Print Materials

Bogot, Howard. Shalom, Salaam, Peace. Illus. by Norman Gorbaty, CCAR Press, 1999.

A nicely designed and illustrated picture book, written in English, Hebrew, and Arabic calligraphy, about what a peaceful world is like from the perspective of young children. For Preschool – Gr.1.

Broyde, Rabbi Michael J. Fighting the War and the Peace: Battlefield Ethics, Peace Talks, Treaties and Pacifism in the Jewish Tradition. www.jlaw.com/Articles/war1.html

Craddock, Sonia. Sleeping Boy. Illus. by Leonid Gore. Simon and Schuster, 1999.

An imaginative and allegorical picture book for grades 2 - 6 that subtly explores some of the moti- vations for war. Would be very good to read to children and then ask them some focused ques- tions, such as: 1) Why does the soldier, Major Kreig, warn the baby that he will go off to war on his 16th birthday? (Implies that war is inevitable or inescapable). 2) Do Knabe Rosen’s parents find a good way to protect him from war? Why not? (They isolate him. This doesn’t work and it implies that isolationism also doesn’t work: that nations or people must face their problems.)

Elcott, David. Power, War, and Peace in Jewish Tradition. CAJE and CLAL, 1991.

This resource has learner-directed units to help students address the Jewish uses of power. To support the reading and understanding, a glossary is included in the back. An updated version is included in this curricular piece on pages 4 - 22.

Human Rights. Tikvah: Children’s Book Creators Reflect on Human Rights. NY: Sea Star, 1999.

Words and art by famous illustrators. This could make a good introduction to different sections of the curriculum or as a sample of an activity wherein children write about human rights/war and peace and create artwork about what they have written. For Grades 4 and up.

Kort. Michael. The Handbook of the Middle East. Twenty-First Century. Milbrook, 2002.

Concise information is given for the region of the world called the Middle East. Countries in the region are grouped: Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon are discussed in one chapter. The writing is inform- ative and impartial but the author, a social scientist, is quite clear in identifying the volatility, polit- ical instability, and authoritarianism of the region and the threat this is to world peace. For middle school-adults.

Rabbi Maurice Lamm, “Red or Dead: An Attempt at Formulating a Jewish Attitude,” quoted in Preventing the Nuclear Holocaust: A Jewish Response. Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism, UAHC, 1983, page 6.

While this book focuses on the issues surrounding nuclear war, it offers a very clear explanation of Judaism’s laws regarding wars. Not only a narrative, this book contains essays by a large number of rabbis and experts in the field.

Sasso, Rabbi Sandy. Cain and Abel: Finding the Fruits of Peace. Woodstock, VT, Jewish Lights, 2001.

A handsomely illustrated picture story of the two brothers whose love turned to hate, bringing con- flict and violence into the world. For Grades 2– 6.

Albert Vorspan and David Saperstein, Jewish Dimensions of Social Justice: Tough Moral Choices of Our Time. NY: UAHC Press, 1998.

In the sections on Israel (chapter 6) and peace and international relations (chapter 7), there are right-to-the-point explanations of Judaism’s views on war, especially within the context of the 1991 Gulf War’s moral issues related to “just-war.”

Responding to Terrorism: Challenges for Democracy. Brown University, 2002.

National standards for civics and government, including units on defining terrorism, and civic responsibility.

Shifting Sands: Balancing U.S. Interests in the Middle East. Brown University, 2002.

A five-day classroom unit developed by the Choices for the 21st Century Education Program at Brown University, this analyzes the mix of interests and values that have drawn America into the Middle East. The units ask high school students to consider the principles and assumptions driving America’s expanded presence in the Middle East.

Walzer, Michael. Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations. Basic Books 1992.

A superb book, originally published in 1977, which has set the stage for the discussion of just war theory for the past two decades. It contains a wealth of historical examples and theoretical insights.

Videos

Convoy from Sarajevo. UJA, 1992, 8:33 min.

Follow an Israeli rescue mission of Jews from besieged Sarajevo, through Serbian check-points to freedom in Zagreb Croatia in this intense video. This video could trigger discussion on the humanitarian aspects of helping those caught in a war.

Frontline/World: Truth and Lies in Baghdad. PBS. 2002, 60 minutes.

As the administration presses the United Nations to sanction a war to remove Saddam Hussein from power, a Frontline team journeys inside Iraq to investigate the claims and counter claims about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, its brutal record on human rights, and the real opposition an invading military force will face.

Gunning for Saddam. PBS, 2001, 60 minutes.

Confronted by bio-terrorism, powerful forces in America believe Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is to blame. This documentary examines those activities that experts believe Saddam was involved in and discusses the diplomatic problems his overthrow would present.

Middle East. Schlessinger Media, 2001.

A history of American involvement in the Middle East since the Cold War. Teacher’s guide available.

Jewish American Patriots. Ergo, 1993, 60 minutes.

Jewish American soldiers have played an important role in the history of the United States from the time of the Revolutionary War up through Operation Desert Storm. Through archival photos and expert testimonials their patriotic acts are examined. In addition, the dedication and importance of the Jewish War Veterans organization is recounted.

Websites

MyJewishLearning.com - www.MyJewishLearning.com

From the Ideas and Beliefs tab on this site, access the War and Peace section, which offers ancient and contemporary Jewish perspectives on issues relating to war and peaceful resistance.

CNN -- http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2002/iraq/

CNN has a comprehensive website, “Showdown: Iraq,” that provides information on the current situation.

Jewish Law -- http://www.jlaw.com/Articles/war_notes.html

This page is an article called, “Fighting the War and the Peace: Battlefield Ethics, Peace Talks, Treaties, and Pacifism in Jewish Tradition.” [If the page does not come up easily, go to www.jlaw.com and do a search with the word, “war.”]

PBS -- http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/iraq/index.html

This is a full website from PBS (including a teacher resource link) with much background information on the building conflict with Iraq.

Time For Kids -- http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/news/index.html and http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/news/story/0,6260,362263,00.html

This is a general studies news magazine for youth, with a searchable index for articles of relevance to the current situation.at the first site mentioned and a timeline on Iraq’s history at the second.

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United Jewish Communities -- http://www.ujc.org

The UJC represents and serves 156 Jewish federations and 400 independent Jewish communi- ties across North America. It reflects the values of social justice and human rights that define the Jewish people. The UJC’s index may be searched for information in the event Israel is brought into a war with Iraq.

United Nations -- http://www.un.org/news

Latest news on the UN sponsored weapons inspections and other UN interests in terrorism around the world may be found on this page that links to information on Iraq, terrorism, and Middle East issues.

The Washington Post -- http://www.washingtonpost.com

The Washington Post (as most other newspapers) have archives of information and background on Iraq, Saddam Hussein, and other pertinent issues. General background may be found at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/iraq/front.html. A video of President Bush’s State of the Union speech is available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/politics/012803-50v.htm and an indexed written version is found at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/onpolitics/transcripts/bushtext_012803.html.