Independence Day. A Yom Hatzmaut project for Jccenters.org. By Marcus Freed

Transcription

1 Independence Day A Yom Hatzmaut project for Jccenters.org By Marcus Freed This project was developed by JCCenters.org Copyright JDC Europe All rights reserved.

2 ACTIVITY ONE: Introduction and Discussion (60 minutes) If you will it, it is no dream Theodore Herzl A Definition of Zionism Zionism is the national movement for the return of the Jewish people to their homeland and the resumption of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel. It was formally established in the late 19th century, and successful in establishing the State of Israel in 1948, which became the world s first and only modern Jewish State. Welcome to Independence Day, a Yom Hatzmaut project from JCCenters.org. It is celebrated on the 5th of Iyar, remembering the declaration of the State of Israel by David Ben-Gurion in Tel Aviv on May 14, 1948, and the end of the British Mandate (and British control) in Israel. Yom Hatzma ut is always preceded by Yom Hazikaron, the Remembrance Day for fallen Israeli soldiers on the 4th of Iyar. Objectives To learn more about Yom Hatzmaut and the history of Israeli independence. To find some creative ways to get more connected to Yom Hatzmaut. To learn more about Zionism. To learn more about the history of the early years of the State of Israel. To strengthen our connection to Israel. Venue These programmes can take place in your synagogue, community centre, or in a private home. 2

3 Introductory Exercise (60 mins) Preparation: Ask everyone to bring in photographs (and if possible a video/dvd) of any visits they have made to Israel. If they have never been to Israel, ask them to bring a picture of how they imagine Israel, and the first place they would like to visit when they go there. Context: Every Jewish person has some form of connection to, or thoughts about, Israel. The aim of this first session is to connect to our thoughts, feelings, relationship and ideas about Israel and to see what the rest of our group/community has to say about it. Equipment: Pens, paper, TV with video/dvd player (if needed). 1. Encourage everyone to sit in a circle and take it in turns to show your photographs about Israel and to talk about their first trip to Israel. 2. Defining moments : ask people what their defining moment was when they first went to Israel; when did they first feel an emotional connection ot the country? 3. Videos/DVD s has anyone brought a video of Israel? If so, show 5-10 minutes of the video and discuss people s thoughts about it. Alternatively, see if you have a computer connected to the internet, go to www. jpost.co.il, to the Jerusalem Post internet tv section, and play one of the videos about beautiful Israel. Ask people s reactions to what they see. 4. Activity: Who s a Zionist? a. Place three sheets on the walls of your room; one on each wall. They should read: I am a zionist I am not a zionist I am undecided! I m something else b. Ask people to go and stand by the sheet that they feel is most appropriate to themselves. (5 mins) c. Ask them to discuss their views in their small groups. (10 mins) d. Get back together into larger groups and present their thoughts. Encourage as much discussion as possible between the three groups, while still being completely respectful towards one another. 5. Close of session: sing Hatikvah together. 3

4 ACTIVITY TWO: Declaring Independence! (60 minutes) Context: Is Israel a Jewish state or a state for the Jews? This programme introduces some of the issues and looks at the original constitution. Aim (in addition to those at the start of the cluster): to discuss how Jewish, democratic, halakhic (Jewish legal), feminist and other values are expressed in the State of Israel. Materials: photocopies of source material, red pens, paper. Time: 90 minutes 1.i. Begin by handing out the following text, from an edition of The Jerusalem Report a few years ago; The shopping mall is being built by the Africa-Israel Real Estate and Development Company which initially intended the mall, or at least its restaurants and movie theatres to be opened on Shabbat. Late last year ultra orthodox businessman, Lev Leviev became the dominant shareholder in Africa-Israel and determined that the mall would be closed on Shabbat and all of its restaurants kosher. In response Tel Aviv Deputy Mayor Dan Darin had threatened to bar Africa-Israel from future building in the city. Mayor Ronny Milo has spoken of organizing a Shabbat caravan of cars to drive through the near by ultra-orthodox town of B nei B rak. If they bring B nei B rak to Tel Aviv, we will bring Tel Aviv to B nei B rak says Milo. Not surprisingly each side accuses the other of coercion. In New York or London no one would dream of forcing a religious Jew to open his business on Shabbat fumes ultra orthodox political leader Avraham Revit. Only in this primitive society is that thinkable. The battle over the mall has released a new passion amongst Israelis for boycott. Milo has called on Tel Aviv residents to boycott the mall if it closes on Shabbat while a new group Am Chofshi [a Free People], a coalition of left- and right-wingers opposing religious coercion has threatened to boycott not just the mall but all Africa-Israel projects including local holiday inn hotels. For their part ultra orthodox groups say that they will boycott Bank Leumi and Migdal Insurance Company, minority share holders in Africa-Israel who oppose closing the mall on Shabbat. Deputy Housing Minister, Meyer Porush of the United Torah Jewry party has even warned that government ministries led by orthodox politicians will in effect boycott the city of Tel Aviv if it implements Doron s threat to boycott Africa-Israel. And the ultra orthodox newspaper, Hamodi a has began a column listing places including tourist sights that are open on Shabbat and charge admission fees calling on readers to boycott them. ii. Discuss: Is Israel a Jewish state or a state for the Jews? 4

