The Goodman Initiative - Media Equipment

Stories in Motion: Israeli Culture Bridging Political Gaps

Dalia Davis — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 19:52:10 +0000

Stories in Motion engages participants with pieces of Israel’s history through creative movement and physical expression. As participants bring to life the story of an Israeli dance company that faces and overcomes a difficult political situation, the cultural exchange finds resonance in the hearts and minds of the participants.

Curriculum Themes:

A People’s Hope

Materials Required:

Program Duration:

90 minutes

Physical Space:

Number of Campers:

Age of Campers:

Core Learnings:

Roughly half of Jews in Israel are of Middle Eastern descent

Cultural exchanges can bridge political gaps in a way that discussion cannot

Israeli artists sometimes find themselves in dangerous situation when they tour because of people's negative opinions about Israel

Explanation:

1. Background information: The following background information will help the participants understand the story that this program is based upon. Facilitator introduces these three pieces of information to the group.

A. The Oslo Accords:
The Oslo Accords were bilateral agreements signed in Washington following negotiations, part of which was clandestine, between Israel and the PLO. The main concern was on the Israeli withdrawal from the territories of Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip, in order to allow the establishment of a Palestinian Authority for self-government for an interim period until permanent arrangements would be established. On September 13, 1993, the problems regarding the mutual recognition were resolved, allowing Rabin and Arafat to sign the Declaration of Principles at the White House in Washington.
(www.Knesset.gov.il)

B. Margalit Oved
Margalit Oved—dancer, choreographer, singer, actress, musician—an émigré from Yemen (in the early 1950s), began her career in her teens as one of the original members of Sarah Levi-Tanai’s ethnic Inbal Dance Company in Tel Aviv, Israel. Her creative roots go further back, however, to her native Aden, where as a child she danced barefoot and carefree. Her story, told through her dances, is that of a Jewish Yemenite turned Israeli and then American. Despite her several transformations, she did not abandon her earliest influences. At the same time, she has internalized her experiences in the United States, including the raising of an American-born family, and used them to inform her more recent work.
(www.jwa.org)

C. Barak Marshall
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Barak is the son of acclaimed dancer, choreographer, and musician Margalit Oved. Since his accidental entrance into dance in 1995, Barak established himself as one of Israel’s most innovative voices.
(www.BarakMarshall.com)

Tell the group that they will now have the opportunity to learn more about a cultural exchange that overcame a situation of political strife.

2. Studying the Text:

Partner Study/Chavruta:
Divide participants into pairs and have them read the text “Barak Marshall: Dance Bridging Cultures.” Each pair receives three different colored highlighters and uses different markers to highlight characters, actions, and emotions respectively.

Group Discussion: Participants analyze and reflect upon the story as a group.

Guiding Questions:
*In addition to fear, what do you think the Israeli dancers were feeling in the moments before they performed?
*Do you think Marshall and his dancers anticipated receiving the reaction that they did from the crowd?
*Why do you think the crowd reacted as they did to the performance?
*What do you think about the dancer’s decision to perform despite the animosity they were receiving from the crowd? Do you think such cultural exchanges are worth placing one’s life in danger?

3. Dancing the Text

Role Assignment: Facilitator leads the group in creating a list of the characters in the story, along with their actions and emotions (a sample list is provided in the supporting documents). Characters can be human as well as inanimate objects. Participants choose characters from the story such that each participant has at least one role. They are asked to begin creating movements that express their character’s actions and emotions.

Costuming: Participants create costumes for themselves from white bed sheets or other material scraps. Facilitator provides markers, scissors, and safety pins along with the material.

Dance Creation: After creating movements for their particular role and getting into costume, participants dance their movements as a group while the facilitator reads the text. This is repeated two or three times in order to help the movements coalesce into a cohesive dance. Then the narration ceases and the dance is put to music with the story being told without words.

Dance Performance: Have the participants dance their piece one final time, but this time instead of setting it to music, play the attached youtube video as they are dancing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Waw66l_Igzg). This video is one of Barak Marshall’s choreographic works.
They may need to repeat the dance a few times in order to fill the time of the entire video (their movements do not need to match up with what is happening in the video, but they may do so if they like).

Variations:

Younger Participants: It may be easier for participants to study the text and highlight the characters, actions, and emotions as a group rather than in partner study.

Older Participants: If the group is a bit older, the facilitator might want to include in the processing portion of the session, a discussion about culture as a means for bridging gaps.

Some possible questions to encourage discussion:

• Do you think there are any instances in which a particular cultural piece should not be included in a given performance or exhibition venue? Why or why not?

