Contents
This document, compiled by Oregon Educators for Palestine in collaboration with Portland Association of Teachers, includes lessons, reading lists, toolkits, videos, films, mental health resources, and more for K-12+ educators in Portland Public Schools (and beyond!). See contents below to easily navigate between types of resources, grade levels, and subjects.
Sources & Additional Teaching Resources
Resources for Talking to Young People
Reading Lists, Toolkits, & Curriculum Resources
Lessons by Grade Level
Elementary School: Pre-K-5
Pre-K
Teaching Young Kids about Palestine is a list that has been compiled by childcare workers and early childhood educators as a resource for others to teach and talk about Palestine (history, current events, culture, and joy) with young kids. This information is catered to Preschool age and younger.
K-2
Social Studies, Art, SEL:
So You Made it to a Protest! A sensory guide for kids This visual guide from Woke Kindergarten takes students on a sensory guide through a Palestine protest.
Word of the Day: Ceasefire This slideshow explains the word “Ceasefire” in the context of Palestine (click the arrow to the right to move through slides).
Word of the Day: Protest This slideshow explains the word “Protest” (click the arrow to the right to move through slides).
Lil Comrade Convos: Power This slideshow is not about Palestine, but a good lesson about power (click the arrow to the right to move through slides).
ELA:
Everybody’s a Helper This lesson from Learning for Justice is not about Palestine specifically but is a nice foundation for talking about social justice and why we help each other.
Choosing Reliable Sources This lesson from Learning for Justice is not about Palestine specifically but is a good foundation lesson on being critical consumers of media.
Let’s Go to Palestine This reading book, compiled by Teaching While Muslim, offers variations based on reading levels, introducing new words alongside images and facts.
Math:
K-1 Math Word Problems Worksheet provides Palestine-themed subtraction and addition word problems.
K-1 Color by Number has students practice their numbers and colors to color in a map of Palestine using the colors of the Palestinian flag.
1-5
ELA:
I Am From Palestine | Award-Winning Short Animation (full) | Rifk Books As Saamidah, a young Palestinian-American girl, anxiously starts her first day of school, she finds her identity in question when faced with a world map that doesn't include her homeland. Pair with this Discovering My Identity lesson to help students understand the Palestinian struggle for self-determination. While this video is listed here for younger students, it may also resonate with older grades. See also HILL MODEL Learning Standards (Histories, identity, literacies, and liberation) for Palestine.
Handala’s Return: A Children’s Story and Workbook The Palestinian Feminist Collective is excited to announce the launch of “Handala’s Return”, a children’s story and workbook with art by C. Gazaleh. Handala has been a symbol for Palestinians since being published by his creator, Naji al Ali, on July 13, 1969 in the Kuwaiti newspaper, Al-Seeyasa. He remains a timeless symbol of Palestinian youth, refugeehood, steadfastness, and determination to realize return and liberation.
3-5 ELA:
Sitti’s Bird: A Gaza Story—An Introduction to Gaza for Children Lesson by Donnie Rotkin and Jody Sokolower, Sitti’s Bird: A Gaza Story, is a beautiful children’s book by Malak Mattar, now a world-renowned artist, who grew up in Gaza. This lesson is aimed at 3rd to 5th graders, but can be adapted for younger or older students. (Note: In case you can’t easily get a copy of Sitti’s Bird, here is a YouTube video of a young Palestinian girl reading the book to us. If you have Arabic-speaking students in your class, you may want to use this video, which includes the text read in both English and Arabic. The book starts about 9 minutes in.) At the end of this lesson is a slide deck you may want to use as you teach the lesson. It includes links to the video of the book.
Examining Stereotypes in Books Use this lesson is from Learning for Justice as a way to examine stereotypes about Palestinians.
Evaluating Reliable Sources This lesson is from Learning for Justice and is a great introduction to teaching about bias in media.
Make Zines. Examples of Zines made by Children 4 Children on Palestine
Activism Online Lesson by Learning For Justice. Not Palestine specific but can used to show how some people advocate for Palestine and that we wouldn’t know about the genocide in Palestine if it weren’t for young journalists on Social Media. Use @lama_jamous9 as an example on instagram.
