Enrich Your Israel Learning

Yes. Just above the left side of the posts on pages using Latest display (shown next to the search magnifying glass), you’ll find an option to switch between Cards and List. Cards mode includes an image with the headline and summary for each post; List mode omits the image.

By default, each page shows 24 posts, but you can change it to 48 or 96 at the bottom of the page.

Any time you see a caret pointing down next to a headline, click on the caret or the headline to reveal more posts. Click again to hide the list.

The best way to access the bulk of the rich CIE content is to select a Type or Topic. For some of our richest Types and Topics, we’ve offered a helping hand by highlighting the most important posts. Each of these custom arrangements fits a particular Topic or Type, but usually, what you’ll find for Topics are the following:

• A description of the Topic, with buttons that will take you directly to all posts on the Topic or to all Documents and Sources related to the Topic. (We base our work on original sources, so our Documents and Sources collection deserves special attention.)
• Four to 12 posts that are the most vital for the topic, which we call the Key Curated Essentials.
• A section called More Curated Essentials. Click on the title or the caret to its left to open the curated list.

To skip the customized presentation for a Topic, click on the Explore All Posts button for the Topic, or switch from Featured to Latest in the Order Posts By box next to the magnifying glass above the Topic description.

Some Types also have custom arrangements. Again, if you don’t want this curated presentation, switch from Featured to Latest in the Order Posts By box.

Documents and Sources, for example, are organized from oldest to newest within the four Eras, which themselves provide thousands of years of the continuous history of the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel. Within the Eras articles are links offering deeper understanding.

Other custom arrangements for Types include Biographies, which are alphabetized, and Curriculum, which emphasizes appropriateness for certain ages and settings to meet any educator’s needs.

The site offers discovery about Zionism and Israel, regardless of your background and knowledge. You don’t have to know where you are headed. You can deepen your learning on a subject you know about, or you can explore something new or unexpected. The exploration process is flexible enough to meet your needs as they change. Experiment with what you can unfold with different combinations of Topic, Type, Language and keyword searches, along with Eras and Featured items. You can always retrace your steps or return to the homepage.

Topics are content subjects. Many broad Topics have subtopics. For example, if you are interested in Arab-Israeli negotiations, you can click on that Topic, or you can choose one of the seven subtopics covering various eras. Clicking on the main Topic provides access to all subtopics, so don’t worry if you’re not sure whether the Arab Peace Initiative, for example, falls under “1992-1999: Oslo Accords, Jordan Treaty” or “2000-2019: Post-Oslo.” Click on “Arab-Israeli Negotiations,” and you’ll have access.

Types are the various formats in which Topics are presented. If you’re more interested in the how than the what of our content, you can sort the site to meet your needs. Perhaps you’re a visual learner or want to listen to something educational while commuting or walking the dog; Video and Audio is the Type for you. Maybe you’re looking for insights on how and why things have happened; try Issues and Analyses. Maybe you prefer to go straight to primary sources with only an introduction that offers context; choose Documents and Sources. Like to explore history through personalities? Click Biographies. Prefer to wander along the twisted paths of history? Follow along with half a dozen Timelines.

If you choose a Type, you can filter it by a Topic; if you choose a Topic, you can filter it by a Type.

Under Courses & Curriculum, find materials of particular value to teachers in formal and experiential education. On-Demand Israel Courses each take about an hour to complete. Publications and Readers are e-books and other teaching materials available in the Store. Curriculum, also a Type under Explore & Learn, delivers paid and free, age-appropriate items for the full range of educational settings. The downloadable Maps of Israel and its region through history offer visual context to the stories that unfold through our extensive Timelines.

Through Programs, explore special learning opportunities for specific audiences. Find upcoming events for Teens, Adults, and Educators & Clergy; details on past programming; and contacts for conversations about bringing a CIE program to your group.

Under About, learn more about CIE, including our team, board, partners and history. You can subscribe to our two weekly newsletters, The Chalk and Today in Israeli History, and view past issues, as well as reach out to us for media interviews and any other reason.

Scroll down the homepage to see four posts from Featured Topics and four from Featured Types.

And don’t forget the green Donate box on the top right, between Español and Search. CIE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and we appreciate your tax-deductible support to continue our work.

By Language offers a significant numbers of posts in languages other than English, particularly Spanish and Hebrew. Click on a Language (Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Italian or German, listed by their names in those Languages) from the top drop-down menu or on the right of any Topic or Type search page to see all the posts in that language. Choosing a Language clears other filters, but in some cases you can add a Type and/or a Topic from the menu on the right. Also, as in English, you can click on the magnifying glass to add a keyword search.

You also can reach the Spanish page by clicking on the magenta Español box on the top right of every page.

Featured offers a changing lineup of timely items. These could be Topics, Types, events or things for sale in the Store. Click on one, such as The Chalk newsletter, to learn more.

Eras are rich, link-loaded overviews of specific historical periods. Era I covers biblical times through 1897, the year of the First Zionist Congress. Era II continues the story from 1898 through Israeli independence in 1948. Click on an Era to scroll through that history, see the availability of the text in other languages, and find links to resources for further learning. Eras also provide access to our Timelines.

Then do both. Choose a Topic and a Type to create a list of your subject area of interest with the format you prefer. Let’s use Topic as an example, but the process is the same for Type. (Just switch Topic and Type in the following steps.) Clicking on a Topic takes you to a page that reads “Home>Explore & Learn” above your Topic name. Below that blue field, “FILTERED BY:” appears next to your Topic, all in maroon. To the right are boxes under the heading “Explore & Learn in three ways.” Click on a Type to further filter your Topic results. The page header then reads “Home>Explore & Learn>Topic” above the Type, and both the Topic and the Type appear next to “FILTERED BY.”

If you change your mind, click on a different Topic or Type in the list on the right to instantly swap that filter. Or click on the X in the name of the Topic or Type next to “FILTERED BY:” to remove it. Choose a replacement on the right, or stick with only a Topic or a Type. Or click on the CIE logo or “Home” to return to the homepage and start over.

Because the CIE site has more than 3,000 posts (and adding all the time), you might need to refine your results with a keyword search. To the right of “FILTERED BY:” and the Type and/or Topic you’ve chosen, click on the magnifying glass, and enter any term or terms of interest. The site searches for the keyword(s) within only the Type and/or Topic you previously chose.

To be highly specific in your keyword search, connect two or more words with the word AND (example: Ben-Gurion AND land AND Negev). For a wider search using alternatives, try OR (example: Ben-Gurion OR Sharett OR Weizmann). Add NOT to avoid unwanted results (example: Sharett OR Weizmann OR Ben-Gurion NOT airport). You can combine those terms as well. For more insights into Boolean keyword searches, click here.