• There are an increasing number of places that will not allow Israeli performers or artists to participate in festivals and other such cultural exchanges. What do you think are the effects of such decisions?

• What do you think might have happened if before the performance the dancers had responded to the insults they received in Arabic by speaking openly in Arabic? Do you think the story would have ended differently? Why or why not?

• Do you think culture is the best mechanism by which political gaps can be bridged? Why or why not?

Additional Time/Sessions: This session can be a part of a lesson or a curriculum on the Jews of Middle Eastern descent, or the plight of Yemenite Jews. Part of the impact of the story is that Marshall’s mother is a Yemenite Jew, and many of his dancers were of Middle-Eastern descent, yet the audience was unaware that there was such a thing as a Jew of Arabic descent. The facilitator may choose to show the film “The Forgotten Refugees” or to address the history of this population in another way.

Larger groups: In order to accommodate larger groups, multiple people can dance each role and choreograph their movements together.

Background Cards:

Supporting Materials:

Barak Marshall Text.pdf

Israeli Culture Character Chart.pdf

Attribution:

Dalia Davis

Stories in Motion: Returning to the Western Wall

Dalia Davis — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 00:40:18 +0000

Stories in Motion engages participants with epic pieces of Israel’s history through creative movement and physical expression. As participants bring to life the story of the return to the Western Wall through movement, the eye-witness testimonies leave the page and find resonance in the hearts and minds of the participants.

Curriculum Themes:

Materials Required:

Program Duration:

90 minutes

Physical Space:

Number of Campers:

Age of Campers:

Core Learnings:

In 1967, Israeli soldiers were the first Jews who succeeded in reaching the Western Wall in decades

The renewed access to the Western Wall for Jews was of huge religious and political significance

Many Jews, including the president of Israel, greatly value the ability to access the Western Wall

Explanation:

1. Background information about the Western Wall

Share the following information with the group:

When Rome destroyed the Second Temple in 70 C.E., only one outer wall remained standing. The Romans probably would have destroyed that wall as well, but it must have seemed too insignificant to them; it was not even part of the Temple itself, just an outer wall surrounding the Temple Mount. For the Jews, however, this remnant of what was the most sacred building in the Jewish world quickly became the holiest spot in Jewish life. Throughout the centuries, Jews from throughout the world made the difficult pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and immediately headed for the Kotel ha-Ma'aravi (the Western Wall) to thank God. The prayers offered at the Kotel were so heartfelt that gentiles began calling the site the “Wailing Wall.” This name never won a wide following among traditional Jews; the term “Wailing Wall” is not used in Hebrew.

The Western Wall was subjected to far worse than semantic indignities. During the more than one thousand years Jerusalem was under Muslim rule, the Arabs often used the Wall as a garbage dump, so as to humiliate the Jews who visited it.

For nineteen years, from 1948 to 1967, the Kotel was under Jordanian rule. Although the Jordanians had signed an armistice agreement in 1949 guaranteeing Jews the right to visit the Wall, not one Israeli Jew was ever permitted to do so.

(www.JewishVirtualLibrary.org)

Tell the group that they will now have the opportunity to learn more about the operation that restored Jewish access to the Western Wall.

2. Studying the Text:

Partner Study/Chavruta:
Divide participants into pairs and have them read the text “Reclaiming the Western Wall (1967).” Each pair receives three different colored highlighters and uses different markers to highlight characters, actions, and emotions respectively.

Group Discussion: Participants analyze and reflect upon the story as a group.

Guiding Questions:
*What do you think it was like for the soldiers who participated in this mission?
*What do you think it was like for Israelis at that time to hear the news?
*What do you think of the decision of the president and the commanders to risk their lives to reach the Western Wall? Do you think a religious site is something worth risking one’s life for?

3. Dancing the Text

Role Assignment: Facilitator leads the group in creating a list of the characters in the story, along with their actions and emotions (a sample list is provided in the supporting documents). Characters can be human as well as inanimate objects. Participants choose characters from the story such that each participant has at least one role. They are asked to begin creating movements that express their character’s actions and emotions.

Costuming: Participants create costumes for themselves from white bed sheets or other material scraps. Facilitator provides markers, scissors, and safety pins along with the material.

Dance Performance: Have the participants dance their piece one final time, but this time instead of setting it to music, play the attached youtube video as they are dancing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l17p0fTNvf0.
They may need to repeat the dance a few times in order to fill the time of the entire video (their movements do not need to match up with what is happening in the video, but they may do so if they like).
[The video is in Hebrew, but one does not need to understand the words to discern what is happening.]

