SS12 - World History, CSS, Melnyk

It is a time in the near future. You have not only graduated from high school, but have excelled at university then risen to the top of your field in international relations. 

The government of Israel and the Palestinian National Authority have agreed to sit down together to work out a deal to live in peace. You have been called upon by the United Nations to mediate this negotiation.

To do this, you will first sit down with the prime minister of Israel to hear the Israeli side of the conflict, taking careful notes as you do so. You will then sit down with the leader of the PNA to hear their side, carefully noting the salient points. From these notes, you will draw up a deal that you think both sides can live with. 

Next, you will present your peace agreement to both the Israeli and Palestinian sides, giving solid reasons for each decision. You need to have at least 10 points in your plan. You will clearly outline who will hold power over which areas using a map of the region. Both sides agree to the plan which you then present to the UN.

Your assignment will look as follows:

• point-form notes showing each side of the conflict
• a map showing which areas of Palestine are to be controlled by whom
• a report, given to the UN, in which you present your solution
• Your report will show that you are aware of the following:
  • The beginnings of Zionism and the claim that the Jewish people have on Palestine
  • The history of the Arab people in Palestine
  • The founding of the state of Israel after WWII
  • The Arab-Israeli conflict of 1948
  • The Suez Crisis of 1956
  • The Six-Day War of 1967
  • The Palestinian Liberation Organization

You can write your notes by hand or type them on your computer.

Download a map of Israel and the Palestinian territories. You will find a good one here, or you can use one of your own.  Make sure it has sufficient detail. You will likely have to open this map up in an image-processing program such as Photoshop, GIMP, Inkscape, or Paint in order to add information to it.  You could also mark the map by hand then scan it and upload it.

You can format your report as a transcript of an oral report given to the UN, or with the approval of your teacher, you can present the report orally, either in person or by recording it in either video or audio-only. If recording your report, you need to submit point-form notes.