Israel Education Olin-Sang-Ruby-Union-Institute

Staff Week 2016

Emily Rothstein InterHE 428 Final Project Fall Semester 2015

Program Overview Program Title Tackling Israel at Camp Target Audience This program is targeted towards the staff of URJ Olin-Sang-Ruby-

Union-Institute (OSRUI) Camp. It is intended for any member of the staff who will be working with campers on a daily basis and who is required to write programming throughout the summer

Program Goals: This program will provide enrichment to the staff members on this

topic and help them tackle Israel’s complex issues. It will allow staff members to engage with their relationship with Israel. In addition, it will teach staff members about programming and how to use the reason for Israel Education as an outlet to expand and increase impactful Israel programs.

Program Rationale: Israel has always been a topic at camp that has been discussed.

Every summer there is a day devoted to Israel programming and every week there is usually one program related to Israel. As someone who is very involved in Israel on campus, I know that the programming at camp reaches a surface level of information. OSRUI is an institution that is raising the next generation of Reform Jews; it is extremely important that their programs delve deeper into Israel. This program was created to dig into the core reasoning behind why camp teaches a love for Israel every summer. It is essential for the continued success of Israel programming at camp, that staff members reconnect with the topic and figure out for themselves the reasons why they teach about Israel at camp. I believe that this program, by working through the WHY, WHAT, and HOW camp does Israel programming, will give staff members the tools to move beyond surface level information. It will allow for campers to have access to a more complex Israel, which is an important goal that exists at OSRUI. Staff week is a time where staff members are trained in areas that are important to keep camp running. Never has there been a program solely for Israel programming, which is another reason for the existence of this program.

Program Structure: The “Tackling Israel at Camp” Program will take place in 2, 2-hour

sessions during the 2nd and 3rd day of Staff week. It will include all of staff, but will be broken into smaller groups based on the age groups that the staff members work with. It will be a required program for staff members to attend and will include a follow up mid-summer to check-in on Israel programming thus far and review how to make them better for the second session.

Program Content: The following is an outline of the content of the program. Please see the sections following for a more detailed program.

Welcome Small Group Discussion: Why do we have Israel Programming? Counselor Israel Stories: 6 Staff members reflect to the group on

their relationship with Israel Group Activity: “We Should Teach…” OSRUI’s Israel Story: Each group writes an “Israel Agenda” for

OSRUI Program Writing: Write programming in small groups with a focus

on the age group assigned Closing Program Evaluation: Program evaluation will include but is not limited to observing the

implementation of actual programming, following up with one-on-one meetings with staff members who still have questions, measuring staff members’ willingness to continue to learn, measure their willingness to participate in other Israel programs, surveying their pre/post feelings towards Israel education.

Instructional Outline CONCEPTS

WHY: The program will begin by understanding a concept of why we have Israel programming at camp. Staff members will be able to answer questions revolving around the existence, unconditional love, and importance of Israel at camp. They will do this by reflecting upon their own personal relationships with Israel as a reason to why we talk about Israel at camp.

WHAT: The program will touch on topics and categories that could potentially be discussed at camp. This will allow staff members to discuss and debate topics, like the conflict, as a program at camp. They will do this by playing a game called “We Should Teach…” which will be further outlined in the detailed procedure. They will tackle these topics from a personal opinion to a collective opinion and will take into account the different ages of campers. Staff members will understand how to do so by working through the different topics in the game. The end concept to be portrayed in this section is teaching surface level information to the younger kids and as age increase, complexity of topics increase. ISRAEL STORY: The concept of an “Israel Story” will be discussed in this program as well. Every news source creates its own “story” for Israel. Anything and everything they report on directly reflects the story they are trying to tell to the public. In similar fashion, the staff members will be creating an “OSRUI Israel Story” that will act as the pillars or guidelines for anything and everything they do and talk about Israel at camp. The process will start by listening to fellow staff members (should this be ‘s??) Israel Story and then each group will write their own. They will need to consider the Why and What concepts as rationale to their story. They will also need to consider the different age groups that they oversee at camp. The story should revolve around something similar to this: It is our number one goal to teach a love for Israel. An unconditional love is what comes first before we start to get into the more controversial topics. To help teach this love we can teach about the land, history, people, and culture. Every Israel program that we are running must have an educational aspect. No matter what age, we want the campers coming out of camp with new knowledge about Israel that is beyond the surface. In older units (Chalutzim, Gesher, Tiferet Bet, Moshavah) we can add the political situation in Israel, as well as the multiple narratives including the Palestinian narrative. Although it sounds hard, these parts of Israel are extremely important to become well informed about Israel. What is important is for our campers to learn at camp, is how love can include critique and questioning. In order for our campers to become advocates for Israel, we must make them aware of all parts of the story.