Variations:

Larger groups: In order to accommodate larger groups, multiple people can dance each role and choreograph their movements together.

Younger Participants: Facilitator may want to allow participants an opportunity to share an experience they had visiting the Western Wall. Facilitator should also be prepared to share, if s/he has been there.

Older participants: With a group of older participants, facilitator may want to discuss the decisions that came to pass after the return to the Western Wall.

Some questions for discussion:

• Who should decide how the Western Wall should function today?

• Should the Western Wall be structured such that there is a separation between men and women? Why or why not?

• Should decisions about how the Western Wall is run be based on the goal of including as many people as possible? If not, what should be the most important goal?

• What vision of the Western Wall in the future do you think the soldiers had in the moment when they saw it for the first time?

Background Cards:

Supporting Materials:

Reclaiming the Western Wall (1967).pdf

Returning to the Western Wall Character Chart.pdf

Attribution:

Dalia Davis

Stories in Motion: Operation Moses

Dalia Davis — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 01:36:11 +0000

Stories in Motion engages participants with epic pieces of Israel’s history through creative movement and physical expression. As participants bring to life the story of Operation Moses through movement, the story of the Ethiopian Jewish journey leaves the page and finds resonance in the hearts and minds of the participants.

Curriculum Themes:

Creation & Rebirth

Materials Required:

Program Duration:

90 minutes

Physical Space:

Number of Campers:

Age of Campers:

Core Learnings:

Ethiopian Jews endured difficulty and danger during Operation Moses to get to Israel

Israel's Mossad (Intelligence and special operations) agents endangered their lives in order to save the Ethiopian Jews during Operation Moses

Israel plays a large role in rescuing and absorbing Jewish communities in crisis

Explanation:

1. Background information about Operation Moses

Share the following information with the group:

In the 1980s the situation for Ethiopian Jews was extremely difficult. They endured terrible famines, the rapid spread of disease and increased pressure to stop practicing their religion under the dictatorial, communist regime of Colonel Marian Mengistu. To save them, Israel executed rescue missions, the first of which was called Operation Moses. Operation Moses began on November 18, 1984, and ended six weeks later on January 5, 1985. In that time, just over 7,000 Ethiopian Jews were rescued and brought to Israel.

Tell the group that they will now have the opportunity to learn more about operation Moses through the reflections of the Mossad agents who carried out the mission.

2. Studying the Text:

Partner Study/Chevruta:
Divide participants into pairs and have them read the text “Operation Moses: Personal Reflections of Mossad Agents.” Each pair receives three different colored highlighters and uses different markers to highlight characters, actions, and emotions respectively.

Group Discussion: Participants analyze and reflect upon the story as a group.

Guiding Questions:
*How would you describe Operation Moses from the perspective of the Ethiopian Jews?
*How would you describe Operation Moses from the perspective of the Mossad agents?
*Why do you think Israel sent the Mossad agents on this mission? Do you agree with Israel’s decision to do so—why or why not?

3. Dancing the Text
Role Assignment: Facilitator leads the group in creating a list of the characters in the story, along with their actions and emotions (a sample list is provided in the supporting documents). Characters can be human as well as inanimate objects. Participants choose characters from the story such that each participant has at least one role. They are asked to begin creating movements that express their character’s actions and emotions.

Costuming: Participants create costumes for themselves from white bed sheets or other material scraps. Facilitator provides markers, scissors, and safety pins along with the material.

Variations:

Larger groups: In order to accommodate larger groups, multiple people can dance each role and choreograph their movements together.

Older groups: The closing discussion can include questions about Israel’s role as a Jewish state, such as:

*Do you think that all Jews should automatically be welcome citizens of the State of Israel?
*Do you think that Israel should actively search for remote Jewish communities and bring them to Israel?
*Do you think Israel should risk the lives of its soldiers to help bring other Jews to Israel?

Music Options: Here are examples of Idan Raichel songs to use during the activity, but most of his other songs would work as well (preferably ones with Amharic):

1) Tigest
2) Shoshanim Atzuvot
3) Brong Faya
4) Mi'ma'amakim
5) Bo'i
6) Ayale
7) Brachot Leshana Chadasha

Background Cards:

Supporting Materials:

Operation Moses text.pdf

Operation Moses Character Chart.pdf

Attribution:

Dalia Davis

Israel On Campus: Staff Discussion Program

Carl Schrag — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:48:38 +0000

This activity is designed to show staff members who are college students, or will be freshmen in the fall, what they can do to advance Israel's cause on campus.

