The Declaration of the
Establishment of
the State of
Israel
Introduction
Societies are governed by laws and customs that
are accepted as being essential to the identity of that society.
Israel, in this sense is not different from any other society. The
Declaration of Independence laid the foundation for the State of
Israel. The essential identity of the state - its future laws, values
and customs &endash; was to stem from this defining
document.
This lesson plan may be useful for any high
school class. Scaffolding may be necessary in some
classes.
Click here for text of
Declaration of Independence
Activity 1
Question to students: What do you know about the
Declaration of Independence?
Pairs to list 3-5 pieces of
information.
Groups of 4 to try to reach at least 10
items.
Activity 2
Groups of 4
Jigsaw puzzle &endash; put the document together
(which has been cut up in a not- too-confusing way).
When finished, teacher hands out the "answer" to
each individual.
Skim the Declaration of Independence (2 min) then
update previous list in same group of 4 (crossing out if wrong and
adding new information).
Activity 3
(done individually)
The proclamation may be divided into four
sections:
Instructions to students: Identify the four
sections by marking each one with a different colored pen.
1. the section that describes the history of the
Jewish people, its struggle to renew its political life and the
international recognition of this right.
2. the operative section, that proclaims the
establishment of the state.
3. the section that declares the principles which
will guide the State of Israel
4. the appeal to the U.N, to the Arab inhabitants
of the state, to the Arab states and to world Jewry.
Activity 4.
Instruction to student:
(To be done individually)
Read the text of the Declaration of Independence
and list the major principles 1. that are to guide the new
state.
Choose the three that you most identify with.
Explain your choice in writing or orally.
Activity 5
Choose ONE of the principles that you would like
to investigate further &endash; to ascertain to what extent it has
been protected by law and to what extent it has been adopted in
practice. This will be your first step in deciding on a topic you
will research in detail.
Click here for text of
Declaration of Independence
Click
here for Contents page