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Investigate the conflict in the Middle East
February 6, 2002
Web posted at: 1:31 PM EST (1831 GMT)
Overview: Ongoing violence in the Middle East continues to claim lives on both sides of the half-century conflict. How did the conflict originate? How will recent events impact efforts to bring peace to the region? Use CNN articles and this lesson plan to assess the Middle East situation over the past thirty days and predict the impact recent events will have on the Middle East peace process.
Curriculum connections: Social Studies, World History, International Relations, Current Issues
Objectives
Students will be able to:
- Examine the origins of conflict in the Middle East.
- Identify key people and their political positions on the conflict in the Middle East.
- Assess the current situation in the Middle East and predict the impact recent events will have on the peace process.
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
CNN articles
Internet access
World map
Suggested time
Two to three classroom periods
Procedure
1. Survey students about their knowledge of the conflict in the Middle East. Locate Israel on a world map and point out Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank. Help students identify other countries and parties that are interested in the political map of the region. Have students list the key leaders of these countries and parties and their political positions on the Middle East conflict. (This list may be updated throughout the lesson).
2. Have students read the CNN Student News article "Mideast backgrounder."
3. Direct students to use their textbooks and online resources to answer the following questions:
- Why did the U.N. General Assembly order the partition of Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state on November 29, 1947?
- How did this decision lead to more than a half-century of fighting between the two groups?
- What agreement, almost 50 years later, gave both sides hope for an end to this conflict?
- What are the Oslo Accords and to what terms did each side agree?
4. Assist students in searching the Internet and other resources to learn more about the history of the lands known as the Occupied Territories. Explain that both Israelis and Palestinians claim they have the right to these lands. Ask: What is the basis for each of their claims? Share student findings and discuss.
5. Have students work individually or in groups to research the history of the peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians. Students can use the following questions to guide their research:
- How many summits have been held?
- Who have been the key players?
- What are the main issues?
- What is the political significance of the West Bank?
- What offers and concessions have the Israelis and the Palestinians each brought to the negotiating table?
- What promises have been made?
- Which promises have been kept?
- What obstacles have negotiators faced throughout the peace negotiations?
6. Divide students into small groups and have each group create a multi-flow map that illustrates the historical causes underlying recent events in the Middle East and predicts future courses of events that could flow from the most recent conflicts. Students should discuss the potential sacrifices that will have to be made by Israelis and Palestinians if a lasting peace is to be achieved, and the political repercussions that could occur if their efforts are unsuccessful.
Assessment
Have students hold a U.N. General Assembly meeting on the recent events. Direct students to take the perspectives of various countries. Each representative has five minutes to assess the situation in light of recent events. From their assigned perspectives, have students reach a consensus on some possible next steps.
Accommodations
Visual/spatial
To help students understand the history of the Middle East conflict, examine changes in the map of the region from 1920 to the present. Refer back to the maps as students study the conflict, pointing out places often cited in the news such as the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem.
Challenge
Pose the following scenario to students: You are a mediator who has been brought in to help with the peace process. How do you think each side will react to recent events? How will you address these events in the larger objective of reaching peace? Write a script presenting how a current mediation session might play out - if both sides will come to the table.
Extension
Point out to students that young Israeli men and women are required to dedicate a portion of their lives to their country's military. The men are required to serve for three years, the women, two. Is this service widely accepted among Israelis? Have students work in groups to learn more about Israel and its military, and share their findings. One Web site that solicits funding and support for Israeli soldiers states that, "The IDF [Israeli Defense Force] is more than just an army. It's a microcosm of Israeli society." Based on their findings, do students agree with this quotation? Why is the military such an integral part of life in Israel? Would students support or oppose a similar approach to national service in their country? Discuss.
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