In the story of Jacob we see how Israel became a people. Today, Israel is a nation and a country.
Where is Israel ? If you look on a map you will see it in the middle of three continents : Africa, Asia and Europe.
In the north, the top end, it is very green. This area is called the Galil. Down towards the bottom, the south, it is very dry. This is desert area. This area is called the Negev. In the middle of Israel, the east (on your right hand side) this is very hilly. On your left handside, the left, it is flat. Most Israelis (that is what the people who live in Israel are called, like we say the French for people who live in France), well they live along the seaside. The Israeli’s speak Hebrew.
Look herebelow and you will see the Israeli flag.
This flag is called the degel. On Yom Ha’atzmaout people in Israel and elsewhere in the world where we have celebrations wave the flag. The jewish star, we call it the Magen David (a shield of David) and it is in the middle of the flag. It has been the symbol of jewish people for a long long time now. The two blue lines looks like the lines on a tallit (prayer shawl) .
How to draw the star of david
The story of modern Israel goes back a long time ago.
There were a few people who had a special dream and ambition. Let me introduce to them :
Theodor Herzl – the idea
He was a journalist in Austria more than 100 years ago. He dreamed that the Jewish people too could have their own home, just like the French who have France, the English who have England and so on... He wrote a book called “The jewish state” and in this book he told peole that they should work to build a new country for the Jewish people. He travelled all over the world to meet many important people and to try to convince them to build a jewish country. Many thought he was crazy. But he wasn’t scared of doing something difficult. He always said ‘if you will it, its not a dream.” Israel became a country 52 years after he wrote this book.
Eliezer Ben-Yehuda – the hebrew language
Before most Jews spoke the language of the country they lived in. Eastern European Jews spoke Yiddish. Hebrew was the language of the torah. When Elieze Ben Yehuda was young he became a Zionist, that is someone who wanted to build a homeland for the jewish people. He knew that if this was to be so they would need a language for their homeland where everyone would be able to understand each other. SO he decided that since hebrew of the torah was the common language that would be the homelands language. The only problem is that the language of the torah was an old, old, old language and did not have modern words for the more modern things like DVD, or cell phone or shower, etc. So he invented new words. He made it possible that hebrew became an everyday language. He wrote the first hebrew dictionnary.
Berl Katznelson – the kibbutz
Berl wanted to help Jews move to Israel. Not many though knew how to be farmers. He too was a Zionnist who believed that Jews needed to reconnect with the land. He believed that working hard with your hands could build something great. Working together and living together was his idea. A kibbutz is a small village with farms and homes where a group of Jews live and work together. On a kibbutz everyone is equal and shares everything. It is hard work. Today many kibbutzim have guesthouses/hotels. You can spend time working in the fields too. Berl also played an important role concerning health issues in Israel's day to day life and had a great influence on young children when he was still teaching hebrew and history...
Menahim Sheinkin founder of Tel Aviv. He was one of the creators of the first hebrew high school in Israel. He was the one who suggested the name Tel Aviv. Tel means hill and Aviv means spring. So whilst hills (tel) is old, a spring (aviv) is new. So Tel Aviv is a mix of old and new. It is the first modern city of Israel. It is also well known for its lovely beaches. Today one of the busiest streets in Tel Aviv is named after him : http://www.sheinkinstreet.co.il/
There were a few people who had a special dream and ambition. Let me introduce to them :
Theodor Herzl – the ideaHe was a journalist in Austria more than 100 years ago. He dreamed that the Jewish people too could have their own home, just like the French who have France, the English who have England and so on... He wrote a book called “The jewish state” and in this book he told peole that they should work to build a new country for the Jewish people. He travelled all over the world to meet many important people and to try to convince them to build a jewish country. Many thought he was crazy. But he wasn’t scared of doing something difficult. He always said ‘if you will it, its not a dream.” Israel became a country 52 years after he wrote this book.
Eliezer Ben-Yehuda – the hebrew languageBefore most Jews spoke the language of the country they lived in. Eastern European Jews spoke Yiddish. Hebrew was the language of the torah. When Elieze Ben Yehuda was young he became a Zionist, that is someone who wanted to build a homeland for the jewish people. He knew that if this was to be so they would need a language for their homeland where everyone would be able to understand each other. SO he decided that since hebrew of the torah was the common language that would be the homelands language. The only problem is that the language of the torah was an old, old, old language and did not have modern words for the more modern things like DVD, or cell phone or shower, etc. So he invented new words. He made it possible that hebrew became an everyday language. He wrote the first hebrew dictionnary.
Berl Katznelson – the kibbutzBerl wanted to help Jews move to Israel. Not many though knew how to be farmers. He too was a Zionnist who believed that Jews needed to reconnect with the land. He believed that working hard with your hands could build something great. Working together and living together was his idea. A kibbutz is a small village with farms and homes where a group of Jews live and work together. On a kibbutz everyone is equal and shares everything. It is hard work. Today many kibbutzim have guesthouses/hotels. You can spend time working in the fields too. Berl also played an important role concerning health issues in Israel's day to day life and had a great influence on young children when he was still teaching hebrew and history...
Menahim Sheinkin founder of Tel Aviv. He was one of the creators of the first hebrew high school in Israel. He was the one who suggested the name Tel Aviv. Tel means hill and Aviv means spring. So whilst hills (tel) is old, a spring (aviv) is new. So Tel Aviv is a mix of old and new. It is the first modern city of Israel. It is also well known for its lovely beaches. Today one of the busiest streets in Tel Aviv is named after him : http://www.sheinkinstreet.co.il/
David Ben- Gurion - Prime Minister of the state of IsraelHe was from Poland. He too dreamed of building a Jewish homeland in Eretz Israel. In 1906, when he was 20 years old he moved to Eretz Israel to help build a new country. He leaves Israel to further his studies and become a lawyer. There was still a lot of work to be done, and returns after the first world war with his wife and his 3 children. He too travelled around the world to convince people of a homeland for the Jews and led the struggle to to establish the State of Israel. He announces Israels Independence and later became the first Prime Minister of Israel through the first national elections.
The national anthem is called Hatikvah which means The Hope. It was first sung in 1948 at the creation of Israel, but only became the official anthem in 2004. There are several artists who released versions of it and you will find an abundance of it on youtube. My favourite version is sung by Ofra Haza. And guess what she grew up in an area of Tel Aviv called Hatikvah...!
Translation of Hatikvah :-
In French :
Tant qu’au fond de l’âme, les juifs en tous lieux
gardent la flamme de retourner chez eux,
alors cette espérance s’accomplira ;
malgré l’errance jamais ne mourra.
L’espoir de vivre au pays promis,
d’y vivre libre après 2 000 ans d’exil,
d’habiter enfin sur la terre d’Israël,
en paix, à Sion, Jérusalem
d’habiter enfin sur la terre d’Israël,
en paix, à Sion, Jérusalem.
In English:
As long as in the heart, within,
A Jewish soul still yearns,
And onward, towards the ends of the east,
An eye still gazes toward Zion;
Our hope is not yet lost
Our hope is not yet lost
The hope of two thousand years,
To be a free people in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.
To be a free people in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.
Craft : Try drawing the star of David and making your own flag.
Books : I highly recommend Sammy the Spider's First visit to Israel. This is now available both in English and french. Great read with tons of fun information for kids...
No comments:
Post a Comment