About This Lesson
These resources help guide classroom discussion about the antisemitic attacks on Israel by Hamas, and the ensuing Israel-Hamas war.
In the aftermath of the antisemitic terrorist attacks by Hamas on October 7, 2023, emotions of outrage, anguish, and concern have dominated hearts, minds, and headlines. Intended to murder Jewish people, these coordinated acts of terror resulted in the death of more Jewish people that day than on any other day since the Holocaust. As a result of this horrific violence, the region has now plunged into a war that will continue to cause the loss of innocent Israeli and Palestinian lives.
Amid these events, we know both students and educators have questions about what is happening, why it is happening, and what can be done. In the face of global turmoil, it is critical that classrooms provide safe, responsive spaces for their students to explore current events, gain deeper understanding, and ask questions about what happened and what might come next.
For classrooms to engage in shared learning and discussion of antisemitic terrorism and the associated war, we encourage educators to lean on Facing History’s pedagogical approach. Helping students to process the intellectual, emotional, and ethical dimensions of these events will help them to recognize their own emotions while making space for others’ feelings, as they grapple with the information they are reading in the news and on social media.
Here we offer a range of resources and activities and recommend you use those best suited to your students’ needs, including our mini-lesson: Processing Antisemitism, Terror, and War.