5 2. a. As a whole group, imagine you are designing a constitution for a new Jewish state. Discuss as a group (and the facilitator can write up on a board); What ideals would you like to promote through the state? What things are most important? (ie Shabbat, kashrut, ethical behaviour (if so, what), good treatment of elderly people, good treatment of foreign workers, good treatment of neighbours, Jewish schooling, army service etc ) b. Split into smaller groups and decide a priority list; What are the three most important things that you would like to enshrine in your state of Israel? 3. Rewriting the Declaration of Independence (text extract below). The facilitator should now explain that we are going to look at the Declaration of Independence. a. Read the extracts from the document. b. Hand out red pens, and split into smaller groups. They now have to edit the document, crossing things out/replacing/changing parts of the document that they disagree with, and rewriting it as they think is most appropriate. (30 mins) c. Come back together as a large group and everyone should present their changes. On May 14, 1948, on the day in which the British Mandate over a Palestine expired, the Jewish People s Council gathered at the Tel Aviv Museum, and approved the following proclamation, declaring the establishment of the State of Israel. The new state was recognized that night by the United States and three days later by the USSR. On the 29th November, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the establishment of a Jewish State in Eretz-Israel; the General Assembly required the inhabitants of Eretz-Israel to take such steps as were necessary on their part for the implementation of that resolution. This recognition by the United Nations of the right of the Jewish people to establish their State is irrevocable. 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. ACCORDINGLY WE, MEMBERS OF THE PEOPLE S COUNCIL, REPRESENTATIVES OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF ERETZ-ISRAEL AND OF THE ZIONIST MOVEMENT, ARE HERE ASSEMBLED ON THE DAY OF THE TERMINATION OF THE BRITISH MANDATE OVER ERETZ-ISRAEL AND, BY VIRTUE OF OUR NATURAL AND HISTORIC RIGHT AND ON THE STRENGTH OF THE RESOLUTION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY, HEREBY DECLARE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A JEWISH STATE IN ERETZ-ISRAEL, TO BE KNOWN AS THE STATE OF ISRAEL. 5

6 WE DECLARE that, with effect from the moment of the termination of the Mandate being tonight, the eve of Sabbath, the 6th Iyar, 5708 (15th May, 1948), until the establishment of the elected, regular authorities of the State in accordance with the Constitution which shall be adopted by the Elected Constituent Assembly not later than the 1st October 1948, the People s Council shall act as a Provisional Council of State, and its executive organ, the People s Administration, shall be the Provisional Government of the Jewish State, to be called Israel. THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. THE STATE OF ISRAEL is prepared to cooperate with the agencies and representatives of the United Nations in implementing the resolution of the General Assembly of the 29th November, 1947, and will take steps to bring about the economic union of the whole of Eretz- Israel WE APPEAL - in the very midst of the onslaught launched against us now for months - to the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to preserve peace and participate in the upbuilding of the State on the basis of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its provisional and permanent institutions. WE EXTEND our hand to all neighbouring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighbourliness, and appeal to them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help with the sovereign Jewish people settled in its own land. The State of Israel is prepared to do its share in a common effort for the advancement of the entire Middle East. WE APPEAL to the Jewish people throughout the Diaspora to rally round the Jews of Eretz-Israel in the tasks of immigration and upbuilding and to stand by them in the great struggle for the realization of the age-old dream - the redemption of Israel. PLACING OUR TRUST IN THE ROCK OF ISRAEL, WE AFFIX OUR SIGNATURES TO THIS PROCLAMATION AT THIS SESSION OF THE PROVISIONAL COUNCIL OF STATE, ON THE SOIL OF THE HOMELAND, IN THE CITY OF TEL-AVIV, ON THIS SABBATH EVE, THE 5TH DAY OF IYAR, 5708 (14TH MAY,1948). Published in the Official Gazette, No. 1 of the 5th, Iyar, 5708 (14th May, 1948). 6

