‫בית הספר לתלמידי חו"ל‬
International School
Israel: A Mosaic of Culture, Religion and History
Tour Educator: Yisrael Ne'eman
Course Number: 702.2198
Class Location: TBA
Class Time: Mon/Tues/Thurs 9:00-12:00
Field Days are Wednesday and some
weekends
Office Hours: By Appointment
E-Mail: syneeman@bezeqint.net
Phone: 0505349339
In this course we will survey the history of the Land of Israel as a crossroads of civilizations
between Africa, Asia and Europe. Going under alternative names such as Canaan, the southern
Levant and Palestine, ancient peoples both small and large migrated into or conquered the region
during ancient times. The Land was inhabited by the Israelites/Jews, Canaanites and Philistines
while being constantly overrun by such empires as Egypt, Babylonia, Persia, Greece, Rome and
others.
Despite being exiled close to 2000 years ago, the Jewish People kept their Biblical and historical
connection to the Land and established the State of Israel in the twentieth century.
Simultaneously, this part of the Middle East is of special importance for most in the West as the
birthplace of Christianity. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all hold a special reverence for
Jerusalem as a holy city, each religion in its own specific manner.
We will appraise some three thousand years of history, tasting of the cultures and religions of
yesteryear as the foundations of today's realities. The development of Jewish nationalism known
as Zionism was the foundational ideology leading to the establishment of the modern State of
Israel. Over sixty years later we can begin an evaluation of the modern Jewish State, and its
challenges – whether socio-economic, cultural, military or on the peace making front. How does
one confront the issues of democracy, Jewish identity and Israeli Arab issues in today's Israel?
Finally, this region has always been heavily contested and continues to be so today, certainly as
the issues between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs have yet to be resolved. Is this possible and
what alternatives exist should no "full peace" be attained?
Syllabus/Itinerary
Mount Carmel, Haifa 34988381, Israel Tel: +972-4-824-0766 Fax: +972-4-824-0391
‫בית הספר לתלמידי חו"ל‬
International School
Day 1 Monday, June 8 – Israelites and the Covenant
Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures) and the Covenant
The Tribal Confederation becomes the United Kingdom
Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures) –Holy Bible BS12
Deuteronomy 28 - 30
Exodus 1 – 27
Day 2 Tuesday, June 9 – A Biblical/Ancient History
The Israelite and Judean Kingdoms
The Assyrian, Persian, Greek Conquests and Influences
Ezra and Nehemiah (Tanakh)
Johnson, Paul – A History of the Jews, pp. 3 – 79, Chapter “Israelites”. DS117.J54
Day 3 Wednesday, June 10 – Rabbinic Judaism and Early Christianity (Field Study)
Tzippori Archeological Dig and National Park
Nazareth – Messianic Judaism/Early Christianity – Church of the Annunciation
Caesarea – From Rome to the Byzantine Empire
Day 4 Thursday, June 11 - Roman Rule
From Greek to Roman Rule and the Destruction of the Second Temple
Rabbinic Judaism and the Rise of Christianity
Grayzel, Solomon – A History of the Jews, “Maccabees”, “Rome”, “Herod” pp. 52 – 106,
DS118.G73
Mount Carmel, Haifa 34988381, Israel Tel: +972-4-824-0766 Fax: +972-4-824-0391
‫בית הספר לתלמידי חו"ל‬
International School
Johnson, Paul – A History of Christianity, "The Rise and Rescue of the Jesus Sect", pp. 3 – 62.
Day 5 – 7 Friday – Sunday, June 12-14: Free
Day 8 Monday, June 15 – Keeping Jewish Faith in the Diaspora
Messianism vs. the Enlightenment
Theodor Herzl – Implementing Faith
Scholem, Gershom, The Messianic Idea in Judaism, "Toward an Understanding of the Messianic
Idea" pp. 1 – 36.
Herzl, Theordor, The Jewish State (Download from Internet)
Day 9 Tuesday, June 16 – Religious/National and Ideological Basis of Zionism
Ideologies – National Religious, Labor and Revisionism
Avineri, Shlomo, The Making of Modern Zionism, "AD Gordon – Labor and Redemption," pp.
