Caitlyn Hall

October 17, 2023

Intagration of Infromation on Israeli-Palestinian
EDU460

Within my senior seminar class, my students have been discussing Flag desecration, and

how it is a form of free speech. Students have been presented with information, revolving around

court cases, protests, and background on the First Amendment, to help them form opinions on

whether American citizens should have the right to burn a flag in protests. Furthermore, I also

believed that this was an important topic to discuss in class, as students should be informed

citizens of the world. I had a handful of students talk about this prior, and had many

misconceptions about why the war was happening, and who was involved. I thought it would be

beneficial if students were given correct, reliable information about this war, so they could make

an informed decision on the war.

A current event, which was the Israeli-Palestinian war, was very much connected to this

topic. I believe that this current event was a great example to bring up in class, as many

American citizens began protesting this war and showing their support for either Israel or

Palestine. In the news, there were many instances of people burning the opposing flag of who

they supported in protests. This was not just an occurrence in America, we discussed protests

happening in London, as well as within the Middle East.

Students were shown videos of protests, students were also given background

information on why there was a war going on between these countries. This war has been an

ongoing issue between these countries for decades. Israel and Palestine have been fighting over

land, specifically the Gaza Strip. Many [plaitianains believe they have a right to the land, as they

were occupying the city and the rest of the country before Israel. Israeli individuals were moved

here after a mass genocide of their people, as a way to help them. The land of Jerusalem is also a

large part of both of these countries, as it is believed to be the birthplace of a religious figure.
Fighting over who has the rights to the lands has been ongoing. This most recent act of war was

initiated by a terrorist group known as Hamas, which are Palestinian extremists.

After the students are presented with the basic information, I then open the floor to the

students and see if they have any questions on the matter. Many individuals asked me, if Palistian

declared war on the U.S., as they saw something on social media stating this. This was a great

transition into explaining false, misleading information on social media. I explained to the

students that no, Palestine did not declare war on the U.S.. The U.S. has involvement with both

of these countries, as the government sends these countries millions of dollars in aid.

I then discuss with the students where they should get their information for any historical

instances, or information on current events. Preferably multiple sources, as anything may have

bias. A liberal, conservative news outlet from America, and then a world news outlet. Students

should be looking at multiple resources to gather information about any controversial topic. This

prevents only reading from one biased source, or getting false information about an incident.