11. Games & Activities

Give one card out to each member of group. Get everyone standing. Explain that each must find the person with the same quotation. They must "proclaim" their quote to each other and speak about it simultaneously as if they were at a political rally. After two minutes, ask the partners to discuss their views.

Review: See if people agreed with each other and if they managed to understand what their partners were saying as they themselves were speaking. Open into discussion if desired.

2. History Puzzle

Age: 9-12 years. 10 minutes.

Aim: Review modern Israeli history

Preparation

Photocopy each sentence (see below) and stick on a card. You will need a complete set of cards for every eight players.

Procedure

Divide group into groups of eight. Give each person a card and ask him to put them in order (or line up or sit in that order). The answers are on the sheet below. Optional: Get all the groups to read out their answers or pin them on the wall in the right order.

4 On November 29 the United Nations voted in favour of partitioning Palestine (1947).

3 The British government was given a mandate over the land of Palestine by the League of Nations (1922)

1 Theodor Herzl wrote "The Jewish State", a book outlining the return of the Jews to the land of Israel (1896)

6 David Ben Gurion read the proclamation declaring the State of Israel (1948).

8 The city of Jerusalem was reunited during the Six Day War (1967)

7 Thousands and thousands of new immigrants poured into the tiny new state from all the corners of the world (1949)

5 The Haganah, the Jewish Self-Defence Unit, battled with the British over Jewish immigration into Palestine (1930s-1940s)

2 The city of Tel Aviv and the first kibbutz, Degania, were both founded in this year (1909)

Variation No. 1

Make a large outline map of Israel on Bristol paper and cut out. Cut into eight sections like a jigsaw and stick one of the sentences on each section. Each group gets one of these puzzles and puts it together.

Variation No. 2

Write all the statements on separate cards, large enough to read from a distance, and stick them on the walls of the room, in any order. Give everyone a number, from one to eight, going round the group. Everyone then goes to the statement he thinks his number represents in chronological order. Give them time to sort it all out.

3. MAP IT OUT!

Get to know Israel

Age: 9-12 years. 10 minutes (option takes 40 mins).

Aim: To learn basic geography of Israel.

Materials

Felt tip pens, sticky tape, small flags on pins (blanks), map of Israel per team with names blocked out on the wall, and master map for madrich, copies of questions for each group (below).

Procedure

Each team gets the twelve questions below and a map with all the extras. Each tems matches the clues, writes the names on the flags and sticks them on the map on the wall. See who was most accurate...

Option

Have the team make its own maps with art paper, poster paints, papier-mache, egg boxes, coloured threads and ribbons. This is also fun for older participants. [see below] QUESTIONS:

List I. Where or what is the following?

A. Large city in Israel

B. Crystal plates of earth's surface overlap

C. Flows from Kinneret to Dead Sea

D. Arid southern half of Israel

E. Southernmost city, port on Red Sea

F. Low sandy plain on Mediterranean seacoast

G. Israel's largest city

H. Large lake located in Galil

I. Country southwest of Israel

J. Carries precious water south to cities and farms

K. Fertile, green and hilly area

L. Capital of Israel

List II

1. Coastal plain

2. National Water Carrier

3. Lake Kinneret

4. Beersheva

5. Syrian-African Rift

6. Jordan River

7. Negev Desert

8. Jerusalem

9. Eilat

10. Galil

11. Egypt

12. Tel Aviv

[SOLUTIONS]

4. BINGOS & LOTTOS

Ages: 10-14. Time 15-30 minutes

Game of luck and concentration. No previous knowledge required.

Suitable for groups of 6 plus a caller per group. Can be prepared before Shabbat.

Materials and preparation One card per player (6 possibles below but you can make up different ones using list of clues);

16 counters or covers per player;

A bag with all the clues folded up for the caller;

A master chart for the caller with blu-tack so that each clue called can be charted

Procedure

Hand out player cards. Caller explains whether one should cover whole card or just one line. Caller takes out a clue at random and reads it aloud, sticks it on master chart. Players cover the clue if it appears on the card (someone has filled a vertical, horizontal or diagonal line - someone has filled the line specified as the target at the beginning of the game.

The clues are returned from the master chart to the bag and shaken: all player cards are collected and shuffled before restarting.

Master chart:

A list or board with all the clues below appearing on it. It will also enable you to make extra player cards...

1. 1897 First Zionist Congress

2. 1904 Second Aliya

3. 1906 B.G. comes to Palestine

4. 1908 B.G. goes to Sejera with Ben Zvi

5. 1909 Tel Aviv founded.

6. 1910 B.G. goes to Jerusalem

7. 1912 B.G. goes to Turkey

8. 1910 Degania founded

9. 1914 B.G. returns to Palestine