151 – 158.
- . "Rabbi Kook: The Dialectics of Redemption" pp. 187 – 197.
The Iron Wall – Vladimir (Zev) Jabotinsky 1923 (mideastweb.org) with introduction and
commentary.
Day 10 Wednesday, June 17 – From Tanakh to the Zionist Pioneers (FS Day)
View from the Gilboa (Remembrances of Saul and David)
Kinneret Cemetery and Socialist Pioneers
Swim in the Kinneret - Sea of Galilee (Bring bathing suit, towel)
Walking Tour of Kabbalistic City of Tzfat (Need modest dress)
Mount Carmel, Haifa 34988381, Israel Tel: +972-4-824-0766 Fax: +972-4-824-0391
‫בית הספר לתלמידי חו"ל‬
International School
Day 11 Thursday, June 18 – From the Christian Byzantines to Islam
The Byzantine Empire in the Land of Israel
The Arab Invasion/Islamic Conquest
The Crusades
Turkish Conquest
Parkes, James, Whose Land? A History of the Peoples of Palestine, Chapters 3 – 5, "Pagan and
Christian: Rome and Byzantium", "Muslim: The Arab Conquest" and "Christian Interlude: The
Crusades", pp. 42 – 99. DS123.P3
Avi-Yonah, Michael, ed., A History of the Holy Land, Chapter "Palestine Under the Mamluks and
the Ottoman Empire (1291 – 1918)" by Moshe Sharon pp. 257 - 304. DS117.913
*** Preparation before Jerusalem – Masada Field Study:
Josephus, Flavius – The Jewish War, pp. 179 – 336. DS116.J613
From the Chapter “Josephus Governor of Galilee” thru “The Horrors of the Siege” and "Cleaning
Up Operations" pp. 374 – 395.
Or Download from Internet – Josephus Flavius “Wars of the Jews” text
New Testament - Christian Scriptures – Holy Bible BS12
Matthew Chapters 26 – 28.
Download from Internet
Koran – Sura (Chapter) 17 "The Night Journey"
Download from Internet
Day 12 Friday, June 19 - Field Study: Jewish Jerusalem - The Old City (on foot)
(Dress modestly and bring shoes for walking in water)
City of David - First Temple Period Excavations
Mount Carmel, Haifa 34988381, Israel Tel: +972-4-824-0766 Fax: +972-4-824-0391
‫בית הספר לתלמידי חו"ל‬
International School
Burnt House and Herodian Quarter
The Western Wall Plaza
Ophel Southern Wall Excavations and Davidson Center
Overview of Temple Mount from Jewish Quarter (Al-Aksa Mosque and Dome of the
Rock)
Short Tour of Jewish Quarter
O/N Jerusalem
Day 13 Saturday, June 20 - Field Study: Christian Jerusalem
(Dress modestly and wear comfortable shoes)
Mt. Zion – King David’s Grave and Room of the Last Supper
Garden of Gethsemane, Church of All Nations
Lions’ Gate and Via Dolorosa
Church of the Holy Sepulcher (incl. Jewish – Christian Relations)
Shopping in Arab Market (if possible)
O/N Jerusalem
Day 14 Sunday, June 21 - Field Study: Masada and the Dead Sea
(Bring Bathing Suit)
Climb Masada at sunrise plus in-depth tour
Hike in Ein Gedi Springs
Swim in the Dead Sea
Day 15 Monday, June 22 – The Palestine Mandate and Jewish Independence (1920 - 1948)
WWI and the Balfour Declaration
Defeat of the Ottoman Empire and Arab National Awakening
Development of the Yishuv (Jewish Community) and Arab Response
The 1948 War
Mount Carmel, Haifa 34988381, Israel Tel: +972-4-824-0766 Fax: +972-4-824-0391
‫בית הספר לתלמידי חו"ל‬
International School
Weizmann, Chaim, Trial and Error, Chapters 18 - "The Balfour Declaration" Chap. 19 – "The
Zionist Commission" Chap. 21 – "The Zionist Commission, the Positive Side" Chap. 22 –
"Postwar" and 23 – Palestine, Europe and America"
Morris, Benny, Righteous Victims, "The First Arab-Israeli War" pp. 161 – 158.
