At this time of year, following Passover, the Jewish calendar is full of celebrations and commemorations that highlight the national aspects of being Jewish. Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Memorial Day), Yom HaZikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day) and Yom Ha’Atzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day) are powerful and rich expressions of Jewish Peoplehood, and offer many educational opportunities to explore related issues.
Activity: Engaging with Israel
Use the Engagement with Israel activity to the Israel and Jewish Peoplehood section in the Peoplehood Toolkit. This activity gives participants an opportunity to express their own personal relationship to Israel, whatever that might be. Without judgment or assumptions, it asks young people to share their connection to Israel, and allows them to hear the opinions of their peers.
This activity can be used with all ages. Depending on the size of the group, it should take about 45 minutes.
- Start by asking participants to think of 3 words that describe what they think of when they think of Israel. These can be descriptive words, feelings or anything else that participants come up with. Write all the words on a large piece of poster board.
- Follow the instructions #1 and #2 in the activity.
- Then show the 7-minute video about Israel as the Vision and Venture of the Jewish People.
- Consider some or all of the following questions, raised by the video:
- What about Israel makes you feel pride?
- What role can you take to continue building Israel as a Jewish State?
- What is your Israel?
- What is your dream for Israel?
5. To conclude, return to the words from the first part of the activity. Have participants choose three more words that describe their dream for Israel. They can use the same words as before or choose others.
For more ideas for Israel-related resources, see the Jewish Peoplehood Education Toolkit.
