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Games and activities are great tools for learning about Israel which can be fun for the whole family.  The games we present here touch on a number of different topic areas: Geography, Tanakh, history, politics, and culture.  Some are based on existing games that you may already be familiar with.  These are all “low-tech,” and […]

The plan builds on previous proposals for a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict and contains a US-Israeli agreement that sets forth final borders for two states. The plan contains multiple prerequisites for Palestinian behavior before either the US or Israel might agree to Palestinian statehood as well as a proposed $50 economic development package to be allotted over a decade.

This article offers assessments of China in a clear-eyed and non-polemical fashion. It offers not an apology but an explanation for why China, having suffered a century of humiliation by external powers in the 19th century, is focused on re-establishing its role in the world – a role it believes its global economic weight entitles it to have. The Chinese response to the coronavirus is a vivid reminder of the fear that constrains honest discussion or reporting or intellectual development in that vast country.

The Leadership series is a biographical collection of ebooks on a diverse set of individuals who have influenced Israel’s history, politics, and culture. The first six ebooks in this series are: David Ben-Gurion, Shimon Peres, Golda Meir, Ilan Ramon, Netta Barzilai, and Naomi Shemer.

Here is a list of resources for learning about Passover in Israel. For each of the related topics, we are providing ideas for activities and distance learning opportunities, with the supporting links. We hope you will find fun and meaningful ways of celebrating Israel and Passover, and please let us know if these sparked additional ideas and online engagements with your students!

This escape room guides learners through a series of activities using a variety of original sources, ultimately directing them to learn about Shimon Peres, one of Israel’s longest serving and most influential leaders. While not all of the activities are directly related to Peres, they provide additional context into Israeli culture and society by exposing players to learn more about the country’s founding, its national anthem, and its food. The activity is designed for learners in grades 3-6.

Israel is in a state of emergency: schools are closed, businesses are shut, and people continue to lose their source of income. Optimal handling of this dramatic challenge demands a combined strategy. The primary thrust, prevention, protection, and containment, must be complemented by a strategy to promote societal resilience as the secondary effort.

A seminar at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) on political and security implications of the corona crisis underscored the prevalent uncertainty regarding the situation, but also highlighted several instructive points. The biggest threat to the global (and Israeli) economy derives from the slowdown or negative growth in the United States, and at the current stage, the American ability to meet the crisis effectively is not clear. As for Israel, the risks of escalation in the northern arena and the Gaza Strip have decreased in the short term, but toughening the restrictions on the border crossings with the Palestinian Authority could lead to its economic collapse.

We are pleased to announce the release of a new online class as part of our IDEAL series. IDEAL: Passover and the Jewish State is a three session course for students in grades 3-8.

Over four decades, Winston Churchill’s views on Zionism and Jews varied greatly. Without knowing his long held personal beliefs or the policies he adopted while the Jewish state developed, and only reading this speech, one would not know that he was a political opportunist and certainly not a “Gentile Zionist.”

As schools and organizations are being forced to rethink their Israel travel programs, CIE is here to help with this set of resources that will bring Israel to your learners.

In writing history, documents and primary texts are reliably accurate. Veracity can emerge by crosschecking sources. However, if all we have is one shard of pottery from the second temple period, we must settle for it in isolation as evidence of how the pottery was constructed, its composition, use, etc. Unless of course, we are fortunate enough to have a text that describes the pottery piece, and we have the piece of pottery as evidence. When oral recollections are used to bolster the written text, subtle shades and emphatic dimensions provide colorful detail to historical writing. Unlike written records, oral evidence provides vignettes, opinions, hues, suppositions, and sentiments almost always absent in a document.

A Palestinian public opinion poll conducted during this latest Israeli election campaign, January 23-February 11, showed a mere 8% of West Bankers, along with 22% of Gazans, reporting that the vote would probably turn out “better for the Palestinians.” Many more expected Israel’s election to make things worse for them: a third of West Bankers, and nearly half (46%) of Gazans. The remainder—half in the West Bank, and a quarter in Gaza—anticipated that it would “probably make very little difference either way.”

A handwashing machine and facemasks that claim to kill coronavirus. Contact-free monitoring of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Proactive policies to prevent the spread of the virus. A possible vaccine on the horizon. These are among the many ways Israel is responding with characteristic swift ingenuity to the raging coronavirus pandemic.

This whiteboard video explains the history of the World Zionist Congress, its impact and function, how it is selected, and which groups are running as part of the 2020 Congress election.

Israel’s third round of elections last week seemed inconclusive at first, but the deadlock may now be broken. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu did better this time than in September’s round two, but his gains were insufficient to form a new government. Potential kingmaker Avigdor Liberman jettisoned his previous idea of getting the two top parties to join forces; instead, personal antipathy and policy differences have led him to definitely state that he will not join any government Netanyahu leads.