Producing Digital Information Lesson by Learning For Justice. Have students use Canva to make websites, instagram posts, & infographics.
3-5 Social Studies:
This Settler Colonialism & Palestine is a week-long, adaptable curriculum for 2nd & 3rd grade students created by and for educators.
4-5 Math:
Tatreez on the Coordinate Plane is a 60-90 minute geometry lesson by Teaching While Muslim that has students plot points on a coordinate grid in order to create a Tatreez pattern.
Olives and Ordering Decimals is a 60-90 minute decimal lesson by Teaching While Muslim where students compare and order decimal amounts of Palestinian olive products.
Middle School: 6-8
6-8 ELA:
Palestine Culture, Identity and Resilience: An Overview by Teaching While Muslim, could also be applicable to Social Studies.
Little Piece of the Ground: Chapter 6 Mini-lesson This lesson uses a passage from the book A Little Piece of Ground to help students analyze the theme of humiliation and understand that real people are affected by the occupation using the 5 elements of characterization (see STEAL Graphic Organizer). This lesson is aimed for students who have already read chapters 1-5 of the book.
Poetry Through a Human Rights Lens This lesson guides students through a close-read of three poems, “Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear,” “What a Gazan Should Do During an Israeli Air Strike” by Mosab Abu Toha and “Before I was a Gazan” by Naomi Shihab Nye, examining how imagery and sensory details can be used to effectively represent ideas, themes, and points of views.
Butterflies for Children of War Students will analyze a series of poems written by, or about, children in war/conflict/distress and understand how to identify symbolism.
Analyzing How Words Communicate Bias This lesson, part of the Digital Literacy series, focuses on teaching students to identify how writers can reveal their biases through their word choice and tone. Students will identify “charged” words that communicate a point of view. Students will understand how writers communicate a point of view implicitly by writing their own charged news stories.
Tuqan & Angelou-Words of Resilience In this lesson, students will identify the importance of poetry and how it can evoke feelings of determination and resilience across different oppressed/marginalized groups (i.e African Americans/Palestinians).
"To My Mother" Poetry Analysis To better understand Palestinian culture through poetry, students will read Mahmoud Darwish’s poem “To My Mother” as an entry point into Palestinian culture, food, and music.
Poetry and the Art of Resistance In this lesson, students will analyze the figurative language and imagery of a poem to identify the theme of resistance and holding onto your unique identity in the face of oppression, writing their own poem that incorporates figurative language and imagery that demonstrates the theme of resistance and holding onto your unique identity in the face of oppression. Students should have a basic understanding of the Nakba and context for the ongoing Palestinian struggle. They also need prior knowledge of figurative language/imagery and its usage in poetry.
Social Media For Social Action This lesson will engage students in the debate about the efficacy of social media as a tool for social change. Not Palestine specific but can used to show how some people advocate for Palestine and that we wouldn’t know the genocide in Palestine if it weren’t for young journalist on Social Media. Use @lama_jamous9 or @wizard_bisan1 as examples on Instagram.
5-8 Math, Art:
Islamic Art and Geometric Design Students will learn about the geometric design that are the basis for the beautiful and intricate patterns in the art of the Islamic world. Includes a brief overview of Islamic art and a series of pattern-making activities for use in the classroom. Adapt these materials to create lessons in art, culture, math, and geometry.
6-8 Social Studies:
Liberation Movement and Activism In this lesson, students learn about the Palestinian liberation movement.
Japanese Concentration Camps: Connections In this lesson, students identify the parallels in history between past and current events and discuss the ways in which society can prevent injustice from recurring in future
6-8 Life Sciences:
Renewable Energy in occupied Palestine In this lesson, students will investigate the issues that Palestinians face in implementing renewable resources under occupation. Students will work together to “pitch” their energy resource in a mock town hall, hoping to gain the most votes from their classmates to adopt their energy resource.
High School: 9-12
Social Studies:
Palestine Culture, Identity and Resilience: An Overview Also applicable to ELA, this slide deck by Teaching While Muslim teaches about elements of Palestinian culture, including dabke, music, tatreez, keffiyehs, cuisine, agriculture, kite flying, architecture and landmarks, and poetry.