HOW: Finally, a concept of How the programming will happen is discussed. Staff members will be taught how a program should be written and will be given tools to help with their success. They will be challenged with creating a program based on the stories they have created, geared towards the age group that they are assigned. SUMMARY: Staff members will be given a skeleton outline of what Israel programs can look like at camp and this program will give them the tools to take what they want from it and create new programming. The concept of different levels of Israel programming is a key point. From the story, it will be clear that there are surface level programs that can exist but at an older age it is important to take it a step up.

OBJECTIVES

1. To be able to create a safe environment for staff members to feel comfortable talking about Israel with campers.

2. Teach successful program writing. 3. To compile all versions of OSRUI’s Israel Story into one that can be

distributed to all staff members. 4. To put forth an understanding of the importance and complexity of Israel. 5. To keep all staff members engaged throughout both sessions of the

program. LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

• Create an environment for staff members to engage in deep conversations with peers.

• Teach staff members to learn how to write a good program. • Provide opportunity for younger staff members to run programming. • Provide opportunity for staff members to question the authority at camp. • Chance for staff members to speak in front of a large group. • Opportunity for staff members to change a vital part of camp for campers. • Opportunity for staff members to redefine Israel programming at camp.

TIME FRAME AND ORGANIZATION

The program will take place after lunch, for two, two-hour sessions on the 2nd and 3rd day of staff week. It will be held in Port Hall where all staff members will be split up by campers’ age group, two groups for each age range.

DAY 1: Day 1 will include an overview of the topic and purpose for the topic (15 min), it will tackle the concepts of WHY and WHAT (75 min) while having the group of counselors share their own ISRAEL STORY (20 min) Day 2: Day 2 will start with a brief recap of the first day (10 min). The concept of an OSRUI Israel story will be introduced and each group will have time to write their own (35 min). After sharing and discussing the overarching themes, an OSRUI Israel story will be compiled that takes parts from each group (30 min). Each group will then write a program based on their campers age group and the OSRUI Israel Program (20 min). Finally, the program will conclude by recapping each step of the process and talk about how staff can take what they learned and use it throughout the summer (15 min).

EVALUATION STRATEGIES The program will primarily be evaluated on the Israel programming being implemented throughout the summer. As mentioned, there will be follow up with staff members who either need further assistance with Israel content or with their programs. The program will be evaluated on the structure and will based on three things; the willingness of staff to participate and feel comfortable voicing their opinions during the program, the willingness to continue to learn about Israel education, and the successful implementation of the new Israel programs. Most of this will all be done by observation of the leader. In addition, the degree of success of the programs will be measured through a survey filled out by campers after the end of the program as well as the willingness of staff members to continue to learn about Israel that staff members will fill out at the end of the summer. These surveys will help with future programming within the summer as well as for future summers. The surveys are below:

Lesson Plan Day 1 Lesson Introduction: The purpose of this lesson is to introduce the Israel Education that exists at camp and begin the conversation of creating new programming. It will break down Israel Education at Camp into WHY and WHAT as well as give counselors the opportunities to share their relationships with Israel. Lesson Objectives:

• To be able to answer WHY we have Israel programing at camp. • To be able to answer WHAT we should teach about Israel at camp. • To use our own relationships with Israel as a basis for Israel education at camp.