Aaron David Miller analyzes the evolving role of the United States in Middle Eastern and Israeli politics and diplomatic processes. Miller currently serves as vice president for new initiatives and a distinguished research fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center. He is likewise a global affairs analyst at CNN. Previously, he served for two decades as a […]

In this issue of Iqtisadi, Paul Rivlin delves into the structural factors that led to protests and the overthrow of Sudan’s longtime dictator, Omar al-Bashir, in 2019. This background along with more recent developments, explains why some of the leadership in Sudan today believe engagement with Israel makes good economic sense.

Assembled by Ken Stein and Eli SperlingEmory University and Center for Israel Educationkenstein@israeled.org or kstein@emory.edu  Mohamed Abdelaziz, “Arab Reactions to the Trump Peace Plan: An Analysis and Recommendation,” Washington Institute for Near East Policy, January 31, 2020. https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/fikraforum/view/arab-reactions-to-trumps-peace-plan-an-analysis-and-recommendation AFP, “Israel Awaits ‘Pragmatic’ Abbas Heir, But May Be Disappointed,” Ynet, February 13, 2020.https://www.ynetnews.com/article/HJAGIPG78 Sarah Amandolare, “In the Heart of Israel’s […]

How did a tiny country without a significant manufacturing sector become so important to the Fourth Industrial Revolution – and how will that help us all? While the Third Industrial Revolution introduced technologies such as robotics, 4.0 innovations digitize, simplify, connect, safeguard and generally improve every step of production. This tiny country in the Middle East ranks third in I4 venture investments (after the US and China) and second in early-stage investments.

Election season in Israel is traditionally a raucous affair. But unlike the lead-up to Election Day, the voting process is staid, tedious and – despite the sporadic appearance of politicians and celebrities coming to cast their votes – pretty unglamorous. No electronic polling stations. No online voting. Only paper chits, envelopes, a cardboard partition and a box in which to cast one’s ballot. ISRAEL21c presents a photographic retrospective of 7 decades of queuing, cardboard boxes and paper chits that keep Israel’s democracy going.

Has the “Deal of the Century” injected energy into Israel’s third election and perhaps provided an incentive for Arab Israelis to turn out in higher numbers than September? Election rallies for the Arab parties in Israel rarely garner much attention or excitement. But recent policy proposals engineered thousands of miles away may have re-energized a once stagnant and unreliable voting bloc. Arik Rudnitzky uses the village of Bartaa as a possible case study.

“The Deal of the Century,” formulated by the Trump administration, is presented as a new paradigm for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that also shapes the architecture of a new Middle East. In order to keep the State of Israel Jewish, democratic, secure, and moral, it is necessary to adopt the components of the plan that both enhance security and at the same time can jumpstart the process of separation from the Palestinians, thus creating a better strategic reality for Israel.

On March 2, Israelis will head back to the polls for a third time in twelve months. This previously unimaginable situation has left many asking: How did we get here? The short answer is that, perhaps in an uncharacteristically surprising fashion for politicians, everyone kept their promises. Yohanan Plesner presents the key issues to look out for in Israel’s unprecedented third election and what – if anything – will determine if a stable government will finally be formed.

The public and the judges have decided: Eden Alene, a 19-year-old native of Jerusalem, will represent Israel at the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest in Holland, May 12-16. Alene is the first Israeli of Ethiopian descent to be chosen for this honor. She wowed the audience and all-star panel of judges in the reality show “The Next Star to Eurovision.”

The analysis summarizes the declaratory or aspirational Trump Plan for a Palestinian-Israeli settlement, outlining proposals on final status issues, and the proposed economic development package, with a hope for a two state-solution. Maps are used to show how Palestine’s and Israel’s borders have changed over the last 150 years. (Video or audio)

Three different Palestinian polls show that the West Bank and Gaza publics roundly reject the U.S. Administration’s peace plan, by margins of around 90 percent. But the latest poll, conducted by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO) also shows that most Palestinians now also reject an armed confrontation or intifadah against Israel—opting instead for a focus on pragmatic improvements on the ground, or even on renewed peace talks.

The INSS 13th Annual International Conference (January 28-30, 2020) hosted senior political and military figures, experts, and decision makers from Israeli and abroad. Discussions centered on four areas: the international power system; the regional environment; Israel’s political and security challenges; and Israel’s internal arena – all with a view toward the coming decade. Particular attention was paid to “the deal of the century,” Iran after Soleimani, and Israel’s northern front. This article presents the main insights from the conference sessions.

The world’s central address for supporting research, development and commercialization of plant-based and cultivated meat protein alternatives is the Good Food Institute, founded in 2016. The nonprofit’s branches in the United States, Asia Pacific, India, Europe and Brazil seek to bring sorely needed solutions to the largest populations. So why has GFI has opened a branch office in little Israel?

Historically, the strategic foundation for U.S. involvement in the peace process has been twofold. First, the peace process was a way for the United States to manage seemingly contradictory partnerships with Israel and the Arab states, few of which recognized Israel and several of which had waged war repeatedly against the Jewish state. Second, the peace process was a means of ensuring Israel’s security, which successive presidents have ranked among our key national security interests in the Middle East. In recent years, however, both of these strategic foundations for U.S. involvement in the peace process have crumbled.