Celebrating Israel on Yom Ha'atzmaut

Happy Yom Ha'atzmaut! Today celebrates Israel and commemorates the establishment of the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948.

How will you and your family celebrate Israel this year? We have a few recommendations below!

Crafts and Activities
Check out our list of activities to learn about and celebrate Israel at home and in the classroom. Great for any time of year, they particularly come in handy today!

The Celebrate Israel Parade
The annual Celebrate Israel Parade, begun in 1964, is held every spring in the heart of New York City. Over thirty thousand marchers stroll up Fifth Avenue. The parade showcases groups from elementary schools, high schools, yeshivot, synagogues, Jewish community centers, and many other Jewish institutions. Colorful floats, award winning marching bands, politicians, and entertainers also participate in the parade, showing their support for Israel. Tens of thousands of spectators cheer on the sidelines. The Celebrate Israel Parade is a colossal party, graciously hosted by New York City.

Sounds like fun, but can't make it to Manhattan? Enjoy the parade vicariously with our new fall title Meg Goldberg on Parade about a shy girl with a big imagination who finds plenty of ways to join in the fun - coming soon to bookstores near you!

Explore Israel Through Books!
We love to explore Israel through stories and illustrations, and we have many books dedicated to doing just that!

Hare and Tortoise Race Across Israel, a classic fable retold in a unique environment, is the newest addition to Kar-Ben's Israel-focused collection. As good friends Hare and Tortoise embark on a race from Tel Aviv to the Dead Sea, they're drawn not to well-known landmarks in Israel, but are instead seen enjoying slices of everyday Israeli life. Hare watches soccer games and street performers while Tortoise enjoys falafel and rugelach, and they see the cities of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv as well as the Judean Hills and the desert.


The "Nature in Israel" series by National Jewish Book Award-winning author Allison Ofanansky pairs holidays with celebrations unique to Israel's landscape and features beautiful full-color photographs. Titles include New Month, New Moon, Harvest of Light, What's the Buzz, and Sukkot Treasure Hunt.
 

On Storks, Sirens, and Missles

This week's blog post is a guest piece from Tami Lehman-Wilzig, the author of many Kar-Ben favorites, such as Passover Around the World and Zvuvi's Israel, as well as the new Fall 2014 book Stork's Landing.

      

"As I sit in my office, which also happens to be our safe room in our Kfar Saba apartment, I wonder how am I ever going to focus on the fact that my new book – Stork's Landing – will be hitting bookstore shelves in less than two weeks' time. I should be excited, but the existential question of the hour is far more pressing for me as an Israeli citizen.

Just this morning, as my husband and I sat down to breakfast, we were treated to two siren alerts. Nine hours later we 'enjoyed' a bookend effect as we sat down to dinner. Lodged behind a heavy metal door, checking the minute-by-minute news on the internet, my mind wandered to the video that went viral two days ago, in which one Israeli pilot signaled another to pass over a target because children were clearly visible. I was struck by our humanity, a compassion clearly missing on the other side. Then it hit me. This is the connection with Stork's Landing. A touching nature tale set in Israel, it highlights the Jewish bent to reach out and care for the wounded through a focus on the Jewish value of kindness to animals.

It's a gentle story, beginning with the fact that Kibbutz fish farmers must place nets over their  fishponds in order to shield their fish from ravenous birds flying above. To an extent, these nets are to the fish as what the Iron Dome is to our population. They are there to protect and preserve.  Sure enough when a hungry stork comes in for a landing it gets caught in the net, breaks its wing to the serious extent that it cannot be operated on, yet the kibbutz members don't put it to sleep. They nurture and shelter it, providing a secure surrounding. A true parallel to the Palestinians being treated in Israeli hospitals, even during these worn, torn times. A fact rarely covered in the world press.

So while we hover in what I smilingly call our 'War Room,' I am now focusing on the fact that Stork's Landing is a Jewish everyman's tale and how lucky all Jews are to have the State of Israel. We live by the same book, we perpetuate the same values, and we will make sure we remain a safe haven  for all Jews.  In the meantime, come early autumn may only storks, not missiles, land on our shores."

Stork's Landing

by Tami Lehman-Wilzig
illustrated by Anna Shuttlewood

When a migrating stork gets tangled in a net in the fish ponds on Maya’s kibbutz, Maya wonders what to do. She and her father build a makeshift nest for the wounded stork, who Maya names Yaffa. The problem becomes more complicated, however, when two storks settle in a tree nearby.

 

Can Maya and her father find a way to nurse it back to health and send it back into the wild? Set in Israel, this story brings the beauty of nature in Israel to life and highlights an unusual part of Israeli life – the kibbutz.

This sensitively told nature tale focuses on the Jewish value of caring for animals, while at the same time subtly incorporates issues of adoption and acceptance of those with differences.

