Sokol Hebrew High School
Myths and Facts
Alex Smoler
Fall/5768

 Advocating for Israel is one of the most challenging tasks that we, as American Jews, face today.  The Myths and Facts course is a guide to the Arab-Israeli conflict. We will examine the history of this conflict as it relates to both propaganda and the actual truth.  Historic episodes, maps and charts such as population tables will be studied. We will analyze, in depth, Israel's roots, the Mandatory Period, Partition, The 1948 War, Six Day War, War of Attrition, Yom Kippur War, Lebanon Conflict, Gulf War I, United Nations, Refugees, Treatment of Jews in Arabic countries, Human Rights in Arab Countries and in Israel, Intifada I, Oslo, Camp David I (Israel-Egypt), Camp David II (Barak-Arafat), Intifada II, Jerusalem, Settlements, and the Peace Process.  

Fundamental questions that we will address in this course include:
Is Israel a colonial, imperialist State?
Did European Jews displace Palestinians?                                                             Were the settlers unwilling to share Palestine?
Did Israel create the Arab refugee problem?
Is modern Israel a racist state?
Are critics of Israel anti-Semitic?
Why do so many of us tend to side with the Palestinians?

 The main text used for this course is Myths and Facts by Mitchell G. Bard.  Supplementary materials will come from sources such as The Case for Israel by Alan Dershowitz and current periodicals.

Parents are urged to follow the news from the Middle East and to sort out fact from fiction, together with your child.

            I expect that the knowledge that students gain from this course will bolster their abilities and confidence and will give them the tools to face down challenges that they will meet at college.  Students will be held to the highest standards with regard to their attendance and class participation.