7 David Ben-Gurion reading the declaration d. How does the original document mention gender? e. Were any other groups mentioned? 4. Facilitator to lead this into a final discussion, covering some of the following questions as appropriate; a. In the document, is Judaism represented as culture, law or as a religion? b. Which were more dominant; the Jewish themes or the general themes? c. Are some values both Jewish and secular, and if so, which? f. Does your new version of the document say that women should receive equal treatment? g. Do you speak of rights or also of responsibilities? What is the difference between the two h. Does either the original or new document reflect Israel as a Jewish homeland? i. Do you feel that Israel is your homeland, and if so, how? And if not, why not? j. As Diaspora Jews, what right do we have to comment and criticise Israel? How should Israel reflect our beliefs? 5. Closing thoughts; a. how have your thoughts on Israel changed today? b. (Every person) Name one new thing that you ve learned during this session. 7

8 ACTIVITY THREE: A land of pioneers and immigrants (60 minutes) Background: In the 1950 s, a group of Iraqi children from the Youth Aliyah were sent to a Kibbutz Givat Oranim for a period of some months. In the meantime the parents stayed in the ma abara (the reception camp for inmigrants). Context: Israel is a country made up of immigrants from many different backgrounds. In the light of Eli Amir s novel Scapegoat, questions are raised about the real difficulties Israel had to integrate these newcomers in the early years of the State. Aim: To reflect on the experience of the immigrant to Israel, to consider how we sometimes have this experience in parts of our lives, and to question what we can offer people who are going through this experience. Materials: photocopies of source material, pens, paper. Time: minutes. 1. Introductory Game: The Immigrant Circle. The purpose of this game is to allow several people to understand and connect with the emotional experience of being a newcomer to an established group. a. Get 5 people to stand in a circle. Everyone else is to wait outside the room. b. The facilitator tells the 5 people that they will bring someone in to stand in the centre of the circle. Everyone is to look at the newcomer and stare at them, without saying anything. After a couple of minutes, the newcomer will be asked to join the circle. This is then repeated with the next person who joins the group. c. The facilitator tells the people waiting outside the room that what is happening will be a surprise; s/he brings the first person into the room and gets them to stand in the circle. Tell them that they don t have to do anything, but stand there. d. Be sensitive to some people s feelings; this is all about having the experience of being an outsider! When everyone has had a turn standing in the centre of the circle, have a discussion; 8

9 What did it feel like to join the group? What did you find difficult? Who else has had a similar experience in real life? SYNOPSIS: SCAPEGOAT, by Eli Amir Scapegoat is considered one of the most successful novels about the absorption of children who arrived in Israel from the Arab countries shortly after the establishment of the state. Based on the author`s own life, it describes the 1950s when, in a very short time, Israel experienced a mass immigration of Jews from all over the world. Immigrants from the Arab countries were housed in transit camps, and forced to work at makeshift jobs as well as coping with a completely new socio-cultural reality. Some sent their children to be educated in kibbutzim, which were considered the ultimate Israel. In the book, Nuri, aged 13, immigrates with his family from Iraq and is sent, together with other boys and girls like him, to a flourishing kibbutz fired by socialist ideals. The encounter is traumatic and generates a conflict between two worlds as well as major problems of identity and adaptation. Amir describes the integration of these youngsters without bitterness, as he attempts to bridge the gap between East and West. The book s various chapters follow Nuri s experiences as he gradually becomes the group s dominant figure, and describe the lives of the other youngsters, who respond to the new reality each in his or her own way. One boy cannot get over the humiliation experienced by his father - in Baghdad this man was a respected lawyer while in Israel he barely makes a living, and the boy swears he will never forgive his adoptive country. Nili, a girl the others call Nili Shorts, quickly sheds most of the characteristics connecting her to the world she grew up in and longs to be like her peers, the down-to-earth kibbutz girls. Nuri is torn between his old world and the charms of the new. He identifies with the ideals of manual labor, social equality and justice, but although he longs to be part of Israeli society, he does not want to become estranged from his family and the culture that bred him. He dreams of a social, cultural, and even personal synthesis in his own life. From The Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature ( 9

