Witnessing, Education, & Action: Resources for Engaging with the Current Violence in Palestine

Written By Masumi Hayashi-Smith

We are extending our grieving hearts to all who read this. In response to the ongoing violence and the scale of devastation that we’re witnessing each day in Palestine, we have compiled a list of resources that we hope will add to the many resources already circulating. 

The violence in Israel and Palestine did not begin on October 7th, and we encourage you to learn more about the historical context. On October 5th, the UN reported that 2023 was the deadliest year for Palestinians since deaths began to be recorded in 2006. At least 92% of those killed in Palestine in the last few months alone were civilians. 

All human lives are sacred. We are carrying deep sorrow about the loss of Israeli lives and the violence impacting Israelis, including those held hostage and their families. We are also very concerned about the recent rise in antisemitism in the US and other parts of the world. Acknowledging that many people do not feel represented by their governments, we are attentive to the multiplicity of experiences within the heartbreak of what we are witnessing.

With the power imbalance and humanitarian crisis in Palestine, we feel it is essential to center Palestinian voices and perspectives at this time.

Some of us might be new to having hard conversations about genocide, about war that is impacting all of us in different ways, about antisemitism and islamophobia, about witnessing horror through media and on the news, and responding to it in a way that centers everyone’s humanity. 

Especially with young people, in our classrooms and within our school communities,  emotions and responses are complex. We offer the following resources in the hope that they will assist you in approaching the current moment from a heart-centered place. We see how all people are affected by what is happening in Israel and Palestine differently. The young people we interact with are especially impacted as they try to make meaning of the grief, trauma, and emotions present around them. They are looking to the adults in their world for guidance and modeling. As educators and adults in their lives, it is our responsibility to approach the current moment with compassion and intentionality. 

Some of the resources we have gathered are specifically curated for the classroom, whereas others are for self-education, but could also be adapted to use in a classroom setting. We hope that these resources can fuel action and help frame and guide language and analysis for conversations with colleagues, families, and students. If you are already engaging in conversations and healing in your community around these topics, we invite you to write to us to share what you are doing as we build our capacities together.

Thank you for the ways you care and the ways you respond. Thank you for the ways you tend to your work in the world and for your commitment to kindness. Thank you for bringing your spirit courageously. May we stay connected to our values and to each other during this time. All people deserve to live in safety and freedom. Every life is precious. May these resources support solidarity work with context and with heart. May all beings be free from suffering and from violence.

Palestine / Israel

  • Curricular resources to talk about Palestine

  • A Palestinian Poet’s Perilous Journey Out of Gaza by Mosab Abu Toha - This article follows the first-person journey of Palestinian writer, Mosab Abu Toha, in the aftermath of Hamas’s October 7th attack and Israel’s invasion. This article contains references to violence and trauma, but provides an important picture of contemporary Palestinian experience.

  • We Belong to Each Other: A Call To End the Violence - A statement from The Othering and Belonging Institute written in November 2024, framing the violence in Gaza within a historical context. The statement addresses power imbalances, the differences between people and institutions, and the importance of belonging and peaceful co-existence. “A feature of othering is drawing lines between those whose deaths are grievable, and those unworthy of our grief and concern.”

  • Standing Together - Standing Together is a movement based in Israel / Palestine that organizes across Israeli and Palestinian identities, whose work is fed by the understanding that,  “ to build peace, equality, and climate justice, we need a mass movement…Many people want progressive change: they support peace and oppose the occupation, they support equality and oppose racism, they support social justice and oppose rule by wealth. They need a movement to unite them, inspire them to take action, and turn their solidarity into a powerful political force”

  • Palestinian arts-based resources and organizations

    • The Freedom Theatre - The Freedom Theater is a Palestinian organization and cultural center based out of the Jenin refugee camp. They use theater, drama, film, photography, and creative writing to provide youth with important tools for processing daily life under occupation.

    • Montez Press Radio, Radio AlHara  - This is twelve hours of lectures, interviews, book presentations, talks, storytelling, music, songs, poetry, and chants, from Learning Palestine Group. It uplifts a Palestinian perspective and provides information from a diversity of voices.

  • Jewish (US-based) organizations standing in solidarity with Palestine, which include action steps and guides for taking action in solidarity:

  • Oranienplatz Speech, Angela Davis - A speech from Angela Davis highlighting solidarity with Palestinian’s self-determination. She speaks to the difference between critiquing Israeli policy and naming antisemitism, as well as its connection to racism, and intersecting oppressions worldwide.

Muslim Identity and Islamophobia 

  • Busting Common Myths About Islam - Learning for Justice - This article is geared towards teachers and works on clarifying bias and misconceptions about Islam and Muslim identity.

  • Countering Islamophobia  - This curriculum is for HS grades 9-12, from Learning for Justice. It “helps students explore, confront and deconstruct stereotypes targeted at Muslims. Students will learn about the impact of Islamophobia and create an anti-Islamophobia campaign to display in school.”

  • Just Me and Allah: A Queer Muslim Photo Project - This photo essay by interdisciplinary artist Samra Habib explores the intersection of LGTBQIA++ identity and Muslim identity.

Jewish Identity and Antisemitism

  • Antisemitism Curriculum - From a framework of collective liberation, this curriculum for high school students and adults addresses the importance of understanding what antisemitism is and what it is not, in the context of DEIJB work and social liberation efforts worldwide. The curriculum explores “how mis-definitions further political goals that are harmful to movements for justice, as well as how (and why) criticism of Israel has been falsely equated with antisemitism.”

  • Children’s Books & Resources for Countering Antisemitism & Affirming Jewish Identity - Instagram post from The Conscious Kid. This collection of children's books to support education about antisemitism and affirm Jewish identity, contributions, and experiences. 

  • Jewish identity and belief in the U.S. - Pew Research Center - This collection of data from surveys over the last 10 or so years among Jews in the US emphasizes the presence of secular Jewish identity and culture, and investigates the broad interpretation behind what it means to “be Jewish.”

  • How I Learned to Love Myself as a Black Jew - Hey Alma - This short article by Aviva Davis is a window into her experience as a Queer, Black, Jewish woman. It touches on intersectionality, and the complexity of the Jewish experience, as well as pointing towards resources for Jews of Color (JOC) for connecting with one another and with themselves.

  • Pushcart Judaica - A project that arose from “ a need for easily accessible, ethically sourced Judaica that reflects the vibrance of our tradition and uplifts the work of queer, trans, disabled, Sephardi, Mizrahi and Jews of Color artists and craftspeople within our communities.” Pushcart Judaica offers a virtual market sharing the work of Jewish artists and educators, and also hosts offerings such as workshops and pop-up markets.

  • Transcending Jewish Trauma - A map and accompanying resources. “The resources offered here directly address the personal, collective, and ancestral trauma and internalized oppression of assimilated, white Ashkenazi Jews living in the U.S., with the intention of healing and transforming our Jewish institutions, organizations, congregations, and communities.”

  • Understanding Antisemitism - JFREJ (40 pgs, PDF) - A resource from Jews for Racial and Economic Justice that explains the importance of understanding antisemitism in the context of intersectionality of all oppressions. Content warning, graphic imagery of violence.


*Statistics in this post were gathered from the following sources:


- Resources compiled by Aiyana Masla and Masumi Hayashi-Smith

Masumi Hayashi-Smith
Previous

March/April Resource List Update
Next

January/February Resource List Update