Sunday, March 24, 2019

Your second Current Events Blog Post

Here are four articles for the second Current Events blog post assignment – you choose one to summarize and analyze.

Before you start working on this, carefully read the evaluation of your first post.  (It was emailed to you on Friday.)     

The first step in the preparation of your blog post is to understand the article, and this may entail reading some earlier reports on the same event (links to earlier articles are often included in online newspapers), reading about the topic in other newspapers or websites, or looking up terms or background information.

Guidelines for writing this post are in the tabs of this Blog Hub (these are right under the photo on this blog).  Based on my reading of the first posts, I think the most challenging part of this assignment is the requirement that you identify which information in the article is objective fact and which is interpretation, subjective opinion, speculative, and so on – what I call “reliability of specific data."

This assignment is worth 70 course points.  It will take a lot of work, so plan accordingly.  Your post will need to be a carefully researched and polished piece of writing.  Every article below deals with controversial matters, and you will need to write objectively.

Your post is due no later than midnight, Sunday, March 31, 2019.

1. There are lots of ways to engage in political protest and grassroots activism, and there was recently such an activity that included a marathon.  It was sponsored by OneVoice, and an article about it (and lots of informative photos) appeared in Palestine News Network.

2. Just recently President Trump announced that the U.S. should accept Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights.  This article in Haaretz focuses on the reaction by leaders within Israel and surrounding Arab states.

3. This is an investigative article from Jerusalem Post about internal conflict within the Gaza Strip.

4. If you like reading speeches and tweets from political leaders, this Times of Israel article on Netanyahu's streamed-in talk at the AIPAC conference in Washington, DC is for you. 

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

Your first Current Events Blog Post

Here are three articles for the first blog post assignment – you choose one you wish to summarize and analyze.

The first step in the preparation of your blog post is to understand the article, and this may entail reading some earlier reports on the same event (links to earlier articles are often included in online newspapers), reading about the topic in other newspapers or websites, or looking up terms or background information.

Guidelines for writing this post are in the tabs of this Blog Hub and also in a pdf. in the Canvas page.

This assignment is worth 70 course points.  It will take a lot of work, so plan accordingly.  Your post will need to be a carefully researched and polished piece of writing.  Every article below deals with controversial matters, and you will need to write objectively.

Your post is due no later than midnight, Friday, March 15, 2019.

1. Here is an article that shows how a prayer site and national monument (Jerusalem’s Western Wall) can be turned into a campaign issue.  “Blue and White platform includes backing for Western Wall pluralistic plaza” in The Times of Israel tells you a lot about religion, politics, and tensions between American Jews and Israelis. .

2. Last year the U.S. moved its Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.  That was a big deal and very controversial, and now the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem is being merged with that new U.S. Embassy.  Why does that matter to Palestinians?  Find out by reading the article US Consulate merges with embassy in Jerusalem in Ma’an News, March 4, 2019.

3. We are not the only country where the leader publicly rebukes actors.  Prime Minister Netanyahu took the time to call out celebrities who spoke up for better treatment of Palestinian citizens of Israel.  Their use of the phrase "a state of all its citizens" was an indication that they reject the recent Nation-State law.  Read about it in Haaretz, March 11, 2019 in Wonder Woman vs. Bibi: Gal Gadot Takes Stand in Row Over Jewish-Arab Equality.