 

Available on the Kar-Ben website.

Israel at Home and in the Classroom

Yom Ha'atzma'ut is Israel's Independence Day. On May 14, 1948, or, on the Jewish calendar, the 5th of Iyar in 5708, David Ben Gurion declared the establishment of the state of Israel. From that day on, the 5th of Iyar became a national holiday. Today, Yom Ha'atzma'ut is celebrated by Jewish people around the world. Israel gives the Jewish people

Some activities are perfect for Yom Ha'atzma'ut. Others are ideal for homes or classrooms that want to deepen children's connection to and love of Israel all year round.

Create a Mizrach
In many Jewish homes, a mizrach hangs on the easternmost wall as a reminder of Israel and the direction in which it lies. This is a wonderful visual for children that encourages them to think about Israel year-round. In this fun and colorful craft, children can create their own mizrach for their home (or classroom) using glue and colorful sand. Click here for directions.

From the Jewish National Fund.

Make Israeli Flag T-Shirts
Using plain white shirts, fabric paint, and cut-out sponges, children can make their very own Israeli flag shirts to wear for Yom Ha'atzma'ut festivities or on any other day of the year! Click here for directions.

From InfoBarrel.com

Decorate with an Israeli Wind Sock
This is a fun twist on making an Israeli flag. This page also has a number of other interesting activities for Yom Ha'atzma'ut, including making an Israeli lantern. Click here for directions.

From Hebrew Podcasts.




Snacks in Blue and White!

Celebrate Israel with a selection of snacks that emulate the colors of the Israeli flag! Bake a vanilla cake and ice it with vanilla frosting and blueberries, keep it simple and healthy with vanilla yogurt and blueberries, or get creative and invent your own blue and white snacks!

Speaking of Snacks . . .
You can also prepare a selection of traditional Israeli snacks and foods, such as hummus, schnitzel, and falafel. Help children connect with Israel by engaging their sense of taste!

Blue and White Painted Planters
In the United States, Yom Ha'atzma'ut aligns with the beginning of spring. Celebrate these two events together, and create a lasting reminder of Israel, with these painted flowerpots. Click here for directions.

From ReformJudaism.org.

Israel, All Year Long
Some classrooms may prefer to incorporate Israel into their classroom all year long to really develop their students' understanding of and connection to the country. Some ideas include building your very own Western Wall using brown paper lunch sacks, teaching students the Israeli national anthem and other traditional Israeli songs as part of a song-a-week or song-a-month program, decorating your classroom with photos of Israel, and inviting special visitors to the classroom to share their experiences traveling or living in Israel.

And, of course, read a good book!
Explore the Holy Land with Kar-Ben! Travel around Israel while learning the importance of the land through these engaging books. The Kar-Ben website has an entire section dedicated to books about Israel - from books that show preschoolers celebrating Yom Ha'atzma'ut to Grover and his friends cleaning up a playground. Click here to see the full selection!

You can also see a special trailer for a new Fall 2014 book about a true event in the life of Golda Meir, Israel's first female Prime Minister! Goldie Takes a Stand: Golda Meir's First Crusade is available beginning June 1!

Planning a Program for Yom Hashoah? Free Educator Materials

Yom Hashoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, is April 19. Many schools and community organizations create programs to observe the gravity of the loss of lives during the Holocaust and to educate and create awareness among future generations.

Creating compelling programming for schools can pose a challenge, especially for children in younger grades who have not yet learned about the magnitude of the Holocaust. Children's picture books can be important tools for teaching about the Holocaust. A book like Benno and the Night of Broken Glass tells about Kristallnacht, but follows a day in the life of a cat in Berlin to show the destruction and disappearance of people from the community. A picture book like this can provide a basis for thought-provoking discussion and real learning even among children in very early grades.

This free resource guide provides context, definitions for vocabulary and allusions, questions for pre- and post-reading, and suggested activities. Download it here.






Kar-Ben has free resource materials to accompany several Holocaust related books:

This resource guide for Janusz Korczak's Children provides context, definitions for vocabulary and allusions, questions for pre- and post-reading, and suggested activities. Download it here.




 
A Comprehensive Study Guide for Teachers prepared by Tolerance Minnesota©, a program of the Jewish Community Relations Council.

This study guide is designed to help students, teachers, and families prepare for and discuss Six Million Paper Clips: The Making of a Children's Holocaust Memorial. It contains background information, lessons and activities for students in grades 6-12. Download it here.

The Secret of Priests Grotto combines natural history and family history to tell the remarkable story of the Stermer family, an extended Jewish that survived the Holocaust by hiding in the labyrinth of Ukrainian caves known as Priests Grotto to escape Nazi persecution. Download a teacher's guide.