Curriculum Themes:

Dreams & Realities

Materials Required:

Media Equipment

Program Duration:

Age of Campers:

Staff

Explanation:

Part 1: Introduction

Begin by telling the group the purpose of the gathering: to provide a forum for staff who are active in campus Israel activities to share their experiences with the others and for all staff to explore ways they might get involved on campus, as well as the possible motivations for doing so. The introduction might include:

By a quick show of hands, who has been to Israel?
And who has been involved in Israel-related activities at school?
Does anyone want to share the greatest, or the worst, thing you saw on campus in regards to Israel last year?

Part 2: Sharing Our Stories

The facilitator offers a few examples of Israel activities and developments from schools in the area or across the country in the past year. Ideally, these will include stories from schools that are "on the radar" of the staff -- perhaps one of the examples will be an activity that took place on the facilitator's campus, with the facilitator playing a key role. Cited examples can include some great Israel engagement moments, as well as some particularly unpleasant anti-Israel episodes.

Next, several staff members who have been active in campus Israel activities are "introduced" (of course, everybody knows these people already, but they may not associate them with campus Israel activism). This part of the activity can be set up as a panel discussion, or each staff person can take the floor in succession. Either way, others -- the other speakers as well as the audience -- should be encouraged to ask questions after each presenter completes his/her presentation.

The panelists each tell a personal story about their campus involvement. In planning the program, the GE and facilitator should seek out staff members whose stories run the gamut to include, for instance:

A staff member who was not involved in Israel-on-campus activities until he/she participated in a Birthright trip. This person can describe the Birthright experience as well as the new opportunities on campus that became available upon return.
A staff member who went to college knowing that he/she would get involved in Israel activism there (either because of past exposure in a youth movement, at camp, or another personal connection).
A staff member who played a key role in mounting a large Israel-related program or campaign on campus last year. This person should share some of the nuts and bolts of the effort, as well as a discussion of the skills involved and the sense of satisfaction upon completion.

After all of the presenters have told their story, the facilitator can pose one or more questions to them. These can include:

What would you suggest to everyone in the room if they might want to get involved? What's the first step?
What if someone says 'I don't know enough'?
Maybe it seems obvious to you, but can you talk just a bit about why this kind of involvement is important? (Depending on the prevalence of Israel-related activism among your camp's staff members, this might be better positioned in the facilitator's opening remarks).

Part 3: Wrap-up

The facilitator wraps up the discussion by asking the group if anyone wants to share his or her own experience, and by reiterating the importance of sharing our own ideas about, and connections to, Israel with others on our college campuses. If there is a tie-in to any upcoming activities at camp, this is the time to mention it.

Stress that this isn't about telling everyone around you that Israel is the greatest country in the world; it's about sharing your own feelings and your own reasons for caring. If something -- in this case Israel -- is important to you, it's probably worth sharing with your peers.

Variations:

After the opening part of the program, you might consider splitting the staff into several smaller groups and having the presenters rotate among the groups to share their own stories and perspectives. This more intimate setting may encourage greater dialogue. (If you do this, split into the right number of groups to enable one presenter to be with each group at any given time, and rotate until each presenter has been with all participants). Bring the entire group back together for the wrap-up.

Curricular Subjects:

Israeli Democracy: Free Speech vs. Hate Speech

Carl Schrag — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 19:23:45 +0000

Free speech is a central element of democracy -- but are there limits? This activity explores the difference between free speech and hate speech, using contemporary examples to create relateable situations for campers to consider.

Curriculum Themes:

Dreams & Realities

Materials Required:

Program Duration:

30 minutes

Number of Campers:

Age of Campers:

Core Learnings:

Israel is a democracy that supports free speech.

Free speech is different than hate speech.

Explanation:

1. Distribute pencils or pens to all participants and divide them into groups (the number of groups should be the same as the number of photos on display in separate corners of the room or activity space).

2. Send one group to each photo. Ask everyone to study the photo and its caption, and decide: is this an example of free speech or hate speech? Mark your answer either on a sheet provided or by putting a sticker on or near the photo, and then move on to the next photo and decide again.

3. While campers are moving between the photos, staff should circulate and be available to answer questions and provide background information or translations of the Hebrew text.

4. Once everyone has viewed each photo, bring everyone back together. Ask for a few general comments about the pictures and captions. Were people startled by any of them? Upset? Amused? What can we tell about Israel from the photos?