Al Aqsa Mosque A slide deck by Teaching While Muslim, this lesson covers the significance of Al Aqsa to Muslims around the world and in Palestine.
Uprooted: How Exile, Community, & Trauma Shape Cultural Identity In this lesson, students will examine literature and the visual arts to understand how Native Americans’ forced relocation is similar to Palestinians’ dispossession of their homeland.
Genocide of Palestinians In this lesson, students will learn the meaning of genocide, examine case studies from around the world, and learn about the Nakba and genocide in Palestine
Historic Palestine, The West Bank & Gaza This lesson can be implemented as a stand-alone lesson on settler-colonialism with its implications on historic Palestine and the implications of the creation of Israel.
Colonization: An Ongoing History In this lesson, students will compare and contrast the motives, process, and impact of early colonization in the Americas with the ongoing colonization of historic Palestine.
Tying the Knot In this lesson, students will examine the history of the region by charting the changes in political boundaries across time. Connect the patterns of the Palestinians’ plight with that of other indigenous peoples throughout the world.
What is Islamophobia? After constructing a definition of Islamophobia, students will learn the difference between interpersonal and structural discrimination, classify Islamophobia examples, and brainstorm solutions.
Whose Terrorism? Students will critically analyze the way the word “terrorism” affects the lives of individuals by asking who is being terrorized and why.
Who Benefits from Islamophobia This lesson gives participants an opportunity to investigate some of the individuals, organizations, and corporations that benefit from anti-Muslim hate through a role play activity.
Health:
Sex Education In Gaza: Empowering Young People Under Occupation (Zine) An illustrated 2018 interview (published in 2023) of a Gazan coordinator of the International Youth Alliance For Family Planning (IYAFP). They’re a youth (ages 15 to 30) -run nonprofit that advocates for sex education around the world. Use this zine to teach about sex education or incorporate it into a lesson on zines.
Queer Voices From From The Fight For Palestine Liberation (Zine) A zine on queerness, Palestinian liberation, and pinkwashing. Incorporate into lessons on identity, gender, sexuality, zines, and more.
ELA:
Borders and Walls is a lesson by Teach Palestine on two of the most significant walls in the world today: the US/Mexico border and Israel’s “security” wall that snakes through the West Bank, cutting Palestinians off from their neighbors and families, their farmland, schools, hospitals, and places of worship. The lesson expands to include a critique of settlers/pioneers, raising questions about borders in general: Who draws border lines? Why? What is the impact on the people and animals living there, and on the land itself?
Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire A study guide from Gaza Unlocked, the guide includes questions for each essay of the 2022 anthology.
Jerusalem: Chronicles From the Holy CIty by Guy Delisle
A Gazan Young Man Dreams of a Peaceful Death (Zine) Use this as a primary text for your students to investigate; to go deeper, define and talk about the medium of zines as a way to share stories and information. (See these examples of student-made zines.) See this example of how zines can be used as a call-to-action.
We Palestinians Are Not Going Away (Zine) Another zine with a first-person account to incorporate into lessons.
BDS: Why Does it Matter (Zine) A visual explanation of BDS, can be used in any lessons on comics, zines, or any explorations of the Palestinian liberation movement.
Palestinian Artist in History and Today (Zine) A one-page zine on the visual ways Palestinians resist. Could be paired with any lessons on Palestinian artists, writers, or zines and comics more broadly.
Poetry and the Art of Resistance In this lesson, students will analyze the figurative language and imagery of a poem to identify the theme of resistance and holding onto your unique identity in the face of oppression, writing their own poem that incorporates figurative language and imagery that demonstrates the theme of resistance and holding onto your unique identity in the face of oppression.
Poetry Through a Human Rights Lens This lesson guides students through a close-read of three poems, “Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear,” “What a Gazan Should Do During an Israeli Air Strike” by Mosab Abu Toha and “Before I was a Gazan” by Naomi Shihab Nye, examining how imagery and sensory details can be used to effectively represent ideas, themes, and points of views.
