Six Days That Redrew the Map of the Middle East
Speeches, source documents and analyses from the 1967 war, gathered into one playlist you can listen to end to end — from the closing of the Straits of Tiran to the aftermath.
The connection between Jews inside and outside the Land of Israel has been an essential element of Jewish identity for millennia.
The Key Curated Essentials for Diaspora Jewry and Israel
Scott Abramson, “Gen Z, Infected With Antisemitism, Is Spreading the Very Disease It’s Committed to Eradicating, Racism”
April 8, 2024 By Scott Abramson If, in the eyes of a generation, social justice is the highest good and racism the greatest evil, shouldn’t that generation fiercely oppose history’s oldest and deadliest bigotry, antisemitism? …
Ken Stein, “Anti-Israel Teaching on American Campuses: Origins, Extent and Remedies” CIE+ members only
Since the June 1967 war, Anti-Israeli sentiment on US campuses has grown to extraordinary proportions merging with previously evolved anti-Zionism into sporadic mention to regular embrace.
American Jewry and Israel: Whither the Next Generation? CIE+ members only
Steven Bayme In early November 2021, The New York Times Magazine posted an essay under the provocative title “Inside the Unraveling of American Zionism.”1 The essay focused on a letter signed by 93 rabbinical and…
AJC 2024 Survey: U.S. Jews’ Connection to Israel Deepens CIE+ members only
June 10, 2024 American Jewish Committee’s 2024 Survey of American Jewish Opinion found that American Jews developed stronger, deeper connections to Israel as antisemitic incidents increased after the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks on Israel…
Balfour Declaration
The British Foreign Ministry promises to work toward a Jewish national home in Palestine with no harm to non-Jewish populations or to Jews living elsewhere who might want to support a Jewish home.
Minutes of Jewish Agency Meeting on Inaugural Maccabiah Games, Jerusalem, 1932 CIE+ members only
Zionists decide to hold the first international sports games in Tel Aviv bringing 400 Jewish athletes from 18 countries. The games open on March 28, 1932. Zionists value the games as a “possible awakening of youth in the Diaspora” to Zionism and the positive economic outcome for the Jewish community in Palestine.
HMG White Paper: Statement of Policy, 1939
Zionist leaders—David Ben-Gurion, Chaim Weizmann and Eliezer Kaplan—learning of the British intent to limit severely the Jewish national home’s growth. Increasingly, they are also aware of the German government’s hostilities towards European Jewry.
Jewish Request at End of WWII: Let My People Go (to Palestine)! Moshe Sharett, 1945 CIE+ members only
Moshe Sharett urges the British and Americans to open Palestine to unimpeded Jewish immigration from Europe.
Zionism and Israel: From the Tanakh to 1948
Zionism and Israel: From the Tanakh to 1948 explores the foundations of the centrality of the Land of Israel to the Jewish people and how the relationship between the people and the land evolved over time. Activities and background information are provided to help learners explore the growth of the Jewish Diaspora, the evolving relationship between the people and the Land and the origins of the Zionist movement. Following the First Zionist Congress in 1897, Zionism and Israel: From the Tanakh to 1948 shifts to explore how the Basle Declaration and subsequent documents guided the movement’s actions towards its vision for a Jewish State. The material concludes with an exercise on Israel’s Declaration of Independence.
Israel’s Law of Return, 1950
Jews worldwide are given the right to come to Israel and become citizens.
More Curated Essentials on Diaspora Jewry and Israel
CIE+ Audio Playlist
Six Days That Redrew the Map of the Middle East
Speeches, source documents and analyses from the 1967 war, gathered into one playlist you can listen to end to end — from the closing of the Straits of Tiran to the aftermath.
Sephardi Jewry and the Land of Israel
E-book
Join special guest curriculum contributor Dr. Yaron Ayalon and the CIE Curriculum team as they take you and your students on a riveting adventure through the lives of the Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews of Southern Europe and the Middle East. Explore the differences between Sephardi and Ashkenazi cultures, and discover the great wealth of knowledge and spirituality of the Sephardi Jews. Utilizing maps, photographs, primary documents, an extensive timeline and even a recipe for a traditional Sephardi dish, this book is the perfect introduction to Sephardi Jewry for the individual learner or in a classroom setting.
