Israel: 50 Years of History

After World War II, 100,000 Jewish refugees displaced by the Holocaust sought a new home in Jerusalem, hoping to join a large and well-established Jewish population in that area. But British-ruled Palestine resisted having so many people enter the country. After many protests, the United Nations was called in and eventually settled the matter by forming a new nation of Israel in 1948. The creation of this new country, which occurred through the loss of Palestinian territory, was fraught with strife and conflict that continues to this day. To learn more about Israel, its culture and its history, use the direct links on The Times Launchpoint Web site: https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint/

Level 1:

A Photo Tour of Jerusalem: Israel’s capital contains historic stone structures thousands of years old as well as marvels of modern architecture. View both sides of Jerusalem through this collection of color photos.

https://www.israel-mfa.gov.il/mfa/capital/jlemmain.html

What’s a Kibbutz? The Israeli immigrants of 1948 invented the “kibbutz,” which is the Hebrew word for a community where people support each other by working together in a specific business, such as farming, construction or tourism. Find out what it’s like to have your home, school and work all part of one setting.

https://www.emg.com/israel/kibbutz.html

Welcome! ...to Famous Portraits on the Stamps of Israel: Find out about important people in Israel’s history--from artists, writers and musicians to scientists and political figures such as Golda Meir, who became Israel’s first female prime minister in 1969.

https://www-personal.umich.edu/~szwetch/Stamps.of.Israel/

Level 2

The New Jerusalem Mosaic: Learn about different periods of Israel’s history through this time line that describes events from 1000 B.C. to present day. Find out how people thousands of years ago dealt with a problem that still exists today: having enough water while living in a desert.

https://jeru.huji.ac.il/ej1.htm

Encarta: Israel: Israel’s Dead Sea is really a lake, and it has the saltiest water in the world--so salty that only a few microbes can live in it. Discover other interesting facts about this country and its people.

https://encarta.msn.com/find/concise/default.asp?vs =x97&la;=na&ty;=1&vo;=30&ti;=05c08000&pq;=xnIsrael

Shalom! Welcome to Israel! The Jewish word “Shalom” has three meanings: hello, goodbye and a prayer for peace. Learn about the rich culture of the Israeli people and their continuing struggle for peace.

https://www.emg.com/ravenweb/curicjor/israel.html

Level 3

CNN--Israel at 50: Read first-hand accounts of what it was like to start a new nation fifty years ago and how this historic event is viewed by Israelis and Palestinians. Learn why the city of Jerusalem has important significance in three religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

https://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1998/israel/

Facts About Israel: Israel’s government consists of an executive branch led by the prime minister, a judicial branch that includes a supreme court, and a legislative branch called the Knesset, which is similar to the U.S. House of Representatives; their president performs mainly ceremonial functions. Learn more about Israel through these extensive materials written in English, French, Russian and Spanish.

https://www.israel-mfa.gov.il/facts/

Israel: A Country Study: A well-organized, very detailed profile of this country. Learn about the geography, society, economy, government and history of this region from ancient times to the present day.

https://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/iltoc.html

Launch Point is produced by the UC Irvine department of education, which reviews each site for appropriateness and quality. Even so, parents should supervise their children’s use of the Internet. This week’s column was designed by Anna Manring and Stan Woo-Sam.

EXPLORER’S QUEST

The answer to this Internet quiz can be found in the sites at right.

How long was it before the new state of Israel fought its first war?

CLUE: See Journey to Israel--Peace in the Middle East

Find What You Need to Know: Have a project on California history? Need help doing a math problem? Launch Point now covers more than 40 topics for getting your schoolwork done. Go to https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint/ for the full list of subjects and direct links to the best Internet sites.

Answer to last week’s quest: Mexico’s President Benito Juarez turned to Abraham Lincoln for help in his country’s war with the French.