10 Extract: Scapegoat, by Eli Amir Context: a group of Iraqi children from the Youth Aliah were sent to a Kibbutz Givat Oranim for a period of some months. In the meantime the parents stayed in the ma abara (the reception camp for inmigrants). Nuri, the protagonist, was invited to give a speech on a anniversary celebration in the kibbutz: Dole [who works with Nuri in the manure]finishes his speech by saying:... And now I want to say a few words about our youth group. These boys and girls have proved that they are a true proletariat, people of work and labour. May they realize the ideals of our movement in their personal lives and join us in building the kibbutz and the land. Blushing and grateful for the compliments, I could not remember the first days of our arrival on the kibbutz, when even the old-timers, including Dolek himself had disapproved of us. It was my turn. My teeth chattered. Just don t let my voice betray me, just this once, I prayed. The page shook in my hand and I coudn t read it. I raised my head high: Haverim! In Baghdad I dreamt of a world where everyone worked without competition, without exploitation, caring about each other. In Kiryat Oranim I found my dream. You, the founders, built the land for us. We love you and admire what you ve done here... And suddenly the devil jumped out of my throat: But I have to say, even on this day of celebration, that in one thing you failed: your children don t know how to welcome new immigrants. They re supercilious, contemptuous, sneering. A whisper ran through the hall and Nahche shouted: ` Why do you have to spoil the celebration? You don t like it here? Go back to the ma abara! yelled Hanan. Quiet! called Dolek Let Nuri finish, and he remained on his feet, as if to protect me. I wish the kibbutz prosperity and plenty and for ourselves I wish that we may be worthy of living in it and helping in its development I said, and before stepping off the platform I muttered to Dolek, I m sorry, I really am. From Scapegoat, Eli Amir. Original Hebrew Tarnegol kaparot, Am Oved English translation by Weidenfeld and Nicolson, P

11 3. Discuss the text in small groups ask everyone to talk about their reactions to the text 4. Come back together in a larger group and ask everyone to feedback their thoughts. Here are some extra questions if the conversation dries up! What do you find the most poignant/meaningful part of the story? Have you ever been in a similar situation to Nuri? Who has spent any time on a kibbutz, and how did you enjoy it? What, if anything, did you find challenging about Kibbutz life? How successfully does modern Israel integrate immigrants? What challenges and problems are there today (with regards to immigrants in Israel) and how can these be solved? 5. Writing activity: Ask everyone to write a letter, from the perspective of Nuri, that is being sent to a friend in Baghdad (where she originally came from). It should give a fictional update of the news, and of his emotions about life in Israel. 6. Conclusion: Review everything that has been discussed today and ask what lessons can be learned (ie for the character of Nuri, the participants or for the State of Israel). 7. Additional Activity: ask people to read out their letters. 11

12 ACTIVITY FOUR: What is Zionism? (60 minutes) Aim: To explore the different types of Zionist thought To look at their relevance today To consider their context to contemporary of the Diaspora Facilitator (s): 1 or 2 Materials: paper, pens, 2 flip chart/chalk boards/white boards, marker pens/chalk 1. Introduction: a. Give everyone a large piece of paper. b. Ask them what comes to mind when they think of the phrase Zionism. c. Write down these thoughts somewhere that everyone can see. 2. Zionist Thinkers. Split people into groups and distribute one of the following extract to each of the groups. They should read through them in the group and prepare to present the ideas in a summary to everyone else. The following extracts were written by Steve Israel, currently one of the best teachers in Jerusalem, who trains youth leaders to work abroad. SOCIALIST/LABOUR/LEFT-WING ZIONISM By World War I, socialist Zionists or labour Zionists had become the leading activists in the Zionist world and in Palestine. A host of settlements had been set up on a communal basis, and thousands of workers were beginning to work the land and to build up its infrastructure. The significance of these workers - from the viewpoint of our program - is that they consciously took upon themselves the task of changing the reality of the Jewish people. As far as this can be said of secularists, it seems no exaggeration to state that these people saw that their work as having almost cosmic implications. They considered themselves revolutionaries: they had not come here just to change the condition of the land, but also to change themselves. In so doing, they were aiming for a revolution in the character 12