Learning Opportunities

• Chance for staff members to engage in deep conversations with peers. • Chance for staff members to speak in front of a large group. • Opportunity for staff members to engage in their relationship with Israel. • Opportunity for staff members to dissect Israel programming at camp.

Materials: markers, pens, big post-it note pad, projector/screen, large room, red, green, and yellow construction paper for each group, mini Israeli flags, speakers, Israeli snacks, power point (see below for slides)

Timeline:

1. 00:00 – 00:05 Introduction 2. 00:05 – 00:15 Welcome 3. 00:15 – 00:30 Step Back/WHY 4. 00:30 – 00:40 Large Group Discussion 5. 00:40 – 01:00 Counselor Israel Story 6. 01:00 – 01:35 We Should Teach… 7. 01:35 – 01:45 Wrap Up

Detailed Procedure

I. Introduction: Room set up with leaders in corners with Israel Flags – Israeli music playing and Israeli snacks being passed out

a. As counselors walk in direct them to the correct age group space b. Enjoy snacks and talk with group as everyone is coming in

II. Welcome:

a. Typical Israel Program – discuss what a typical Israel program at camp – KEY POINT: Surface Level Information – Pose following questions to the group

i. Why does OSRUI have these type of programs ii. What is the meaning behind it iii. Provide an agenda for the program

III. Step Back/WHY a. Keeping past activity in mind now answer WHY b. Small Group Discussion: Why do we do what we do?

i. Things to consider 1. What if Israel didn’t exist 2. What is the purpose of loving Israel 3. Why is it important to talk about at camp 4. How does your own personal relationship impact how and

why we talk about Israel c. Zoom Out – Share some of the findings

i. Write up (on computer) major ideas that came out of the conversation

IV. Counselor’s Israel Story a. Have 6 Staff members (3 Israeli and 3 American) tell their “Israel Story” to

the larger group – Discuss with larger group the points below: i. Purpose – begin to think about how these stories can reflect the

programming that we run ii. In order to create programming that staff feel passionate about it

is important to feel a connection b. Create programs that align with our “Israel Story”

i. Explain concept of Israel Story – idea that news sources have their own agenda for Israel and all news reports reflect that agenda. If we had our own story what would it look like? What topics/categories would we make sure to include?

V. We Should Teach…. Each group will have a red, yellow, and green piece of paper – the leader will ask a series of questions related to what should be spoken about at camp, groups have 1-2 minutes to discuss and hold up answer – red being no, green being yes, and yellow to show a major disagreement. Slides for Power point detailed below

a. Purpose to get people thinking about how the why translates into the what

b. If obvious disagreement in room step back and talk about it c. QUESTIONS: We Should Teach…

i. A love for Israel ii. About the food in Israel iii. About the IDF iv. About the different types of Jews in Israel v. About the political process in Israel vi. About the Geography vii. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict

d. Afterwards: Things to think about - What was the hardest part of this section? Was there anything you were surprised about? Did anyone not agree with his or her group? Do these topics change with age? When is it appropriate to discuss the more controversial topics

e. The topics towards the end are more tricky – issues that may have come up last year and the question is how do we answer them if brought up

i. Not something that will necessarily be brought into programming but it is something that might come up

ii. Use the staff leader running the program as an outlet to help if you don’t know what to say

VI. Wrap Up a. Summarize the three sections that have been discussed thus far

i. Go over WHY we teach Israel and WHAT we should teach based on the findings in the game

b. Discuss in brief what to look for in tomorrow’s lesson c. Thank everyone for coming and staying engaged

Assessment Strategies: The assessment for this section of the program revolves around the willingness of staff members to participate. It is essential to the success of this program that staff members speak their minds and state their opinions. Most of the assessment will be based on the “We Should Teach…” game. There should be a focus on observing the topics that stir debate. This will give the leader a better idea of how people feel about Israel education at camp. Taking notes on the discussions for each topic will also be vital to recap for Lesson 2. Summary: Overall this lesson just begins to tackle the difficulty that exists with Israel education at camp. It will allow for staff members to begin reflecting upon the education they received as campers, the education they teach as a counselor, and what they think should change for the future of camp. It will require open discussions, debates, and deep thought for success.