"To My Mother" Poetry Analysis To better understand Palestinian culture through poetry, students will read Mahmoud Darwish’s poem “To My Mother” as an entry point into Palestinian culture, food, and music.
Media Studies:
PBS: Studying The Israel-Palestine History through a Media Literacy Lens PBS NewsHour Classroom helps teachers and students identify the who, what, where, and why it matters in the major national and international news stories. The site combines the best of NewsHour's reliable, trustworthy news program with lesson plans developed specifically for students.
Palestine Remix Watch a documentary and remix highlights.
Modern Palestinian Filmmakers and their Bios (PDF) Utilize this resource for class film ideas and student research projects.
Science:
Protecting Biodiversity: Challenges and Strategies in Occupied Palestinian Territories Students will learn, design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity, looking at biodiversity in occupied Palestine as a case study.
SPED Transition
Media Literacy/Current Events Resources:
Article: How Trapped Palestinians Fell In Love With Bird Watching
Liberation Movement and Activism In this lesson, students learn about the Palestinian liberation movement.
Borders and Walls is a lesson by Teach Palestine on two of the most significant walls in the world today: the US/Mexico border and Israel’s “security” wall that snakes through the West Bank, cutting Palestinians off from their neighbors and families, their farmland, schools, hospitals, and places of worship.
Who Benefits from Islamophobia This lesson gives participants an opportunity to investigate some of the individuals, organizations, and corporations that benefit from anti-Muslim hate through a role play activity.
Museum of the Palestinian People - Virtual Tour Explore the Museum of Palestinian People’s full 3D view of all Museum exhibitions, highlights of their permanent collection, a preview of their new exhibit, Art of Palestinian Women, including stories from each of the Palestinian Women Artists themselves and MAPS: Where are Palestinians Today? A fully mapped exploration of the more than 12 million Palestinians living in the world today, both in Palestine and in the diaspora.
Sexual Health Resources:
Sex Education In Gaza: Empowering Young People Under Occupation (Zine) An illustrated 2018 interview (published in 2023) of a Gazan coordinator of the International Youth Alliance For Family Planning (IYAFP). They’re a youth (ages 15 to 30) -run nonprofit that advocates for sex education around the world. Use this zine to teach about sex education or incorporate it into a lesson on zines.
Queer Voices From From The Fight For Palestine Liberation (Zine) A zine on queerness, Palestinian liberation, and pinkwashing. Incorporate into lessons on identity, gender, sexuality, zines, and more.
No Freedom Without Reproductive Freedom for Palestinian Women by Lina Abirafeh for the International Planned Parenthood Federation
Disability Awareness Resources:
Gaza Sunbirds: Palestine's Para-Cyclists Fight for Life Amid Israel's Genocide on Gaza (Video)
Everybody in Palestine is Disabled
Employment Skills:
Unions This lesson connects the history of the unions with modern-day social justice issues. By the end students will identify the pros and cons of unions, how unions advocate for international workers, and shape company policies.
Books by Grade Level
Elementary | Middle | High School |
Sources & Additional
Teaching Resources
Many of these resources have been compiled from the Abolitionist Teaching Network
Resources for Talking to Young People
Collective Action Guide for Families from Siriana Janine is an Instagram post with ideas for how to support your young person in learning about Palestine and expressing solidarity with Palestinian liberation.
Speaking with Your Child on Palestine from Siriana Janine is an Instagram post with phrases and sentence starters to help you discuss Palestine with young people.
Supporting Student Activists is a PDF infographic from Teaching While Muslim that offers ideas for how to support young people in their pursuit of social justice organizing. It also includes links to articles and websites.
How to Talk with Kids About Violence, Crime, and War is an article from Common Sense Media that offers general trauma-informed advice.
“You cannot have 10,000 dead Palestinians and not say anything” is an article from Prism about the responsibilities of parents (and teachers) to talk to their kids about the current genocide in Palestine.
Guide to Supporting Muslim Students is an article from San Diego County Office of Education that has basic information on Muslim traditions and ideas for how to center SWANA voices in resistance to Islamophobia.
All Out for Palestine by Palestinian Feminist Collective is a 15-page PDF digital toolkit filled with learning, teaching, and advocacy resources.
