Against the backdrop of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, directors Rachel Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaiche document the work of Lea Tsemel, a Jewish-Israeli human rights lawyer who has dedicated her life to representing Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli courts. Her defense of Palestinians who resist the occupation — through both violent and non-violent means — has earned her a reputation as “the devil’s advocate” from her opponents, but she believes in the potential of law as a tool to bring about justice. Of the work she says, “I can’t do anything else, I believe in it.”

In this lesson, students will grapple with the concept of “justice,” examining it through the lens of Lea Tsemel and her legal work, as well as from the perspectives of those who work by her side and against her. Students will delve into international law with regard to human rights and will assess Lea Tsemel’s strategy of using the legal system as a lever of social change. Relevant to World History, Global Studies, Civics, World Religions, and Law courses.

A Note from Curriculum Creators, Blueshift Education

Our work at Blueshift Education is to develop curriculum, resources, and relevant tools to deepen understanding on social justice issues in order to empower people, foster empathy, and bring about meaningful and lasting change. The documentary Advocate offers a compelling example and a unique opportunity to engage in this kind of transformational educational work. The film presents the story of one woman who has committed her life to the work of justice, upholding the law, and protecting the human rights of her clients in the face of entrenched and emotional opposition. In the summer of 2020 these critical issues are, quite literally, under a spotlight in the streets of cities across America and around the world. More than ever educators and students need tools to help navigate disagreement, negotiate for change, reach compromise, and respect the viewpoints of others, especially those with whom you disagree. We hope the essential questions, the select film clips, and the thoughtful exercises for Advocate offer an opening for educators and students to reflect on their own beliefs and work towards a more just world for all.

A Note to Teachers

This lesson is not a history lesson on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but it is impossible to divorce the documentary from the cultural, political, and historical context in which it occurs. With this negotiation in mind, it is important when using Advocate in a classroom to be familiar with the terminology if questions arise. We see using Advocate in the classroom within the context of units that cover post-World War II history, post-colonial studies, human rights issues and international human rights law.

The Key Terms and Concepts Document included with this lesson offers brief descriptions of terms and events referred to in the clips, and further teaching resources about the conflict are available in the resources section. As represented in Clip 1, the terms a person uses to refer to aspects of the conflict often reveal their political point of view. The definitions in the document are drawn from the non-partisan Middle East Research and Information Project, a non-governmental organization that reports on Middle East affairs. Because the documentary is spoken in Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles, transcripts of the film clips are included in the lesson.

Keep in mind that Advocate and this lesson shine a light on violence and human rights injustices happening as a result of the Israeli occupation. Students who feel invested in the conflict may feel triggered by the content. Furthermore, the last 90 seconds of Clip 3, “A Big Problem in Human Terms” includes footage of an aggressive interrogation of a 13-year-old boy that may be upsetting to some students. Watch the clips ahead of time, consider your students and decide what content feels appropriate to bring into your class.

Advocate: Perceptions of Justice: Key Terms and Concepts

Subject Areas:

• World History/Global Studies
• Civics
• Constitutional Law
• Religious Studies

Grade Levels: [9-12]

Objectives:

In this lesson, students will:

• Consider the definition of “justice” in the context of the law and how individuals perceptions of justice are shaped
• Explore the context and moral framework that underpins Lea Tsemel’s legal work
• Articulate how the legal system might be used as a strategy of social change, and as a strategy to continue conflict

Materials:

• Film clips and equipment to project them
• Handout One, Transcripts for Clips 1, 2, and 3
• Handout Two, Transcripts for Clips 4 and 5
  • Advocate: Perceptions of Justice: Handouts

Time Needed:

Two 55-minute class periods with optional homework in between.

Clip 1: Lea Tsemel: Devil’s Advocate (4:40 - 6:30, length: 1:50 minutes)

In an interview, Lea Tsemel responds to questions from a single-minded television host.

In this clip, we learn that Lea Tsemel is a controversial figure in Israel because she is a Jewish-Israeli who defends Palestinian people who resist the occupation, whether they do so through violent or non-violent means. The host raises names that Lea is called [“Traitor, leftist, devil’s advocate”] by those who disagree with her work, who the host seems to perceive to be all Israelis. Lea tries to shift the conversation to encompass broader perspectives. The scene raises some critical dichotomies that exist in the context of the conflict, for example whether violent Palestinian protesters are seen as “terrorists” or as “freedom fighters.” Lea states she does not feel she has the right to judge how Palestinians resist, a point that is central to her worldview and her concept of justice.

Clip 2: Experience of 1967 (14:55 - 18:41, length: 3:46 minutes)

The results of the 1967 war remind Lea of her own family’s history fleeing the Holocaust.

