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Produced and Distributed by Yasmine Perni English 56 minutes
Yasmine Perni’s 2013 movie “The Stones Cry Out” allows influential and seasoned pro-Palestinian activists to present an emotionally charged, one-sided story of Palestinian Christians devoid of historical context and facts.
Directed by Michael Grynszpan
Produced by The David Project and IsraTV
49 minutes, English
The film explores the history and destruction of Middle Eastern Jewish communities, some of which had existed for over 2,500 years.Featuring testimony from Jews who fled Egypt, Libya, Iraq, Yemen, Morocco and Iran, the film explores the rich heritage and destruction of the Middle East’s age-old Jewish communities. Personal stories of refugees are interspersed with dramatic archival footage, including the mission to rescue Yemenite Jews.
Produced, Written and Directed by BZ Goldberg, Justine Shapiro; English, Arabic, Hebrew with English subtitles;
106 minutes
See our filmed review of a dated documentary that is still being used as part of the curriculum in some American public middle schools. The film examines the Arab-Israeli conflict through the eyes of seven children living in the Jerusalem vicinity, from both sides of the conflict. While the protagonists are appealing, the take-away message of the film, based on misleading context and a lack of essential background information, is one-sided and politicized.
Directed by Kevin Macdonald
Narrated by Michael Douglas
English, German, B&W, Color
94 min
While Steven Spielberg’s 2005 film, “Munich,” blurs the line between historical fiction and real events to tell the story of an Israeli hit team’s hunt for those involved in the 1972 Olympic massacre of Israeli athletes, this Academy Award-winning film focuses on the massacre itself through live film clips, news broadcasts and interviews with police, close relatives of victims, and the sole surviving perpetrator.
Written, Directed, and Produced by Sufyan Omeish and Abdallah Omeish
Arabic, English with English subtitles
90 minutes
Occupation 101 falsely equates the Palestinian cause with civil rights struggles around the world, featuring well rehearsed indictments of the Jewish state by a who’s who of anti-Israel activists. It would have more aptly been titled Propaganda 101.
by Eli Sharabi
by Deborah Lakritz
by Alan Dershowitz
Uri is bored hanging around his parents’ delicatessen in 1930s Tel-Aviv until his German-speaking Grandma takes him on a walk and introduces him to the famous classical musician, Mr. Huberman, a friend she knew back in Europe. A Concert in the Sand tells the story of the first performance of what was to become Israel’s Philharmonic Orchestra.
Whenever the author-illustrator runs in a field, climbs a hill, or swims in the sea in Israel, she looks for something small to hold in her hand. She finds a basalt pebble from the ice-cold Dan River, formed from lava over 100,000 years ago. Israel’s national bird, the hoopoe, leaves a feather in the grass at HaYarkon Park. Dead hood coral grows in the Red Sea, where fish play hide-and-seek. She holds small things in her hand and then leaves them in their habitats . . . for the reader to find.
The life story of Hadassah founder Henrietta Szold’s upbringing in Baltimore and her social justice work to help Jewish immigrants assimilate into American society and later, when Hitler came to power, to save Jewish children by organizing their transfer to pre-Israel Palestine.
A Sweet Meeting on Mimouna Night tells the story of a young Jewish girl in Morocco who is helping her mother gather flour from her Muslim neighbors to make special pancakes that are only eaten on the last day of Passover as they celebrate the Jewish-Moroccan holiday Mimouna.
ABC Israel, introduces readers to Israel’s people, food, languages, and more with colorful pictures, while also teaching the alphabet.
Aleph- Bet Israel introduces young readers to the Hebrew alphabet and popular sites around Israel using whimsical illustrations.
Ruth Mendenberg risks her life to help lead a group of children on a daring journey over half a continent and across the sea to the Land of Israel, using secret routes and forged documents — and sheer force of will.
Set in 1973, “Beni’s War” is the sequel to “The Six-Day Hero.” Twelve-year-old Beni must say goodbye to his older brother, Motti, who is now in the Israeli army.
A comic book short story set during Israel’s 1948 War of Independence. It tells the true story of the author’s grandfather, Jacob Shorr, a teenager from Jerusalem who was wounded in the battle of Ramat Rachel.
Translated from its original Swedish, Journey to the Promised land follows Yemenite Shalom Mizrachi and his family as their Jewish village uproots itself in order to take the difficult journey to Aden where they will then take planes to fly them into Israel.
Puah Shteiner’s autobiographical book, Forever My Jerusalem, details the author’s memories of the fall and evacuation of the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City in 1948.
Learn about Israeli Gal Gadot and her life story of being born and raised in Israel, becoming a beauty pageant winner, entering the military, and eventually becoming a successful actress. Gadot serves as a positive role model for readers, especially young girls.
A detailed account of the events leading up to the creation of a Jewish homeland and the true story behind President Harry S. Truman’s decision to recognize the State of Israel in 1948. Drawn from Truman’s long-lost diary entries and other previously unused archival materials, A Safe Haven follows Truman as he grappled with the pros and cons of recognizing Israel. This dramatic recounting of a key moment in postwar foreign relations is essential to a full understanding of Middle East politics.
Alex: Building a Life is a poignant collection of writings and drawings by Alex Singer, an American-born Jew who chose to serve as an officer in the Israeli Defense Forces. His life was tragically cut short by a terrorist in Southern Lebanon. The book, compiled by his parents, showcases Alex’s remarkable character through his letters, diaries, and art.
Twelve-year-old Wuditu is a member of the Beta-Israel tribe in Ethiopia, an ancient Jewish people that settled in Ethiopia many centuries ago. Cry of the Giraffe tells the incredible journey of a young Jewish girl as she perseveres through numerous obstacles in order to return to the Promised Land.
This historical novel about the founding of the modern State of Israel begins with a retelling of the 1947 voyages of a ship bringing Jewish refugees from the Holocaust to Mandatory Palestine, recounting the epic history of Israel’s birth through the eyes of two generations of Jews as they fight to reclaim their homeland. Originally published in 1958, Exodus became an international bestseller.
What would your life be like if military service was compulsory, not voluntary?Aggie is eighteen and getting ready to do her service for the Israeli Army. She could get a cushy assignment—maybe pushing paper somewhere—or she could just take her chances. But despite the obstacles in her way, Aggie is trying out for an elite combat unit.
Through bite-sized chunks of history and deeply personal stories, the author chronicles her homeland’s evolution, beginning in Biblical times and moving forward to cover everything from WWI to Israel’s creation to the disputes dividing the country today. Tackling popular misconceptions with an abundance of facts, Noa Tishby provides critical context around headline-generating controversies and offers a clear, intimate account of the richly cultured country of Israel.
What do we know about the ancient Israelites? When did the ancient Israelites become the Jews? How did the emergence of other religions and the movement of peoples across the Middle East into the Land of Israel affect the Jewish people? How did Jews maintain their connection to the Land of Israel in the diaspora? How did World War I, World War II, and the Cold War impact the history of Israel? How did the modern state of Israel form? Why has there been ongoing conflict between Israel and the Arabs?
To answer these questions CEI offers educators a teacher-friendly curriculum tracing the history of the Jewish people in the land of Israel from ancient to modern times. This state social studies-aligned curriculum situates Jewish history in the larger context of Middle Eastern and World History. Students learn how geography and the development of religious, cultural, and political movements from ancient to modern times have created a complex society. Lesson plans utilize a wide- range of primary sources, maps, and videos.
The curriculum includes the following high school lessons:
The curriculum also includes the following elementary school activity: Understanding Timelines and Change Over Time.
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