Reading Lists, Toolkits, & Curriculum Resources
Teaching While Muslim’s curriculum list is a resource by and for K-12 teachers. They have compiled and created a series of free lesson plans to help fill the gap in educating about the experiences and history of Muslims all over the world. Please share and use these resources widely to help us collectively address this gap and combat islamophobia in our classrooms. See also their How to Support Palestinian Students in the Classroom: A Guide for ALL Educators for a one-page guide and check out their website for more.
Teach Palestine Project is a resource by and for K-12 teachers and teacher educators focused on bringing Palestine into our classrooms and schools. Additional teaching resource websites can be found here.
Woke Kindergarten is a global, abolitionist early childhood ecosystem & visionary creative portal supporting children, families, educators, and organizations in their commitment to abolitionist early education and pro-black and queer and trans liberation.
A History Of Popular Resistance: A Palestinian Reading List is the Palestinian Youth Movement’s list of readings and films, including links to free PDFs of many critical texts.
Palestinian Nakba Curriculum by Project 48 The Palestinian Nakba curriculum offers us the opportunity to learn about the robust Palestinian society that existed prior to the Nakba (catastrophe), the critical events leading up to and during 1948, and a prism through which to understand the ongoing nature of the Nakba and its impact on Palestinian lives.
Teaching About Palestine-Israel and the Unfolding Genocide in Gaza K-12 lessons and articles by Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change
Black for Palestine: Call to Action and Resources
Accountable Talk Stems for Critical Dialogue shared by the Coalition for Liberated Ethnic Studies.
HILL MODEL Learning Standards (Histories, identity, literacies, and liberation) for Palestine
Grounding the Current Moment: An Al-Shabaka Syllabus A resource compiled in October 2023 by Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network.
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP): First Steps to Freedom and What is Zionism?
Critical Media Literacy Rooted in Ethnic Studies Curriculum Toolkit Prepared by the Coalition for Liberated Ethnic Studies (CLES) & The Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Consortium (LESMCC). The Coalition for Liberated Ethnic Studies is working collectively with grassroots movements, CLES lifts up principles, policies, practices, and pedagogies that center the knowledge, narratives, experiences, and wellness of BIPOC communities so that liberation of all peoples and relations are realized.
Toolkit to Defend K-12 Educators and Librarians Against False Accusations of Antisemitism This toolkit explains how false accusations of antisemitism are used to silence Palestinians and their allies in struggles against racism and colonialism. It lays out how K-12 teachers and librarians might realistically come under attack for fulfilling their professional and ethical obligations to include Palestinians in the world we teach to our children. It suggests how you can build support to try to reduce the impacts of attacks before they arise, and constructive ways to respond if they do.
Muslim Heritage Month Resource & Lesson Plans A compilation of resources by the New Jersey Muslim Heritage Month Coalition, including resources by Teaching While Muslim and Unity Production Foundation. Teaching While Muslim’s embedded guide includes lesson plans, coloring/activity books, informational slide decks, infographics/posters, book recommendations and more for all grade levels.
MAKAN’s Gaza: An Educational Resource (PDF)
Oregon Educators For Palestine - Lessons for Middle and High School (Slides)
Digital Resources & Websites
The Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA) includes a dictionary of Palestinian political terms, maps, historical documents, a photography archive from 1900-2017, fact sheets, and more.
Visualizing Palestine uses data and research to visually communicate Palestinian experiences to provoke narrative change. They’ve created a series of infographic resources that help to put the current events in Gaza in context as the product of a system of violence: Four Wars Old, Israel’s Closure of Gaza Started Long Before the Blockade; Short Walk Home, Long Walk to Freedom; Gaza Health Access Under Israeli Siege; Undrinkable: 97% of Gaza’s Water is Undrinkable; Rising Israeli Settler Violence in the Occupied Territories.
Decolonize Palestine is an extensive website with resources from Palestine 101 to myths, rainbow washing, FAQ, and a reading list.
Teach for Palestine is a Padlet “casita” with ready-made lessons as well as resources curated and fact checked by educators and community members.
