Geography Education

A new interactive tool allows you to decide how many Israeli settlers to annex and what constitutes a viable Palestinian state.

This article from the Atlantic is a great introduction to a mapping tool that puts the user at the virtual negotiation table.  Peace talk proposals often center around the amount of land that Palestinians want and the Jewish settlements in the West Bank that the Israelis want as a part of the state of Israel.  This interactive, titled Is Peace Possible?, allows the user to propose potential land swaps, see the demographic breakdown of West Bank settlements and videos to introduce users to on 4 major issues: borders, security, refugees and Jerusalem. 

Tags: Israel, borders, Palestine, territoriality, political, mapping. 

Israeli airstrikes began November 14, following months of Palestinian rocket fire into Israel.

"Monday, the top leader of Hamas dared Israel to launch a ground invasion of Gaza and dismissed diplomatic efforts to broker a cease-fire in the six-day-old conflict, as the Israeli military conducted a new wave of deadly airstrikes which included a second hit on a 15-story building that houses media outlets."  This photo essay shows 34 powerful images that are emerging from this deadly conflict.  If students need some background to understand who are the major players in this conflict, this glossary should be helpful. 

Tags: MiddleEast, territoriality, transportation, borders, conflict, governance, political, unit 4 political. 

Conservation experts say ancient terraces and a Roman-era irrigation system in Battir, the West Bank, are threatened by Israel’s plans to build a section of its security barrier.

 

A site that many consider a cultural landscape worth international efforts to preserve it, are might be threatened by proposals to expand Israel's Barrier Wall.  Culture, politics, landscapes, borders...this topic is full of geographic themes worth having students investigate.  

The Palestinian territory is in the midst of a construction boom, more than three years after a major Israeli assault that left much of the territory in ruins.

 

There has been a formal ban on building materials entering Gaza since 2007 (when Hamas took over the territory) since the Israeli government fears they could be weaponized or aid the military efforts.  Still, if the demand is high enough, some of the supply will still enter as we goods entering Gaza through smuggling tunnels from the Egyptian city of Rafah. 

Imgur is used to share photos with social networks and online communities, and has the funniest pictures from all over the Internet.

 

This map is incredible...it highlights the importance of not just how many supporters you have, but WHICH supporters are in your corner. 

The United Nations General Assembly approved an upgraded U.N. status for the Palestinian Authority, despite U.S. and Israeli opposition.

While this may be primarily symbolic, it is still a highly significant move on the part of the United Nations.  65 years ago, the United Nations called for a two-state system.  This map of the vote that I found on Facebook (can't find another source as of yet) is quite intriguing. 

 

Questions to Ponder: Why might a country choose to abstain?  Can you think of a specific reason why a particular country abstained?  With this new geopolitical fact, how will Israel and Palestine move forward?   

This map shows each verified incident of violence in Gaza and Israel since last week's assassination of Hamas leader Ahmed al-Jabari.  Geospatial technologies combined with social media are changing how we learn about (and wage) wars. 

 

The shape of a state can greatly impact the political cohesion of a country as well as it's economic viability.  While this is obviously a fictitious map, it draws our attention to the logistic difficulties that confront Palestine with the Israelis controlling crucial transportation access points and corridors.   

Questions to Ponder:  How is this a 'persuasive map?' What are some of the geographic impacts of this fragmentation on Palestine? For Israel?

 

Tags: cartography, MiddleEast, political, states, territoriality, unit 4 political.

Report by an Israeli non-governmental organisation says 2011 was a record year for Palestinian displacement.

 

This infographic comes from the group Visualizing Palestine. This corresponds with the UN's recent statement that Gaza 'will not be liveable by 2020' given Israeli policies.

The Electronic Intifada has produced this interactive map that allows you to see information about any of the more than 400 Palestinian cities, towns and villages depopulated and destroyed during the Nakba – the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by...

 

Admittedly, this is a source of information has a strong political agenda and the wording of the title might make some bristle.  This is a good way to show how geospatial information can be used by non-state agents to pursuade viewers to their ideological position.  Nabka (the day of catastrophe) is generally commemorated on May 15th, to remember the Palestinian villages that were depopulated or destroyed in 1948 after the creation of the state of Israel.   

A look inside the controversial underground tunnels that link Egypt and the Gaza Strip, where smugglers funnel fuel, food, and potentially weapons into the isolated territory.

 

This video is a look inside the some of the hundreds of tunnels that are used to smuggle goods into Gaza that have become more intensely used since the blockade on goods that went into effect in 2007 when Hamas came to power.  Also, members of the Israeli military demonstrate the evidence they have that these tunnels are being used to bring weapons.