Supporting Our Youth & Teens: Learning & Talking About Israel

Jewish Teen Initiative at CJP has compiled a collection of resources to help you learn about the evolving situation, which will be updated as new opportunities and resources become available. See the resources below. For additional opportunities to connect, learn and act, visit Israel Under Attack on JewishBoston.com.

Resources For Families

• • 10 Ways To Have Conscientious Conversations on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (ADL)
  • Here’s How To Talk to Your Kids About the Violence in Israel and Gaza (Kveller)
  • How To Talk to Children About the Conflict in Israel (ReformJudaism.org)
  • Israel Under Attack (JewishBoston.com)
  • PJ Library Israel Hub (PJ Library)
  • Poems for Reflecting on the Israeli Palestinian Conflict (Moving Traditions)
  • Situation Room (StandWithUs)
  • Stand With Israel (ADL)
  • Suggested Conversation Points (Boundless)
  • Tips for Engaging and Disengaging on Social Media (ADL)
  • Tools For Articulating Your Support For Israel Under Fire (Tribe Talk)
  • Trauma Resources (Child Mind Institute)
  • Videos To Help Parents and Kids Talk About Scary Situations (PJ Library)
  • Alma’s Guide to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (HeyAlma)
  • Discussing the Israel-Hamas War With Young People (ADL)
  • How Jewish Parents Can Help Kids Deal With a Flood of Pain on Social Media – Beyond Just Looking Away (JTA)
  • How To Talk to Kids About What’s Happening in Israel Right Now (Kveller)
  • Tribe Talk – Israel at War Resources (Tribe Talk)
  • Sharing Ideas for Engaging With Jewish Young Adults in This Difficult Time (The Bronfman Fellowship)

Resources For Educators and Professionals

• • Educational Resources: Israel at War (Lookstein Center)
  • Israel at War: Prayers to Mark Ceremonies and Small Conversations With Your Students (The Jewish Education Project)
  • Israel Under Attack (JewishBoston.com)
  • Processing Attacks in Israel and the Outbreak of War in the Region (Facing History and Ourselves)
  • Resources for Teaching About Israel in Crisis (The Jewish Education Project)
  • Responding to Crisis (Jewish Education Center of Cleveland)
  • Situation Room (StandWithUs)
  • Educating in a Time of Crisis (The iCenter)
  • Israel at War: Caring for Ourselves and One Another (Moving Traditions)
  • Israel Resources for Camps (Foundation for Jewish Camp)
  • Shine A Light Workplace Toolkit (Shine A Light)
  • Israel at War: Community Resources (Boundless Israel)

Focusing on Mental Health and Wellness

• BaMidbar is offering community support for teens and young adults. Learn more and schedule a call.
• Gateways, in partnership with BaMidbar, JF&CS, and local area clinicians, has been holding scheduled drop-in Zoom support for educators and parents staffed with mental health clinicians. Both Hebrew- and English-speaking clinicians will be available. For questions or additional information, contact Ali Shwartz, mental health specialist, Gateways: Access to Jewish Education, or Emily Heeren, director of programs and partnerships, BaMidbar.
• Wellness Resources for the Situation in Israel (The Blue Dove Foundation)

Understanding Context & Bias

• • Eight Tips for Reading About Israel (Sapir Journal)
  • Helping Students Make Sense of News Stories About Bias and Injustice (ADL)
  • How To Detect Bias in News Media (FAIR)
  • What Do My Children Understand – And What Should I Tell Them – About the Israeli-Palestinian Violence? (The Forward)
  • What Is Anti-Israel, Antisemitic, Anti-Zionist? (ADL)
  • What Is Media Literacy, and Why Is It Important? (Common Sense Media)

Suggested Reading List

For Younger Children

• Center for Israel Education’s list
• PJ Library’s list
• The iCenter’s list

For Teens & Adults

• “How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less” by Sarah Glidden
• “One More River” by Lynne Reid Banks (YA)
• “Once More With Chutzpah” by Haley Neil (YA)
• “Can We Talk About Israel” by Daniel Sokatch
• “Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth” by Noa Tishby
• “Walking the Bible: A Journey By Land Through the Five Books of Moses” by Bruce Feiler
• “Let There Be Water” by Seth M. Siegel
• “Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn” by Daniel Gordis
• “Exodus” by Leon Uris
• “Startup Nation” by Dan Senor and Saul Singer
• “A Dream of Zion: American Jews Reflect on Why Israel Matters To Them” by Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin

For Educators & Professionals

• “The Aleph Bet of Israel Education” by The iCenter
• “My Second-Favorite Country: How American Jewish Children Think About Israel” by Sivan Zakai
• “Loving the Real Israel: An Educational Agenda for Liberal Zionism” by Alex Sinclair
• “Essential Israel” by Ilan Troen and Rachel Fish
• “Israel Education Matters: A 21st Century Paradigm for Jewish Education” by Lisa D. Grant and Ezra M. Kopelowitz
• “A Philosophy of Israel Education: A Relational Approach” by Barry Chazan

Partner Organizations

• • American Jewish Committee
  • Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
  • BaMidbar
  • The Blue Dove Foundation
  • Boundless Israel
  • Combined Jewish Philanthropies
  • Facing History and Ourselves
  • Gateways
  • The iCenter
  • Israel American Council
  • Jewish Community Relations Council
  • The Jewish Education Project
  • Makom
  • Reframing Israel
  • Tribe Talk
  • Shalom Hartman Institute Wellspring Initiative
  • StandWithUs
  • Lappin Foundation

Partnering With Our Broader Greater Boston Community

In partnership with the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, CJP helped to create a new position at JCRC, Director of Educational Partnerships, to expand work in engaging with local school districts on issues of antisemitism and anti-Zionism. The work and this new position will be overseen by FayeRuth Fisher, JCRC’s Senior Director, Public Affairs. Please contact her and copy Melissa Garlick, CJP’s Senior Director, Combating Antisemitism and Building Civic Engagement, with concerns and questions about resources and guidance to support school districts in navigating these issues.

Donate to CJP’s Israel Emergency FuND

Compiled in partnership with BaMidbar, Gateways, Tribe Talk, The Jewish Education Project and other community partners. Have we missed something? Interested in learning more about our work? Contact Leah Finkelman, engagement manager, teens & camping, or Brett Lubarsky, director, Jewish Teen Initiative at CJP.

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