Maps of History: Israel in the Middle East Israel 101: Pages 2-3 and 6-7

Maps of History: Israel in the Middle East Israel 101: Pages 2-3 and 6-7
What do you think? The Creation of the Modern Middle East
Preparation:
Estimated Time: 30 minutes • Materials Needed: Copies of student worksheet, pencils
Lesson Plan: Make sure that the students do not read the text of Israel 101 before they engage in this activity.
Give them a short introduction (see below), distribute the worksheets, and complete the activity according to the
guidelines below.
Introduction: Although it is common knowledge that the modern State of Israel was formed in 1948, it is not
well known that the Arab states were formed during the same period. This activity invites students to
“guestimate” when the various Arab states were formed. Many students will be surprised.
Activity: Distribute the worksheets. Ask the students to fill them out by guessing when these states were established.
For each Arab state, students should place a mark on either the “Before Israel” or the “After Israel”
column and write an estimate in the “How many years?” column. When the students have done this, have them
turn to page 6 and fill out the “Year Founded” column.
Discussion: Discuss the results of this activity with the students. How did their estimates compare with the
facts? Were there serious discrepancies between the two? If so, to what do they attribute those differences?
Wrap-Up: It is not well known that the Arab states and the modern State of Israel were formed in the same period.
It is also not well known that there had never been a Palestinian Arab state. Before World War I, the whole
area in the Middle East was part of the larger Ottoman Empire, and people were relatively free to move around
(as Bedouins did) throughout the Empire. This fact helps explain why the concept of Palestine was so new in
the region.
Activities Activity 1
Visual Representations of Israel’s Changing Borders
Preparation:
Estimated Time: 1-2 hours • Materials: Poster board, paper. If available, computers can be used.
Suggested Use of Activity: As a motivating activity before the unit or as a summary to the unit.
Background: The maps in this unit convey a great deal of information. In order to help students better understand
and remember the information, this activity has them try to transform the maps into different visual representations
of the same information. For example, the maps graphically show (a) how the land contained in the
British Mandate was reduced in the Partition Plan and (b) how the land captured in the Six-Day War was given
up to make peace with Egypt.
Investigation:
Introduction: Have the students look at the maps (pp. 2-3, 6-7). Give them time to look at the maps, and then
ask: “What can you learn from these maps?” Discuss their responses. Then ask them: “How else can you represent
this information?” Students may suggest a wide variety of possibilities, such as a timeline, a comparison
table, a single map with transparencies (each to represent that map at different times), a map-based PowerPoint
presentation, a computerized map and the like.
Activity: Divide the students into groups. Give each group the task of creating a visual representation of the
information that is different from the maps but that includes the information from the maps. Afterwards, have
each group present its work to the entire class.
Discussion: Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of each representation.
Wrap-Up: If some pictures can be worth a thousand words, some maps (and other visual representations) can
be worth several pictures. For example, to say “Israel gave up territory it captured in the Six-Day War” does
not have the same impact as comparing appropriate maps of Israel and Egypt before and after the peace treaty
between these two nations. In studying and understanding the evolution of the State of Israel, it’s important for
us to know how to learn from and use maps and other visual representations.
References:
Edward Tufte’s books on the visual representation of information: The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
(Graphics Press: Second edition 2001); Envisioning Information (Graphics Press: 1990).
www.edwardtufte.com/tufte
Activities Activity 2
International Support for Zionism: Using Primary Documents
Preparation:
Estimated Time: 1 class period • Materials: Israel 101, printouts of the Balfour Declaration, sections of the
League of Nations British Mandate for Palestine, and sections of the UN Partition Resolution.
Lesson Plan: Have the students compare and contrast the three documents, then lead a class discussion to distill
the main points and situate them in historical context. This activity will introduce students to seminal documents
in the history of modern Israel and give them experience is reading primary documents. It will also introduce
them to the League of Nations and the United Nations.
Background: Britain’s Balfour Declaration (Nov. 1917), the League of Nations British Mandate for Palestine
(1922), and the UN Partition Resolution (Nov. 1947) were seminal documents in the establishment of modern
Israel. All three gave progressively more international endorsements to the Zionist dream and the Zionist hope
of reestablishing the Jewish State. Using the maps (1917-1967), students can see how the territory promised for
the Jewish homeland altered and how these international endorsements evolved.
Activity:
1. Instruct students to read the documents, paying particular attention to the following issues:
• Who issued each of these documents, and why did they have the authority to do so?
• What goals did each of the documents endorse?
• What land was promised or recommended in each of the documents? How and why were they different?
(Note to teachers: The Balfour Declaration is vague about territory because no “Palestine” officially existed
and Britain had not yet won World War I. After it won the war, the defeated Ottoman Empire ceded its sovereignty
to Britain and the other allies. The Mandate and the UN Partition Resolution were very specific about
terrirory, as indicated by the maps on page 7, though the area allotted became progressively smaller.)
• In what ways did each of these documents propose to help reestablish the Jewish homeland?
• What promises did each of the documents make about non-Jews who were living in the area allotted for a
Jewish homeland?
• What are the similarities and differences between what the three documents endorsed? (Note to teachers:
Balfour was vague about what a Jewish homeland would be. The Mandate was very specific about
encouraging Jewish settlement but did not mention a state. The Partition Resolution clearly recommended
establishing a state, but on a small portion of the original Mandate.)
Activities Activity 3
Activities Activity 3
2. Lead a class discussion addressing the issues raised above, and raise these additional questions:
• Why did the League of Nations and the UN have the right to set up the Mandate and recommend Partition?
• What do you think was fair or unfair about the plans laid out in these documents?
• Often, official documents are the result of long negotiations and diplomacy, and the language in the final
document can seem vague as a result. Do you think the language and ideas laid out in these documents are
vague and can be subject to different interpretations? What kind of research would you do to find out the
original intent of the authors of the documents?
• How important do you think it is to have this kind of international endorsement for the establishment of a
state?
Wrap-up: The Balfour Declaration, the League of Nations Mandate, and the UN Partition Resolution were the
seminal documents that gave international support for the Zionist movement and for the reestablishment of the
State of Israel.