signers.

Wrap Up

The leader should close this activity by making the connection between the values in the Declaration and the values that we all want to share as we build a community together.
The completed sheet should be placed in an area of the cabin/tent where everyone can see it daily. It can be used as the basis for conflict resolution or for a follow-up activity partway through the session.

Variations:

Variations in format

Alternative Hook #1 into the program:

Hold the program as a bunk campout.
Ask the campers to gather sticks and build a hut/home. After they have built this structure, explain, "You have built a house but it's not yet a home."
Ask, what is the difference between a house and a home? (Values: people connecting, memories, rules).
Ask, what do you think of when you hear "homeland"?
At this point, transition into thinking about the creation of the Declaration of Independence: leaving the comfort of your cabin for this campout is like leaving your "homeland."
Enter into the rest of the above activity by exploring what values had to be established to make Israel a "home" for those already there and for all the new immigrants who arrived around the time the state was established.
What values for your "home" would be similar/different to those in Israel's Declaration of Independence?

Alternative Hook #2 into the program:

Give each camper a values statement (i.e. everyone should have the right to vote; every restaurant in Israel should be kosher; buses should run on Shabbat, other funny additions, etc.)
Campers walk around with their value statements. Their goal is to get as close to people holding values they agree with and as far away from people holding values they disagree with. (Tip: they may want to pick ONE person on each end of this spectrum.)
After a few minutes, stop the activity and see where people are standing in relation to one another. Ask how they ended up next to certain values -- what they wanted to be close to and/or far from.
Discuss values, including some of the topics below:
- Imposing values on others
- Differing opinions
- Feeling strongly about some vs. others
Lead into the discussion on values, brit, and the Declaration of Independence.
Which values in the Declaration of Independence resonate most with us? Which may be controversial? What would our own brit include?