Power Point Slides for Day 1

Lesson Plan Day 2 Lesson Introduction: The purpose of this lesson is to continue the conversation that was started from day 2. Staff will get into the same group from day 1. This lesson will cover what an Israel Story is, compiling our own OSRUI Israel Story, and program writing. Staff members will be able to take everything they did yesterday and put it into practice. Lesson Objectives:

• To be able to answer HOW we should program about Israel. • To be able to create an OSRUI Israel Story as a guideline for Israel programming. • To use our own relationships with Israel as a basis for Israel education at camp.

Learning Opportunities:

• Chance for staff members to engage in deep conversations with peers. • Chance for staff members to speak in front of a large group. • Opportunity for staff members to engage in their relationship with Israel. • Opportunity for staff members to dissect Israel programming at camp. • Chance for staff members to learn and write programs. • Opportunity for staff members to question the authority at camp. • Opportunity for staff members to redefine Israel programming at camp.

Materials: markers, pens, big post-it note pad, blank program formats, projector/screen, large room, mini Israeli flags, speakers, Israeli snacks, Power Point (see below for slides) Timeline:

1. 00:00 – 00:05 Welcome/Settle in 2. 00:05 – 00:15 Recap 3. 00:15 – 00:50 OSRUI’s Israel Story 4. 00:50 – 01:05 Large Group Discussion 5. 01:05 – 01:35 Program Writing 6. 01:35 – 01:45 Wrap Up

Detailed Procedure

I. Welcome/Settle in: Room set up with leaders in corners with Israel Flags – Israeli music playing and Israeli snacks being passed out

a. As counselors walk in direct them to the correct age group space b. Enjoy snacks and talk with group as everyone is coming in

II. Recap:

a. Remind them of the WHY and WHAT from yesterday b. Recap

i. What is the meaning behind it ii. Provide an agenda for the program

III. OSRUI’s Israel Story a. Discussed the WHY and began to discuss the WHAT – further talk about WHAT

by defining the story about Israel that OSRUI should be portraying to the campers

b. Just as counselors shared their stories, the goal is to create a collective OSRUI Israel Story that will act as the pillars/guide for Israel Programming

c. Each group write out on post-it note pad their “story” and be prepared to share with group

i. Things to Consider: 1. What is it that we should be talking about at camp in terms of

Israel 2. Why or why not should we keep information about Israel from

campers 3. What is that main goal/message 4. How do we want to frame Israel to campers 5. Should age be a factor in this story 6. Think about the objectives/goals/motives 7. What is the word that a camper will choose to describe Israel

d. Share in large group and write down a collective version. i. Example of Israel Story: It is our number one goal to teach a love

for Israel. An unconditional love is what comes first before we start to get into the more controversial topics. To help teach this love we can teach about the land, history, people, and culture. Every Israel program that we are running must have an educational aspect. No matter what age, we want the campers coming out of camp with new knowledge about Israel that is beyond the surface. In older units (Chalutzim, Gesher, Tiferet Bet, Moshavah) we can add the political situation in Israel as well as the multiple narratives including the Palestinian narrative. Although it sounds hard, these parts of Israel are extremely important to be well informed about Israel. What is important is for campers to learn at camp, is how love can include critique and questioning. In order for our campers to become advocates for Israel, we must make them aware of all parts of the story.

ii. Land: North, South, Major Cities, climate iii. History: Modern and Biblical iv. People: Secular, Religious, Reform Judaism, Orthodox communities,

