Happy 60th Birthday, Israel

After World War I, the League of Nations approved the British Mandate of Palestine with the intent of creating a "national home for the Jewish people." In 1947, the United Nations approved the partition of the Mandate of Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab.

The Arab League rejected the plan, but on May 14, 1948, Israel declared its independence with David Ben-Gurion as the Prime Minister. President Truman extended American recognition almost immediately. Subsequently, the neighboring Arab nations attacked. Israel succeeded in repulsing the attacks. By the end of the war, the Jewish State was larger than the territory originally assigned to it under the partition plan. In the course of the war, hundreds of thousand of Palestinian Arabs were displaced, some under their own volition and some by force.

Since then, Israel has been in conflict with many of the neighboring Arab countries. Since its founding, Israel's boundaries and even its very right to exist have been subject to dispute, although Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, and efforts are being made to reach a permanent accord with the Palestinians.

Pathfinder 1: Click the Literature icon > Type "Jewish authors" in the Quick Search box.

Pathfinder 2: Type "Israeli authors" in the Quick Search box.

Assign one of ten authors to different students. Students should write a report of about 150 words and cite at least three resources. The report should summarize the theme of their best known work, criticism of that work, highlights of his/her life, and any impact the work may have had on the era in which it was written. Additional information may be found through a keyword search in eLibrary.

Assign students to learn more about Israel and its history. Students should cite at least three resources in a report of at least 150 words. The report should summarize:

• The three most significant events in the history of Israel.
  
  
• The three most prominent leaders of Israel.
  
  
• The most important accomplishments of these three leaders.

Pathfinder: Click Study Units button > Type "Israel" in the Study Units Title search box > Click "Israel, 1948"

Assign your students to learn more about both the history and current status of Arab-Israeli relations. Use a ProQuest model BookCart to ensure that you and your students save time. And that your students get excellent resources to select from, essential questions to guide their critical thinking, and directions for the assignment, all with two clicks.

Pathfinder to copy model BookCart:

1. Open the eLibrary CE Teacher Edition BookCart Editor.
   
   
2. Click the BookCart Admin link at the top-right.
   
   
3. Click the ProQuest Carts tab.
   
   
4. Type "Israel" in the Search Box .
   
   
5. Click the Copy icon next to Israel--History of Conflicts.
   
   
6. Click Return to My Local Carts.

This BookCart can easily be edited for effective use:

1. In My Local Carts, find and click the new Title that will have "Copy of" as its prefix.
   
   
2. Delete "Copy of" in the Title.
   
   
3. Type your name in the Author boxes.
   
   
4. Scroll down and click Save button at bottom.
   
   
5. Return to My Local Carts.

Assign a report of 150-200 words that cites at least three resources. Or choose a PowerPoint report of about two to three minutes. Remember that this student BookCart includes student directions and essential questions for critical thinking; you can add or substitute others if appropriate.

Click here for a teacher's guide to written reports. Or, click here for a student PowerPoint report template.



CultureGrams & World Conflicts Today
Standards-Aligned Insight into Daily Life & Global Conflicts