Institute for Middle East Understanding: Palestine 101
Museum of the Palestinian People - Virtual Tour Explore the Museum of Palestinian People’s full 3D view of all Museum exhibitions, highlights of their permanent collection, a preview of their new exhibit, Art of Palestinian Women, including stories from each of the Palestinian Women Artists themselves and MAPS: Where are Palestinians Today? A fully mapped exploration of the more than 12 million Palestinians living in the world today, both in Palestine and in the diaspora.
Zinn Education Project Promotes and supports the teaching of people’s history in classrooms across the country. Since 2008, the Zinn Education Project has introduced students to a more accurate, complex, and engaging understanding of history than is found in traditional textbooks and curricula.
MAKAN’s Gaza Resource Hub MAKAN is a Palestinian-led transformative education organization that strengthens voices for Palestinian rights. The hub is a central location for their resources on Gaza. See also their Vimeo channel for video resources.
Israel’s Military Checkponts: ‘We Live a Life of Injustice’: An interactive photo essay by Al Jazeera, this web page is an excellent resource for guiding students through the realities of checkpoints in the West Bank and explaining how the Zionist occupation controls Palestinians’ freedom of movement. To engage students more, pair this with the short film The Present, which shows a portrait of a father trying to pass through checkpoints to get his wife an anniversary present (see linked below in Films & Documentaries.)
Posters
The Palestinian Poster Project Archives
100 Posters For Download by Art Against Apartheid This toolkit contains 100 posters made by artists from across the world in solidarity with Palestine.
100 Revolutionary Posters Created over the past 50 years in support of a Free Palestine (1973-2023)
Palestine Institute for Biodiversity & Sustainability offers educational posters on agriculture, biodiversity, climate change, energy & transport, waste & chemicals, and geography to be adapted and used for science lessons on Palestine.
Articles & Publications
No Freedom Without Reproductive Freedom for Palestinian Women by Lina Abirafeh for the International Planned Parenthood Federation
As a Palestinian, I Often Feel Alone by Palestinian high school student Hana Fares for Rethinking Schools
Independence or Catastrophe? Teaching Palestine Through Multiple Perspectives by Samia Shoman for Rethinking Schools. Before delving into the history of the conflict and the experiences of the people involved, Samia developed a theoretical framework built on four concepts: Fact, Perspective, Narrative, and Your Truth.
+972 Magazine: Independent Journalism From Israel-Palestine
No, Anti-Zionism is not Antisemitism by Bill Bigelow for Rethinking Schools
Anti-Zionism is not Antisemitism: The Centrality of Palestinian Liberation in the Struggle for Anti-Oppressive Education by L. J. Jaffee for Critical Education
Webinars and Teach-Ins
Palestine Teach-in series #1: Settler-Colonialism and Imperialism Sponsored by Black Alliance for Peace, Hood Communist, Students for Justice in Palestine, and Al-Awda the Palestine Right to Return Coalition.
Abolition Means No More War: Free Palestine Now! (Critical Resistance) Critical Resistance seeks to build an international movement to end the prison industrial complex (PIC) by challenging the belief that caging and controlling people makes us safe.
Webinars Provided by MAKAN
Black Feminist Writers and Palestine
The Environmental Impact of Settler Colonialism in Palestine
The Fight for Ethnic Studies in California
The Environmental Impact of Colonization
Organizing for Decolonial Ethnic Studies
Teach Arab American Studies Webinar
Videos
Al-Jazeera’s Al-Nakba Documentary Series (2013)
PBS: Studying The Israel-Palestine History through a Media Literacy Lens PBS NewsHour Classroom helps teachers and students identify the who, what, where, and why it matters in the major national and international news stories. The site combines the best of NewsHour's reliable, trustworthy news program with lesson plans developed specifically for students.
How Israel Made Gaza the World’s Biggest Prison AJ+ (4:34) This video is from 2021 but offers important historical and geographical context to the current genocide and siege on Gaza.
AJ+ - Palestinian Stories AJ+ is a social-media news and storytelling project of the Al Jazeera Media Network, dedicated to bringing humanity’s next generation the information and conversation vital to shaping their own future. Find additional social media content on Facebook; Twitter/X; YouTube; Instagram; and TikTok.
