The Declaration of the State of Israel and the War

Date: 20^th July, 1949

Your report must focus on the UN agreement to partition Israel, the declaration of Israel and the response to this by the Arab nations.

You should have the following people in your ‘broadcast’:

• News anchor – this is the person at the desk who gives the initial report.
• Reporter at the scene – describes what is happening
• People you may wish to interview – eyewitnesses to the event, political leaders who may wish to comment, experts on Arab/Israeli/British affairs who can give background information.

Event to focus on:  Syria signing the armistice agreement with Israel – marking the end of the war…for now.

Background information to include:

• British handing over the issue to the UN
• UN vote to partition Israel/Palestine – could include some maps here
• The legend of Deir Yassin
• Israel’s Independence Day
• Five Arab countries declare war
• The lack of Israeli weapons
• How the war was won

People you may wish to interview

• Harry Truman – US President
• David Ben-Gurion
• A Jewish and/or Arab soldier

Filming ideas

• Do you want some ‘background shots’ of the war itself? A fighting scene?
• What background sets are you going to include?
• Where will you interview people – will you have some ‘in the studio’ and some ‘on location’?
• What is each person going to say?