13 of the entire Jewish people. (we have come to the land to build and to be built) was one of their slogans. It is strong and meaningful: we have come to this country to transform it, but in so doing we will transform ourselves. They had a vision of a new Jew, diametrically opposed to the old ghetto Jew bowed down by millennia of living in galut[the Diaspora]. This new Jew would be a type never before seen in Jewish history: he/she would be strong rather than weak; brave rather than cowardly; active rather than passive; rooted in nature rather than alienated from it. In addition to all of these things, the new Jew would not be a slave of the Halacha, of the old theological form of Judaism: the new Jew would be free, relying only on his/her own abilities or strengths. CULTURAL ZIONISM Cultural-Zionists [are] traditionally associated with their great intellectual leader, the fascinating Ahad Ha am. A deeply learned Jew from a Hassidic family, he left the religious framework and became completely secular. Of all the thinkers of the Zionist movement, he perhaps represents the best model of secularization of traditional Jewish thought The idealized conception of a society based on justice and righteousness recalls a secularized version of the Prophets themselves. Heaven on earth - without the theological framework of traditional messianic thought - was the aim here. This is clearly a secularization of the traditional messianic idea in its prophetic incarnation. Once again, as in the case of the socialist-zionists, the work of creating the messianic society would be taken on by the Jews themselves, or to be more precise, by a small elite within the Jewish people. Again, the Jews would be their own Messiah. RELIGIOUS ZIONISM Religious-Zionists[can be] represented by their greatest thinker, Rav Abraham Isaac Kook. Rav Kook is unquestionably one of the most challenging and deep of all Zionist thinkers. Indeed to call him a Zionist thinker is to do him a certain injustice for, in truth, he was far more than that. Nevertheless, for our purposes here, we will regard him as such... He was, of course, a religious thinker whose understanding of the world was deeply religious. Nevertheless, certain of his ideas echo aspects of the thinking of the deeper Zionist thinkers such as Ahad Ha am and A.D. Gordon. Rav Kook was a messianist and had a very conscious idea of the redemption of the Jewish People in the Land of Israel. To him, such a redemption was part of the divine plan - not just for the Jews but for the whole world. Indeed, he saw that, ultimately, there could be no redemption for the Jewish people without redemption for the entire world. The converse was also true. World redemption depended on the redemption of the Jews. 13

14 3. Encourage each group to present their summaries back to the main group. Write down some of the main points on a board at the front; 4. Discuss the following; a. Which is the main form of Zionism today? b. Which of these ideas are completely outdated? c. What would you add if you had to create a fourth type of Zionism? 5. i. Invite somebody to read one of the following extract from Amos Oz. Encourage everyone to listen closely and/or hand out individual copies.; Perhaps it was a lunatic promise: to turn, in the space of two or three generations, masses of Jews, persecuted, frightened, full of love-hate toward their countries of origin, into a nation that would be an example for the Arab community, a model of salvation for the entire world. Perhaps we bit off too much. Perhaps there was, on all sides, a latent messianism. A messiah complex. Perhaps we should have aimed for less. Perhaps there was a wild pretension here, beyond our capabilities - beyond human capabilities Are we gradually learning, or perhaps not? But we should learn. And what is, at best, is the city of Ashdod. A pretty city and to my mind a good one, this Ashdod. And she is all we have that is our own. Even in culture and in literature: Ashdod. All those who secretly long for the charms of Paris or Vienna, for the Jewish shtetl, or for heavenly Jerusalem; do not cut loose from those longings - for what are we without our longings? But let s remember that Ashdod is what there is. And she is not quite the grandiose fulfillment of the vision of the Prophets and of the dream of generations; not quite a world premiere, but simply a city on a human scale. If only we try to look at her with a calm eye, we will surely not be shamed or disappointed. Ashdod is a city on a human scale on the Mediterranean cost. And from her we shall see what will flower when peace and a little repose finally come. Patience, I say. There is no shortcut. Amos Oz 14

15 5.ii. Give everyone some painting/drawing/collage materials and allow 20 minutes for an artistic response to the title: Israel: Our land. They can be as creative as they like, and you can use all of these as the basis for a Yom Hatzmaut art display! 6. Modern Israel is full of tensions religious, political, external (with Palestinians and Arab neighbours), internal (between religious and secular people). Imagine you are relaunching the State of Israel and create a short fi ve-minute speech that outlines your positive vision for the perfect Israel. HAPPY YOM HATZMAUT!!! Bibliography Jodi Kantor Of Heritage and History WUJS (1997) Hayim Azses Israel Journeys 50 Youth & Hechalutz Dept (1997) Various The Changing Face of Zionism WUJS (1997) With thanks to: Jodi Kantor, Lights in Action & WUJS. 15