Yom Hazikaron - Activity Ideas |
I. Ceremony EndpointThe most appropriate form of public activity is a ceremony of commemoration. This is, however, only the endpoint in a creative process which should be the outcome of a process of study and clarification. Elements of the ceremonyGroup procession; II. Creative Study ProcessTheme:A combination of commemoration and the hope for "a new day dawns, a blessed day" [see selection from Yitzhak Rabin's latter speeches]. Implementation:
Projects for Presentation:
Readings [see also files]:
Ongoing Projects:
III. Clarification ProcessIt is our recommendation that the preparations for Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha'atma'ut should not be solely a function of a calendar date, but should be integrated into an ongoing, overall curriculum of Israel and Jewish studies so that the preparations for the day have a meaningful starting point for the participants. To suddenly direct youth groups or entire classes whose members are otherwise unconnected to Israel in their daily lives into an unheralded, in-depth Commemoration project presents enormous obstacles. We therefore recommend drawing up your curriculum, study or project series with the following aims to be expressed in various sessions:
Some important elements in this process will therefore be:
Essentially, this also implies that participants require some basic historical and geo-political background [depending on their age], with older age-groups addressing the issues arising from areas such as: Zionism, the need and struggle for Jewish independence, Israel's wars and the peace process. There should also be some ongoing contact with Israel, whether it is a twinning project, a regional quiz, or any other series of events. In terms of curriculum for specifically older age-groups, we recommend a reverse historical direction in the curriculum, as it is easier to involve pre-college students from the Current Events* angle and then proceed to base these in their historical, cultural and geo-political context. |