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Teaching About the Current Conflict in Gaza and Israel - The New York Times

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In this lesson, students will learn about the roots, causes and impact of the escalating violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

Students in U.S. high schools can get free digital access to The New York Times until Sept. 1, 2021.

Please note: Some of the articles and videos included here include graphic depictions of violence and suffering.

Featured Newsletter: “The Morning Newsletter | May 18, 2021” (PDF) by David Leonhardt

The New York Times reports:

As Palestinians and Israelis hunkered down for the second week of an intense conflict, a series of deadly flash points have galvanized both sides in a region where the human cost of war is all too familiar.

Before dawn on Monday, Israeli warplanes bombarded Gaza City, compounding the civilian suffering in the coastal enclave. At the same time, the rocket barrage by Hamas — the militant group that has ruled Gaza since 2007 and does not recognize Israel — continued to take its toll on Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv, the commercial center of the country.

As the civilian casualties grow, the conflict has polarized Israeli society, and the world, as seldom before, and it has spurred unrest within Israel and the occupied territories that has been more intense than any in years.

How can teachers bring the current conflict in the Middle East — one that is rooted in a complex history, that has been inflamed by several recent incidents, and that is overflowing with intense emotions — into the classroom so students can better understand what is happening, and where they stand on the issues?

In this lesson plan, we offer a place for students to start. With a variety of learning activities, we invite you to learn more about the latest fighting in Israel and Gaza, the history of conflict in the region, the perspectives of everyday people and the role that social media has played.

Part I: Reflect on what you know (or think you know) and what you wonder about the crisis.

What do you know about the latest explosion of violence in the Middle East? Have you been following the news or discussing it with family members or friends or in school? What personal connections, if any, do you have to the conflict?

Before reading the featured article, create a K/W/L chart to show what you know, what you want to know and what you’ve learned.

In the left column, “What I Know,” write down everything you think you know about the crisis in the Middle East — past or present — whether it’s key phrases, ideas, facts, names, dates, places or anything else.

Then, in the middle column, “What I Want to Know,” write down any questions you have about the conflict. Share your lists with the class and add to your chart.

Part II: Explore The Times’s multimedia coverage of the current crisis.

Next, take five minutes to explore one or more of the pieces below that illustrate the scale, scope and impact of the fighting in the Middle East:

  • Maps and a timeline illustrating the toll of eight days of violence in Gaza, Israel and the West Bank.

As you view these resources, add to your K/W/L chart at least three things you learned in the last column and one question you have in the middle column. What is your reaction to what is happening? Share and explain your responses with a partner.

Read the featured newsletter (PDF) and then answer the following questions:

1. Mr. Leonhardt argues that just as important as the specific sparks of the latest conflict is a “larger reality” in the region. What is that reality? Do you agree it is important to take this into account? Why or why not?

2. In your own words, how would you summarize the Palestinian case, as laid out by Mr. Leonhardt? What are two facts or details that best capture this perspective? B’Tselem, a human rights group, has written: “The Israeli regime implements laws, practices and state violence designed to cement the supremacy of one group — Jews — over another — Palestinians.” How persuasive do you find this charge?

3. In your own words, how would you summarize the Israeli case, as laid out by Mr. Leonhardt? What are two facts or details that best capture this perspective? The newsletter poses a question many Israelis ask their critics: “What would you do if a terrorist group (which Hamas is, according to the U.S. and European Union) committed to the elimination of your country fired missiles at it day after day, inducing widespread terror?” How would you address that query?

4. What do many Palestinians see as the way forward? What do many supporters of Israel see as the way forward? What do you think will come next? Do you see the potential for peace and justice or do you believe the conflict will escalate?

5. The newsletter notes that while President Biden has expressed support for a cease-fire, the growing international alarm has not caused either side to pull back. What role do you think the U.S. should play in the present conflict? Do you think recent American leadership and foreign policy has helped or hurt the situation?

6. What are your reactions to the ideas and arguments presented in the newsletter? How did it change or deepen your understanding of and perspective on the current conflict in the Middle East? What else have you learned that you can add to your K/W/L chart? What questions do you still have?

