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Conflict in the Middle East

May 21, 2001
Web posted at: 5:58 PM EDT (2158 GMT)

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Curriculum connections: Social studies -- Middle East

Objectives
Students will be able to:

Examine changes in the political map of Israel since 1949.
Evaluate the dispute over land in Israel.
Formulate an opinion on who should have sovereignty over Jerusalem.

Standards
National Council for the Social Studies
IX Global connections, grades nine - 12
High school students are able to think systematically about personal, national, and global decisions, interactions and consequences, including addressing critical issues such as peace, human rights, trade and global ecology.

Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning
Level 4 (grades nine-12)
Students understand how politics enable a group of people with varying opinions and/or interests to reach collective decisions, influence decisions and accomplish goals that they could not reach as individuals (e.g., managing the distribution of resources, allocating benefits and burdens, managing conflicts).

Materials
CNNfyi.com article, "Report blames both sides for Mideast conflict"
Internet access
Tracing paper
Current newspapers and magazines

Suggested time
One class period

Procedure
1. Locate Israel on a world map and point out Jerusalem. Inform students that on November 29, 1947, the UN decided to partition, or divide, Palestine into two states -- one Jewish and one Arab. Remind students that Jerusalem is considered a holy city to Jews, Christians and Muslims.

2. Have students read the CNNfyi.com article and ask the following:

What is the Mitchell Committee Report? Where did the idea originate of creating a team to examine the crisis in the Middle East? Why do you think the five-man team was an independent and international committee? Who did the report fault for the conflicts? What are some of the suggestions in the report for restoring peace?
What recommendations does the report make to the Palestinians? What recommendations does the report make to the Israelis? Why do you think the most controversial recommendation for Israel is to discontinue all settlement activity in Palestinian-controlled territories? How will these recommendations be enforced?

3. Share with students the quote by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell "It's now time for both sides, with the help of the international community and the United States, to move forward on the basis of this report." What is the meaning and significance of this quote?

4. Divide students into five small groups. Direct students to trace the political map of Israel in under the 1947 partition plan. Each group can create one other political map of Israel following conflicts and/or agreements. Assign one of the following to each group: the Cease-fire agreement in 1949, the Six-Day War in 1967, the Yom Kippur War in 1973, the Israeli-Egyptian Peace Treaty in 1979, and the Israeli -PLO Peace Accord in 1993. Invite groups to share their maps and post maps chronologically on the board, creating a timeline of the changes in the political map in Israel.

5. Based on class findings about changes in land ownership, ask students to determine whether or not they agree with the provision in the Mitchell Report that calls for an end to growth of Israeli settlements. Generate a class discussion about boundary changes as a result of conflict and/or peace agreements. Then ask the students: What do you think gives people the right to live where they do?

Assessment
Along with the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Jerusalem is the most disputed area, as it is claimed by both Palestinians and Jews. Direct students to sources that inform them about why Jerusalem is so important to both groups. Then have students write position essays answering the following question based upon their research: "Who should have sovereignty over Jerusalem?"

Accommodations
Visual/spatial
Students can find articles about conflicts and peace efforts in the Middle East using Online resources, magazines or newspapers. Have students share the main point of their articles with the class and make a bulletin board display with them.

Challenge
Students can research one of the major peace agreements between the Arabs and Israelis in 1979 or 1994. Students should choose one person from the list below and prepare an oral presentation from their perspective regarding sovereignty over Jerusalem. Choose one of the following: Jimmy Carter, Anwar as-Sadat and Menachem Begin , Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres or Yitzhak Rabin.