Teach Palestine Recommended Videos: A project of the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA)
Films & Documentaries
Gaza in Context (2016) A 20-minute film that places Israel’s ongoing attacks on Palestinians in Gaza in their proper political context of settler colonialism, resistance to such colonialism, and the Palestinian struggle to stay alive. Consider using their Teaching Gaza in Context guide when showing the film.
Israelism Not currently widely-available, but digital screenings are offered.
Gaza (2019 - 1 hour, 31 min) This film takes us to a unique place beyond the reach of news reports to reveal a world rich with eloquent and resilient characters, offering us an enriching portrait of a people attempting to lead meaningful lives against the rubble of perennial incursions.
Boycott (2021 - 1 hour, 13 min) Filmmaker Julia Bacha pulls back the curtain on a movement of conservative legislators and lobbyists in the United States who are succeeding in curtailing free speech. Thirty-three states have introduced anti-boycott laws, which require individuals and companies seeking public contracts to sign a pledge promising they will not boycott Israel.
Roadmap to Apartheid (2012 - 1 hour, 34 min) Narrated by Alice Walker, this film provides the history of apartheid in South Africa as it relates to Palestine.
Gaza Fights for Freedom (2019 - 1 hour, 23 min) Filmed during the height of the Great March Of Return protests, this film features exclusive footage of demonstrations where 200 unarmed civilians have been killed by Israeli snipers since March 30, 2018.
Born in Gaza (2014 - 54 min) The Spanish documentary film "Born in Gaza" shows the tragedy of the besieged Gaza Strip, which is constantly exposed to the aggression of the Israeli occupation. The film conveys the tragedy through the eyes of the children of Gaza, which narrates the horrors of the war and its impact on everything in the Strip, from people and stones.
The Present (2020 - 23 min) On his wedding anniversary, Yusef and his young daughter set out in the West Bank to buy his wife a gift. Between soldiers, segregated roads and checkpoints, how easy would it be to go shopping? Free to stream using your Multnomah County Library card via Kanopy. Show alongside this interview of the director to share more insights into the film and this interactive photo essay by Al Jazeera on the realities and injustices of checkpoints.
5 Broken Cameras (2011, 1 hour, 35 min) A documentary on a Palestinian farmer's chronicle of his nonviolent resistance to the actions of the Israeli army via recording it all on video.
Farha (2021, 1 hour, 31 min, on Netflix) After persuading her father to continue her education in the city, a Palestinian girl's dream is shattered by the harrowing developments of the Nakba.
Naila and the Uprising (2017 - 1 hour, 16 min) This film chronicles the remarkable journey of Naila Ayesh and a fierce community of women at the frontlines, whose stories weave through the most vibrant, nonviolent mobilization in Palestinian history - the First Intifada in the late 1980s. English subtitles.
My Neighborhood (2012 - 25min) This film follows Mohammed El-Kurd as he comes of age in the midst of unrelenting tension and remarkable cooperation in his backyard. Highlighting Mohammed’s own reactions to the highly volatile situation, reflections from family members and other evicted residents, accounts of Israeli protesters and interviews with Israeli settlers,
Free Running Gaza (2011 - 25 min) Two young Palestinians embrace an art form and athletic discipline that offers an escape from life under occupation.
200 Meters (2020 - 1 hour, 36 min) The film revolves around a family in the Palestinian city of Tulkarm, separated by the Israeli wall, and the efforts of the father who tries to visit his son on the other side of the wall.
JENIN, JENIN (2002 - 53 min) A documentary film of the events that took place in the Jenin refugee camp in April 2002.
Mental Health Resources
Healing-Centered Resources for Those Impacted by Violence in Palestine/Israel
A School’s Guide: Mental Health Support for Palestinian Students (Created by Teaching While Muslim)
Mental Health + Somatic Resources for Palestinians in Diaspora / SWANA Folks
Palestine Global Mental Health Network and USA Palestine Mental Health Network are two of several organizations that provide resources for mental health providers who are organizing in solidarity with Palestine.
This resource guide was published in May 2024 by Oregon Educators for Palestine in collaboration with Portland Association of Teachers.
