Yom Hazikaron - Activity Ideas

I. Ceremony Endpoint

The most appropriate form of public activity is a ceremony of commemoration. This is, however, only the endpoint in a creative process which should be the outcome of a process of study and clarification.

Elements of the ceremony

Group procession;
Torchlight
Flags at half-mast;
Music;
Suitable scenery;
Exhibition;
Compere/Master of Ceremonies;
Main address by guest;
Readings;
Shadow images / creative movement performance;
Yizkor for the Fallen;
Prayer for the State of Israel & for the IDF.

II. Creative Study Process

Theme:

A combination of commemoration and the hope for "a new day dawns, a blessed day" [see selection from Yitzhak Rabin's latter speeches].

Implementation:

• Study the period with maps, films and make transparencies, charts;
• Study the IDF, its operations, its insignia;
• Selections of modern Israeli poetry and psalms;
• Focus on the peace process.

Projects for Presentation:

• Commemoration leaflet as hand-out;
• Illustrated guest book;
• Flag-bearers' procession and formation choreography;
• Creative movement;
• Select & record background music, sound effects for ceremony;
• Exhibitions on sub-themes;
• "Stage" scenery;
• Shadow theater preparation;
• Script the verbal section of the commemoration, with the readings.
• Liturgical sections require stage-managing & rehearsal.

Readings [see also files]:

• poems and creative writing
• Nathan Alterman;
• Uri Zvi Greenberg, Amir Gilboa, Chaim Hefer
• Shaul Tchernikhovsky
• Psalms
• from Israel's Declaration of Independence - if for a combined ceremony, also marking the beginning of Independence Day;
Yizkor etc. [as above].

Ongoing Projects:

• Twinning projects with young Israelis;
• Individual album projects for younger age groups;
• Drama in Hebrew activities.

III. Clarification Process

It is our recommendation that the preparations for Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha'atma'ut should not be solely a function of a calendar date, but should be integrated into an ongoing, overall curriculum of Israel and Jewish studies so that the preparations for the day have a meaningful starting point for the participants. To suddenly direct youth groups or entire classes whose members are otherwise unconnected to Israel in their daily lives into an unheralded, in-depth Commemoration project presents enormous obstacles.

We therefore recommend drawing up your curriculum, study or project series with the following aims to be expressed in various sessions:

• Create a sense of identification with Israel;
• Establish an identification with Israel's sense of loss;
• Explore the priorities and problems confronting Israel;
• Seek a means of expression of this identification process.

Some important elements in this process will therefore be:

• Finding a personal link to the day;
• Clarifying how different people feel about the day, the ceremony;
• Deciding how to commemorate the loss.

Essentially, this also implies that participants require some basic historical and geo-political background [depending on their age], with older age-groups addressing the issues arising from areas such as: Zionism, the need and struggle for Jewish independence, Israel's wars and the peace process. There should also be some ongoing contact with Israel, whether it is a twinning project, a regional quiz, or any other series of events.

In terms of curriculum for specifically older age-groups, we recommend a reverse historical direction in the curriculum, as it is easier to involve pre-college students from the Current Events* angle and then proceed to base these in their historical, cultural and geo-political context.

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