5. Then ask everyone to approach one photo, and to decide if they think that photo is an example of free speech or hate speech. At the photo, they should divide into 2 groups: one that thinks it is an example of free speech, and one that thinks it's an example of hate speech. Staff should be prepared to bolster any small group if the split is very uneven.

6. The leader then facilitates a brief conversation between the sides. Questions might include:

What can you tell from this image?
How does it make you feel?
Who might not like it?
Is it a legitimate form of free speech? Why or why not?

7. After debriefing on each picture, the leader brings the group back together in a central place.

Background Cards:

Supporting Images:

Curricular Subjects:

Attribution:

Shorashim/Club Israel - Sharna Marcus

When Would You Step In to Help?

Natalie Blitt — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 15:14:39 +0000

In 1948, more than 4,000 volunteers from 56 different countries walked out of their every day lives to help Israel during the War of Independence. This session will allow campers to hear some of their stories and to examine the question: when would you step in? It's ideal for an after-hours bunk activity, a Shabbat discussion slot, or as a rainy day substitution.

Curriculum Themes:

Creation & Rebirth

Materials Required:

Program Duration:

Physical Space:

Number of Campers:

Age of Campers:

Core Learnings:

Israel declared Independence on May 14, 1948, almost six months after the United Nations passed the "partition plan" to create an Arab and a Jewish State in Palestine.

Israel fought and won its War of Independence declared by its Arab neighbors after they rejected the Partition Plan.

Over 4,000 Jewish Volunteers from outside Israel came to fight and aid in Israel's War of Independence.

Explanation:

Stage 1: The Trigger Story

Introduce the video:
- Give your campers a brief history leading up to Israel's War of Independence (provided).
- Over the past couple decades, a group called Toldot Yisrael has been interviewing thousands of people who participated in Israel's founding. While these people are all over 80 now, when they got involved, many of them were no older than your campers.
- The 15 minute clip they are about to see is centered around the experiences of six people who got involved during Israel's founding moments. What is remarkable about these people is that they didn't start out in Israel and they did not wind up there because they had no place to go. While the War of Independence was fought primarily by people who had made aliyah -- moved to Israel -- either before the Holocaust or after the Holocaust, more than 4,000 of the people who came to help Israel in this fight came from overseas. They left the security of good homes and good jobs, college and their families, because they felt an urgent need to help.
- As they watch this clip, encourage them to keep track of the different motivations that these people had for leaving their lives to go to Israel's aid. What made them do it? How did they help?
Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kxzEGSmgYl4

Stage 2: Discussing the film

Begin the discussion with the following comment by former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin when he dedicated the Israeli memorial to the volunteers who came to fight during Israel's founding:
- "You came to us when we needed you most, during those difficult, uncertain days in our War of Independence. You gave us not only your experience, but your lives as well. The people of Israel and the State of Israel will never forget, and will always cherish, this unique contribution made by you -- the volunteers of Machal."
Here are some conversation starters for your group:
- Do you understand why Prime Minister Rabin said that?
- How did the different interviewees help?
- What did they risk to do it?
- Why do you think the volunteers were inspired to help?
- Did you relate to any of the volunteers’ stories? Did they remind you of anyone you know?
- What surprised you about the video?
- Do you think you, or people you know, would act in a similar situation?

Stage 3: When would you step in to help?

The discussion should now move into an area that is more personally relevant to the campers: issues of responsibility in their own lives. Feel free during the discussion to bring up examples from the video as well.
Essentially, the issues in the video come down to the question: “Who are we responsible for?” Within this question are other questions: What does it mean to be responsible? Who is responsible for us? How do we fulfill our responsibilities?
Ask your campers: When you hear the word ‘responsible,’ is there a person who comes to mind? Do you have a story to share about them?
- How do the characters in the video understand who they are responsible for?
- How do they act on their sense of responsibility?
- How do you decide for whom you are responsible?

Variations:

Variations in format

This activity could be done in a large group for the movie, and then broken up in smaller groups for the discussions.
If you can't do this activity with the video, ask a few staff people to take on the roles of the people in the video and introduce themselves and their decision to come help, what they wound up doing to help during the war.
If your camp has a regular video activity or a camp newspaper, this discussion can be brought in to that space as well. Have campers go out and interview others -- campers, counselors, Israelis, and staff (both Jewish and not-Jewish) and pose these questions:
- Who are you responsible for?
- How far would you go if you were called on to act?

Background Cards:

Curricular Subjects:

Attribution:

Ask Big Questions

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)