'Comprehensive' CAMERA curriculum focuses on ties of Jewish history to Israel

(JNS) — The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis told JNS exclusively that it has released a new “teacher-friendly curriculum,” which addresses “the history of the Jewish people in the land of Israel from ancient to modern times.”

“This state social-studies-aligned curriculum situates Jewish history in the larger context of Middle Eastern and world history,” the media watchdog told JNS. “Students learn how geography and the development of religious, cultural and political movements from ancient to modern times have created a complex society.”

“Jewish history in the land of Israel is often presented as a side note to more contemporary European events,” Andrea Levin, executive director and president of CAMERA, and a former teacher, told JNS.

“We’re trying to change that by providing students with a continuous historical narrative that shows how central the land of Israel has been to Jewish identity for over 3,000 years,” Levin said.

The curriculum, which CAMERA told JNS is for advanced middle school and high school students, situates Jewish history in broader contexts. 

“For instance, the lesson on the Cold War doesn’t just focus on superpower rivalries, but also examines how the Soviet Union’s role in the Middle East influenced the Arab-Israeli conflict,” Levin said.

“We recognized a gap in how Jewish history was being taught, especially when it comes to the connection between the Jewish people and the land of Israel,” Steven Stotsky, director of the nonprofit’s Education Institute, told JNS.

Rebecca Schgallis, senior education strategist for the institute, told JNS that CAMERA is “moving away from the simplistic ideological narratives that often dominate classroom resources and encouraging students to think critically about how history unfolded and how it continues to impact the present.”

Schgallis added that CAMERA has received “a lot of interest from college professors looking to incorporate it into their courses.”

The curriculum, which is titled “The History of the Jewish People in the Land of Israel,” is intended for middle and high school social studies classes, according to CAMERA. 

It includes courses on Israel’s “historical roots” in ancient history, medieval Jewish life and Israel, Zionism as a movement of Jewish “self-determination,” the “reestablishment of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel,” the Arab-Israeli conflict during the Cold War and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Steven Spiegel, who teaches social studies at a Massachusetts public high school, has used the new curriculum.

“I’ve always struggled to find resources that allow me to teach the history of Israel and the Jewish people without getting bogged down in politics,” Spiegel stated. 

“This curriculum does a great job of focusing on the facts and helping students think critically about history, rather than just giving them another politically charged version of events,” he added.