Educational Guide to Israel's Declaration of Independence
All you need to explore the Declaration alone or with a class, from the text to analysis to activities for learners.
About
As part of CIE's Israel@75 project, we provide the complete text of the Declaration of Independence, a breakdown of the text and how it was crafted, a video overview, links to resources providing the context of partition, the related issues of Israel's lack of a constitution and use of Basic Laws instead, and a range of activities and approaches to explore the document and observe Yom Ha'Atzmaut, Israel's Independence Day.
The main Declaration of Independence page provides the historical background and a basic breakdown of how the Declaration was constructed in four parts, as well as our whiteboard video examining and explaining the document. The main page leads to the following resource pages:
- The full text with a detailed introduction.
- An activity guide for learners engaging with the document.
- An exploration of Israel's lack of a formal constitution, including the proposed 1948 document, the Basic Laws, the role of the judiciary and the origins of Israeli democracy.
- A set of activities and resources for Yom Ha'Atzmaut.
- An example of an Independence Day video project, with guidance on how to re-create something similar with a class.
- The Megillat HaAtzmaut created by the Pressman Academy, along with a guide on how to use it.
Discover more
Six pages of classroom projects to engage with the Declaration of Independence.
Lord Balfour of Great Britain wrote a letter promising a “Jewish home” to the Jewish people in the land of Palestine.
For Israel's 75th birthday, meet 75 Israelis who have helped share what the State of Israel is today.
For this 77th year of Israeli independence, we hope that this collection of engaging and thought provoking resources will inspire you to join those who find hope in each other and in our shared purpose.
WE DECLARE is an initiative that aims that to bring democracy and Jewish-democratic values to the center of Israeli and global Jewish discourse, inspired and based upon the Israeli Declaration of Independence. At the heart of We Declare is ISRAELI TALMUD: TRACTATE INDEPENDENCE – a brand-new book (in
Under cover of night, 35 young Jewish men set out to deliver supplies to the cut-off Etzion Bloc, south of Jerusalem.