Historian

1) Your task is to research the history of the region of the State of Israel and the Palestinian territories. There will be some questions that you can possibly answer on your own, however, you will probably need some help in clarifying/confirming some answers with your other specialists. You will see notes to that effect below. Use the Historian Summary Sheet to help you organize what you are learning. Some questions to consider include:

• Where is Israel and the Palestinian territories located?

• What is the history of the region prior to the State of Israel?

• How did Israel come to be?

• Why did Israel come to be? Collaborate with the Ethnologist

• Who was involved in the development of Israel? Work with the Diplomat

• What is the history of Palestine?

• What are the Palestinian territories?

• Where are the West Bank and Gaza Strip and what are their histories?

• What were the first problems to occur in the area?

• What conflicts resulted from these problems?

• How did these early conflicts get resolved?

• Who was involved in arriving at these resolutions?

• Why were these particular people involved in the conflicts in Israel?

2) After answering the above questions and any questions you came up with on your own, develop a list of specific objectives from the historian perspective that will promote peace between Israeli and Palestine. Keep in mind that other members of your team will also be developing their own lists of objectives, and together, you will develop a plan for peace. Be ready to identify where your objectives are both similar and dissimilar.

Use the following online Resources to help you with your tasks. Remember that as you view these resources, you may be faced with propaganda and or information that is biased. Be sure to remember your role…that of a historian and "filter" out inapplicable information.

Human Resources:

Your School Librarian:

Discuss your task with your librarian. Have him/her help you in finding paper resources in the library (newspaper articles, etc.)

Interview an Expert:

Interview a Middle East professor at a college or university near you. Get his/her historical perspective.

Offline Resources:

A number of print resources are also available.

Online Resources:

Evaluate the web sites you visit for applicability, bias, and usability with Kathy Schrock's Evaluation Tool.

Middle East Maps and Historical Events:

http://www.mideastweb.org/maps.htm

A History of Conflict

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/world/2001/israel_and_palestinians/timeline/

A Brief History of Palestine

http://www.palestinehistory.com/history.htm

3000 Years of Settlement, Conflict, and War

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/04/30/MN60289.DTL

The History of the Palestine and Israel Conflict

http://www.cactus48.com/truth.html

Palestine

http://www.arab.net/palestine/

History since 2000

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/holy/

Israel and the Arab-Israeli Conflict

http://www.ict.org.il/articles/articledet.cfm?articleid=414

Treaties, Historic Documents, and Significant Speeches

http://www.ariga.com/treaties/dop.shtml