Coexistence between Arabs and Jews – different initiatives in Israel v. Culture: Hebrew language, Shuk, food, start up nation, music, Israel

path

IV. Program Writing a. We have the WHY, the WHAT, and now we need the HOW b. Write programs that are strictly a reflection of the story/definition that was

presented c. Each group is given a blank program write up – group leaders specifically

chosen by their knowledge in program write up – BLANK PROGRAM FORMAT BELOW

d. Things to Consider i. Goal/Objective about Israel ii. How is it going to impact campers relationships with Israel iii. How will you make it educational and fun iv. How will it reflect “OSRUI’s Israel Story”

e. Creatively share with all of group

V. Summary a. Amazing programs –Leader of this program will work with staff members/units

to actually run these programs during the summer b. Use these tools and our definition of our Israel Story to continue to create

programs and as a motive to use Israel in daily activities i. Go back over the WHY WHAT HOW

c. It is acceptable to talk about the tough questions and tricky controversial things but only at a certain age. Campers need a basis of love before they will be able to handle questioning that love

i. There is a time and place to answer questions. We can answer hard questions for younger campers but there is a way to do it

d. Take our new found knowledge of WHY and transfer into meaningful and impactful programming

Assessment Strategies: The assessment for this section of the program revolves around the completion and success of the OSRUI Israel Story and the program writing. The leader should be monitoring the writing of both the story and the program. A successful lesson two would be a comprehensive OSRUI Israel Story that can act as a guideline for Israel programming as well as at least 5 complete, realistic programs that can be run during the summer. Another key assessment to this lesson is the counselors’ willingness to take these programs and run them for real. Follow-ups will be essential to assessing this part. Summary: Overall this lesson brings the dissecting of Israel education to a close. It will allow for staff members to take what they have reflected upon and put it into action. It gives staff members the tools to take the entire process they went through and turn it into a program. They should be driven to take these newfound skills and put them into action throughout the summer.

Power Point Slides for Day 2

Blank Program Format

Program Title Event where program will be held

Date of Program Author(s)

Goals: Objectives: Materials: People: Space Needed: Time Table: 00:00-00:00 Detailed Procedure: (Insert Page Break before each Appendix) Appendix:

Program Summary This type of program is something that I have been looking for since I started as a staff member at OSRUI in 2011. I have found myself constantly frustrated with the content that is “allowed” in Israel Programming and I have always felt that as a staff member, I have never been able to control the content of Israel Programming. I decided to write this program for a few reasons. First, I feel that by breaking the concept of Israel programming into WHY, WHAT, and HOW allows for a full reflection on already existing programming. It makes counselors really think about the purpose of the programming and allows them to question what is happening now, and if that really fulfills the purpose. The second reason I chose this program is that I feel like it really allows the staff members to have control. This program provides outlines and tools but it is really the counselors that can make a difference and be instrumental in the Israel story conveyed to the campers. What this class has taught me is that by educating myself, I can empower individuals. I feel like this programming is fulfilling that mission, which is why I believe that the power it provides to staff members is its main strength. I think that because of this it has the ability to be extremely successful. This was a difficult program to write. Although most people are not happy with the Israel programming that exists, there are many politics behind them. I tried to push the boundaries of previously run Israel programs without going to far over the line. It is not easy to change the status quo at camp and this program is trying to do that. Picking the topics that would stir debate but would not make anyone upset was also hard. Taking into account that multiple political opinions as well as Americans and Israelis are part of the staff was also an important part to my process. I had a difficult time finding a happy medium. In the past, people have walked out of Israel programs upset but I really tried my best not to do that. By completing this assignment I am even more driven to be a program planner in the future. Although difficult, I really enjoyed the process and I am extremely excited to run the program this upcoming summer at camp. I have found that program planning is a perfect outlet to empower individuals and is a great way to use my experience in the field. I have written many programs in the past but never once have I had to go through such a detailed process. I think that it has allowed me to really think about the message I am trying to get across and how every single part of the program portrays that same message.