by Alistair Lyon | 23 Oct 2023 | Decoders, Educators' Catalog, History, Middle East, Politics
Hamas shatters the illusion of Israeli control. Palestinian militants attend a funeral of people killed during an Israeli military raid on a Palestinian refugee camp, Nur Shams, in the West Bank 20 October, 2023. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed) This article was produced...
Context matters and history matters. In this text from ND correspondent and Middle East expert Alistair Lyon, help your students understand the history behind the headlines surrounding Israel and Palestine.
Exercise: Read the article with your class, then have students create a timeline of key events mentioned in the text. Events may include: Hamas takes control of Gaza, Balfour Declaration, creation of Israel, British mandate to rule Palestine, British withdrawal from Middle East, the Holocaust, the Nakba, PLO 1988 declaration, founding of Hamas, Hamas wins parliamentary election, Oslo Accords, assassination of Itzhak Rabin, second Palestinian intifada, Israel withdraws from Gaza, Gaza blockade by Israel and Egypt. Is this long and complex history represented in social media posts and news stories about the conflict, or is it largely absent? Why and how does context matter?
by Jasmine Li | 21 Jun 2019 | Culture, Middle East, Personal Reflections, Religion, Student Posts, Westover School, Youth Voices
I used to associate the Middle East with violence, devastation and instability. On a trip to Israel, I discovered hospitality and generosity. Artwork by Banksy in Bethlehem (Photo by Jasmine Li) Sitting in the shade, I touch the sand in my hand, cold and moist....
by Alistair Lyon | 11 Dec 2017 | Islam, Middle East, United States
In vowing to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, Donald Trump has torn up the diplomatic rule book, satisfying his base but at what cost? An Israeli soldier looks at the Western Wall at the Old City of Jerusalem with the Dome of the Rock in the background,...
by News Decoder | 10 Nov 2017 | Islam, Middle East
By Alistair Lyon Arriving in Amman the other day, I boarded an airport taxi into town and began chatting with the driver. I’ll call him Yusuf. He told me he used to work as an engineer, calibrating ground instruments for the Jordanian air force. I mentioned that...
by News Decoder | 20 Oct 2017 | Islam, Middle East, United States
We originally published this article in February after Donald Trump took office as U.S. president and said he was not committed to a two-state solution in Palestine. We are publishing it again because of the continuing importance of the issue, which was the focus of a...
