Hanukah oh Chanukah
What's the difference between a terrorist and a freedom fighter?
I really wish I could find my old lesson plan about Chanukah. I dug in the garage, got really dusty, found loads of other lesson plans, but not this one. So I'll do my best to recount it from memory.
Although Hanukah is a minor holiday (not in the Torah even), it's a timely story because of its themes of antisemitism and assimilation, and its proximity to Christmas.
It's also about fighting against oppressive powers and liberation in the face of oppression...
On the day I taught about Hanukkah I wrote on one side of the board "terrorist" and on the other side I wrote "freedom fighter." And then we went over the story from a historical perspective.
I won't write the whole thing here, you can look for it online. But the part we don't normally hear about is that there were many Jews that became Hellenistic, that is they wanted to live like the Greeks, to assimilate. (Keep in mind, historically, Jews kept themselves separate from the varying cultures that captured/cycled through the land around them. One reason for centuries of antisemitism.) Meanwhile, Antiochus IV conquered and prohibited many Jewish laws and rituals (and defiled the Temple).
Then we have some ultra religious (zealots, even) folks led by Mattathias and his son Judah (the Maccabees) that were vehemently against all of this - both the Jews assimilating and the new ruler's restrictions. This small group used guerilla tactics and brought down the government. They ruled for 200 years and (I need to re-verify this since I don't have my source documents right now) became hellenistic themselves. The miracle of the oil doesn't even appear in the story until hundreds of years later.
There's much more to this historically, and I am by no means an expert. But I remember it was surprising to *me* to learn that the Maccabees attacked other Jews who were not as religious as they were. And that after they came into power they too became corrupt. And, finally, that the miracle of the oil doesn't even get added to the story until hundreds of years later.
For the most part we're only taught our cultural stories in a way that makes us undeniably the good guys.
Then we discussed the war the US was waging after 9/11 (operation "Enduring Freedom" by the way) and the perspectives people might have on both sides.
My goal in teaching it this way was to show them the complexity that exists behind the stories we hear. To encourage them to not be satisfied with one perspective or one version, but to seek out additional information.
Then when the lesson was done, I asked these 11 and 12 years olds - what's the difference between a freedom fighter and a terrorist? And every year they got it without me having to tell them.
It depends what side you're on.