(Photocopy from Reserve Section in Library)
Day 16 Tuesday, June 23 – Arab-Muslim World Development and Impact on Israel
Development of the Israeli State – Defense, Immigration and Economic Development thru
1967
Secular Nationalist Revolution in the Arab World
Palestinian and Israeli Arabs
Sachar, Israel, "The Growth of the Israeli Republic" pp. 354 – 394
Hourani, Albert, A History of the Arab Peoples, "The Climax of Arabism" pp. 401 – 415and
“Arab Unity and Disunity (since 1967)
Day 17 Wednesday, June 24 - Field Study: Christianity and Islam
Churches in the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) Region
Walking Tour of Akko – Crusaders and Turks (Islam)
Day 18 Thursday, June 25 - Institutionalization of the Israeli State 1949-1967
Domestic Development
Immigrant Absorption (Holocaust Survivors and Jews from Arab Lands)
The Six Day War
Gilbert, Martin, Israel: A History, "The Ingathering of the Exiles" and "Conflicts and
Achievements" pp. 250 – 305.
Days 19 – 21, June 26-28: Friday-Sunday – free
Mount Carmel, Haifa 34988381, Israel Tel: +972-4-824-0766 Fax: +972-4-824-0391
‫בית הספר לתלמידי חו"ל‬
International School
Day 22 Monday, June 29 – Radical Change in the Aftermath of the 1967 War
The Fall of Labor and the Rise of the Right/Religious (Likud and NRP)
Partial Reconciliation with Secular Arab Nationalism (Egypt 1979)
Schindler, Colin, Israel, Likud and the Zionist Dream, Chapters, "The First Begin Government"
and "Cost of Camp David" pp. 83 – 108.
Day 23 Tuesday, June 30 - Rise of Right/Religious Political Bloc and Land of Israel Activism
"Land of Israel" as a Value - Settlement Movement (Gush Emmunim)
Keeping the Promise – Russian and Ethiopian Immigration
The Israeli – Arab Community: Identity, Contradictions and Opportunities
Schindler, Israel, Likud, Chapter, "Begin's Holocaust Trauma" pp. 145 – 158.
Stendel, Ori, The Arabs in Israel, Chapter 1 "In the Midst of Change" pp. 1 – 35 and Conclusion
"Israel's Arabs in the Peace Process" pp. 234 – 244.
Lustik, Ian, For the Land and the Lord, Chapters I "Introduction", pp. 1 – 16 and "The World
View of Jewish Fundamentalism" pp. 72 – 90.
Suggested Readings - documents pertaining to Palestinian Arab/Muslim Nationalism
Palestine National Covenant – Download from Internet
Hamas Covenant – Download from Internet
Day 24 Wednesday, July 1 – Field Study: From Galilee to the Golan (Swimsuit, Water Shoes
and Towels)
The Mitzpim (Eshchar, mixed religious – secular community)
Visit an Arab Village
Mitzpe Gadot- Syrian position 1967
Golan Waterfall Hike (Bring hiking shoes, water, bathing suit, towel)
Mount Carmel, Haifa 34988381, Israel Tel: +972-4-824-0766 Fax: +972-4-824-0391
‫בית הספר לתלמידי חו"ל‬
International School
Day 25 Thursday, July 2 - The Land of Israel or the State of Israel? (1970s – 2000s)
What is Jewish and/or Israeli Identity?
The Palestinian Question and the Two (or One) State Solution
"Oslo Accords" – Download from Internet
Class Discussion – "One State or Two – State Solution? – What is the Future of the Jewish
People? The State of Israel? The Land of Israel?"
Mount Carmel, Haifa 34988381, Israel Tel: +972-4-824-0766 Fax: +972-4-824-0391