Learning Objectives:
- To understand the history of Palestinian occupation
- To understand what Zionism is and the creation of Israel
- To understand what it means to want a free Palestine
Starter Activity: Warm up opening questions
Have the children move to opposite ends of the room according to their yes/no answers
1. Have you ever been to a protest about Palestine?
2. Are all Palestinians Muslim?
3. Are Palestine and Israel two separate countries?
4. Is the fighting between Jews and Muslims?
5. Did Israel always exist
Activity: Palestine Timeline
Create a timeline across a wall. For older children this can include the dates. Use the selected images to discuss each event working through chronologically and placing the images in order.
The timeline events have been extracted from the story Zain & Mima Stand for Palestine by Eman Kourtam, a brilliantly informative and clear read which can be used alongside. What’s going on in Palestine by Zanib Mian also adds historical context and details of the current situation.
Image 1: Masjid Al Aqsa
Masjid Al Aqsa is located in Jerusalem and is a mosque holy to many people. It is mentioned in the Quran about six times and is a place where all the prophets have prayed. Jews, Muslims and Christians used to live as peaceful and kind neighbours together in the land of Filasteen or Palestine as it is named in English.
Image 2: 1987 Creation of Zionism
Jewish people in Europe faced a lot of difficulties and were not treated well. A man named Theodore Herzl came up with a plan called Zionism, a belief that there should be a land only for Jews to protect his people. He decided that Palestine would be the perfect place and that the people living there would be forced to move out.
Image 3: 1917 British forces colonised Palestine which means that they took control of the land. They later declared a statement of support for the establishment in Palestine as a national home for the Jewish people.
Image 4: 1941-1945 World War 2, Holocaust the murder of Jews by Nazis in Germany.
An evil leader called Adolf Hitler was very violent towards Jews. This forced many of them to move away. Some become Zionists and went to Palestine
Image 5: 1948 The State of Israel was established, Nakba
The Palestinians didn’t want the Jews to face harm and some of the Jews also wanted to continue living in peace but the Zionists who had begun to occupy the land were now stealing the homes of the Palestinians and forced nearly a million people to move away and run for their lives. The Zionists even changed the name of the land they had stolen and called it Israel. It was a catastrophe and is called the Nakba. Many Palestinians carry with them the keys to their homes that the Zionists took and hope one day they will return to live on their land once again.
Image 6: 1967
Another war launched by Israel and even more Palestinian land was stolen and even more people forced out of their home. Israel even banned people from holding the Palestine flag. But the creative Palestinians realised that the watermelons grown around them had the same colours, red, green, black and white! So people would hold a watermelon to show they will never forget Palestine!
Image 7: 1987 Resistance Uprisings
The Palestinians stood up bravely for themselves using everything they had to protect their families and homes. They did everything they could to resist the powerful force and weapons used by the Israeli army, to resist the occupation.
Image 8: 2023 Gaza
The fight to take over Palestine by the Zionists has continued through the years with Palestinians being squeezed into very small spaces and literally locked in between walls. Their food, electricity, water and medical supplies are all controlled by the Zionists. They don’t even have the freedom to visit family who live on the other side of the wall. It’s a very unfair way to live.
We must do whatever we can to ensure that 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.' Its a statement that demands that Palestinians are given rights and freedom wherever they live within the land covering the whole area between the river Jordan on one side to the Mediterranean Sea on the other.
Activity: What Can We Do?
Islam teaches us to stand up against injustice when you see it. The Holy Prophet (S) has said "Whoever among you sees evil, let him change it with his hand. If he cannot do so, then with his tongue. If he cannot do so, then with his heart."
We must march and make everyone aware and tell the whole world to stop the Zionists from stealing Palestinian land!
- Boycott
We must be careful not to spend our money on products made by companies that support Zionism. You do not want your money to be used to make Israel even more powerful and bring harm to the people of Palestine.
- Prayer
The Holy Prophet has told us that Dua is our weapon! We must keep praying for the people of Palestine to relieve them of the oppression they are facing, for justice to be restored and Palestine to be free.
Activity: Create your own Palestine Timeline
Children can caption the images along the timeline and share what they have learnt.