- Suitable for learners 9th grade and up
- Maps, Photographs, Primary Documents, Extensive Timeline
- Perfect for individuals, groups and classes
- Develop an understanding of the differences between Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jewry
1951 U.N. Report, “The Situation of Jews in Moslem Countries”
This report submitted to the United Nations at the end of 1951 notes that “some one million Jews have become the victims of accelerated antiSemitism” since 1948 in the Muslim countries of the Arab League and North Africa, “communities which have existed for thousands of years.” The report analyzes the situation for Jews overall and explains restrictions and oppressive measures country by country.
Israel and the Jewish Nation: Part 1
E-book
Covering the foundations of Judaism and the history of the Jewish people, the unit starts with the ‘covenants’ and ends in 1897. It traces the Jewish connection to the land of Israel, in the land and in exile. It explains how and why Jews retained their traditions in the face of enormous challenges. It concludes with the birth of Zionism as one answer to Jewish insecurity.
- Suitable for learners 9th grade and up
- The first of four planned units covering Israel and the Jewish Nation
- 37-page teacher guide
- 78-page student workbook
- Covers the foundations of Judaism and Jewish people starting with the ‘covenants’
- Learn how and why the Jews retained their traditions in the face of enormous challenges
- Explore the connection to the land of Israel and the birth of Zionism
American Jewish Relationship With Israel: Speech by Prime Minister Ben-Gurion and Response by AJC President Blaustein, 1950 CIE+ members only
Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and American Jewish Committee President Jacob Blaustein express a compromise in the American Jewish-Israel relationship: American Jews are excited and proud of Israel’s birth as a state but owe Israel no allegiance, and Israel does not speak for anyone but Israeli citizens.
UNGA Resolution 3379: Zionism Is Racism, 1975
Led by USSR and Arab states, Zionism is labeled as racist; the resolution is revoked in 1991.
Gil Troy and Steven Bayme, “Diaspora-Israel Relations: What Unites Jewish Communities” (37:26) CIE+ members only
Jewish Historians Gil Troy and Steven Bayme cogently discuss the ties and tensions between Jewish communities, primarily between American and Israeli Jews. This 37 minute video is entwined with extraordinary vivid insights.
Zionism and Us: Has Zionism Succeeded? (20:40) CIE+ members only
February 4, 2023 Center for Israel Education President Ken Stein explores the state of Zionism and the Jewish people in an in-person conversation with Rabbi Peter Berg of The Temple in Atlanta, Rabbi David Silverman of the Atlanta…
Loss of Precious Faith: The Deep Rift Between the State of Israel and American Jewry CIE+ members only
While heralding the flourishing political relations between the United States and Israel, American media channels over the last six months have also reported that recent measures taken by the Israeli government, such as the passage of the National Conversion Law and the freeze on the pluralistic Western Wall plan, have significantly exacerbated the crisis of faith in the State of Israel among extensive segments of the American Jewish population.
Chaim Weizmann’s Notes for Speeches on “Rallying World Jewry to Partition,” 1938 CIE+ members only
Chaim Weizmann, a top Zionist leader, vividly pronounced parallel Jewish realities in 1938: disaster confronting Jews in Europe and advanced state building in Palestine. Ten years later history was written.
David Ben-Gurion’s “Vision and Redemption,” 1958
Ben-Gurion elegantly connects modern Israel from messianic redemption to Zionism, building the country through labor and immigration, with dual needs to remain actively linked to the Jewish diaspora and Jewish values through education.
Israel State Archives, “Immigration of Ethiopian Jews to Israel, 1948-1985” CIE+ members only
The Israel State Archives has collected government documents on the history of Israel’s interactions with the Beta Israel through the first operations to facilitate their emigration from Ethiopia in the 1980s.