1. How did we get here?

To learn more about the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict explore these resources from around the web:

To learn more about the recent escalation of violence, explore these New York Times resources:

After reading, watching or listening to at least one source from each section, create a timeline that includes the main events that have shaped the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — from the early 1900s until now. You can continue to follow along with the live updates here.

How does knowing more about the history add to your understanding of the current fighting in the region?

2. What is it like living through this current crisis in Gaza and Israel?

First-person accounts of life on the ground in a conflict zone can provide windows into places and experiences we might not be able to see. The essays below reveal how life in Gaza and in Israel has been affected by the current crisis.

Read both of the following essays published in the Opinion section, and then choose one or both to respond to — either by writing a letter back to the author, or by selecting three quotes that made an impression on you and explaining why. We include the first two paragraphs of both below, but click on the link to read the essays in their entirety.

In “My Child Asks, ‘Can Israel Destroy Our Building if the Power Is Out?’” Refaat Alareer, an editor in Gaza City, writes:

On Tuesday night, my wife, six children and I huddled in the living room of our apartment, the place least likely to take a stray hit from Israeli missiles or the debris they scatter. We were watching Al Jazeera’s livestreaming of Israeli warplanes’ imminent destruction of al-Jawharah (The Gem), one of Gaza’s largest buildings, when the power went out.

Linah, 8 years old — or, in Gazan time, two wars old — asked sheepishly if “they” could still destroy our building now that the power had gone out.

In “I’m a Trauma Surgeon in Israel. In My Hospital, We Are in This Together,” Adam Lee Goldstein writes:

Late in the evening on Tuesday, I was working in my office in Wolfson Medical Center, the hospital where I am the director of trauma surgery. The sun had set and suddenly the sirens started blaring from every corner of Tel Aviv, warning of rockets headed our way.

Our hospital is on the southern edge of the city, in a working-class neighborhood filled with Jews and Arabs, recent immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa and the countries of the former Soviet Union. From the hospital’s intercom came a calm, programmed voice: “Red alert,” it said. “Please move away from the windows and into a protected area as soon as possible.”

3. What role does social media play in this conflict?

While the Israeli airstrikes pummel Gaza, and Hamas rockets rain down on Israel, a parallel battle is being fought on social media.

Have you seen anything on social media about the conflict in Israel and Gaza? What have you seen? What messages did these posts communicate? What questions did they raise for you?

Two recent Times articles report on trends in social media — one on how solidarity with the Palestinians has shifted online and gone global, and a second on how lies and misinformation have inflamed the conflict. Read one or both of the articles and reflect on what you have observed in your own social media feed and how it connects to either of these two articles.

We’ve selected various Opinion pieces from both inside The New York Times as well as from outside news outlets for students interested in reading a range of different points of view as they research this issue further.

From The New York Times

This Moment Is Different (Yousef Munayyer)

What Your Taxes Are Paying For in Israel (Nicholas Kristof)

Kushner’s Absurd Peace Plan Has Failed (Michelle Goldberg)

If the Left Got Its Wish for Israel (Bret Stephens)

For Trump, Hamas and Bibi, It Is Always Jan. 6 (Thomas Friedman)

The U.S. Must Stop Being an Apologist for the Netanyahu Government (Bernie Sanders)

Palestinian Refugees Deserve to Return Home. Jews Should Understand. (Peter Beinart)

From Around the Web

What We’re Seeing Now is Just the Latest Chapter in Israel’s Dispossession of the Palestinians (Rashid Khalidi | Washington Post)

Israelis and Palestinians Can’t Go on Like This. Weep For Us. (Gershom Gorenberg | Washington Post)

Let’s Talk About the Israel-Palestine Conflict (Trevor Noah | The Daily Show)

An Open Letter to Trevor Noah (David Harris | Times of Israel)

Gaza 2021: An Apartheid Déjà Vu (Haidar Eid | Al Jazeera)

No, Israel Is Not an Apartheid State (Rich Lowry | National Review)

Israel Under Attack — from Hamas and Liberals (John Podhoretz | Commentary Podcast)

On Israel-Palestine, Biden Must Stop the Harm (Mairav Zonszein | American Prospect)

About Lesson of the Day

• Find all our Lessons of the Day in this column.
• Teachers, watch our on-demand webinar to learn how to use this feature in your classroom.

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Teaching About the Current Conflict in Gaza and Israel - The New York Times
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