As a college student in Jerusalem, Lea Tsemel witnessed the 1967 war that resulted in Jewish forces taking East Jerusalem, including what is now known as the Wailing Wall, an important religious site for Jewish people. At the time, she believed the war would bring togetherness and peace. When she saw Palestinian people fleeing Jerusalem for Jericho, she was reminded of “The Wandering Jew,” a work of art that hung on her family’s wall depicting their legacy of exile, including from pre-Holocaust Europe. After the Old City of Jerusalem was settled, she returned to find the neighborhoods around the Wailing Wall cleared, and she realized that the Palestinians who had lived there had been displaced. She recalled, too, the experience of Palestinian displacement from her home city of Haifa in 1948, and decides to join a leftist political party called Mazpen.

Clip 3: Lea’s ‘Red Lines’ (40:01 - 40:53, length: 0:52 minutes)

Lea talks about why she’ll defend any Palestinian who resists the occupation.

In this clip, we hear Lea Tsemel describing how she thinks about defending Palestinians. Specifically, she says that as a person who “enjoys the fruits” of the Israeli occupation, she doesn't feel she has the right to dictate how the people living under that occupation should resist. She offers an example that a non-violent protester might be shot, where one with a knife may be arrested. She doesn't feel she has the right to judge which is “good” and which is “bad.”

Clip 4: A Big Problem in Human Terms (25:10 - 29:01, length: 3:51 minutes)

Lea works with a client’s family to decide on the best of his bad legal options.

Lea defends a young Palestinian boy named Ahmad. Ahmad, 13 years old, is on trial for stabbing a 13 year old Jewish boy in the marketplace. Ahmad insists his intention was not murder, but to scare Jewish people in the market as an act of resistance. Lea, Ahmad, and his family must decide strategically how to proceed - if he confesses to attempted murder, he may be sentenced as a child and serve a term in juvenile detention. If he does not, his trial will likely take longer and he will turn 14. At that time, if he is found guilty of attempted murder, he will be sentenced as an adult and serve time in an adult facility. The case has attracted national attention, and Lea watches footage of Ahmad’s interrogation on the evening news, and sarcastically remarks, “The interrogation of a kid with a cracked skull.”

Clip 5: She Was Very Human (48:32 - 51:59, length: 3:27 minutes)

Palestinian Hanan Ashrawi talks about Lea’s ability to understand violence within context.

In this clip, Lea Tsemel describes her sense of personal responsibility to her clients - she feels she can’t leave them to suffer, and even be tortured in prison, so she keeps in touch with them and their families. Her friend, Palestinian scholar and legislator Hanan Ashrawi, describes the closeness of their relationship and how unusual it is to know a woman who believes so whole-heartedly and unapologetically in her work. Hanan explains that Lea has the ability to understand why a person living under occupation would resist violently, because she deeply understands that the occupation is, itself, a larger form of violence.

Clip 6: I’ll Force Them to Change (1:18:44 - 1:20:46, length: 2:00 minutes)

Lea says Ahmad’s loss is ‘long-lasting for Israeli society and its judicial system.’

In this final clip, Ahmad is found guilty of attempted murder and sentenced to 12 years in an adult correctional facility. Lea gives a press briefing in which she denounces the finding. She explains her commitment to justice is ongoing, despite multiple defeats. She believes that her work will eventually force the legal system to acknowledge the history of the occupation and its effect on Palestinians, and to enact justice in a way that works towards a more equitable future for Israel.

Step One: Perceptions of Justice

Begin the lesson with having pairs spend a few minutes interviewing one another to think about their own perceptions of “justice.”

Explain to students that they will be expanding their understanding of these ideas by watching several segments fromAdvocate, a documentary about Israeli human rights lawyer, Lea Tsemel, who defends Palestinians because, in part, she believes they deserve justice in Israeli courts.

**This interview is meant to get students thinking, it is not meant to generate “correct” answers.

Some questions they might ask one another include:

• What is justice?
• What experiences and beliefs influence your ideas about justice?
• What is the ‘right’ thing to do when you see an injustice?

Step Two: Examining perceptions of justice

Ask students “What influences shape a person’s perception of justice?

Explain to students that they will be learning about the story of Lea Tsemel, an Israeli-Jew, who has been a human rights lawyer since 1972. For the past forty-five years Tsemel has focussed her law practice on defending Palestinians.

Advocate is subtitled in Arabic and Hebrew with some English sprinkled here and there. Some students are comfortable reading subtitles while others may find this challenging. Distribute Handout One-Transcripts Clips 1 -3 so students can choose how they want to watch and understand.

To encourage active listening, after the conclusion of each film clip, tell students that they will be engaging with the film and transcript through several exercises.

After watching Clip 1: Have students underline or highlight different words or concepts that Lea Tsemel and the television host use to represent the same thing.

After watching Clip 2: Have students underline or highlight experiences or moments that you think might explain why Lea chose her work.

After watching Clip 3: Have students underline or highlight Lea’s moral framework.

Large Group Discussion questions:

1. How would you describe the different viewpoints of Lea and the television host?
2. Does their conversation remind you of any in your own experience?
3. What can happen when groups have divergent opinions in a nation, in a family, in a community?
4. What are the personal experiences that shape how Lea Tsemel understands justice and applies the law?
5. Lea Tsemel believes that in the context of the occupation, she does not have the right to judge how Palestinians resist. Explain her point of view in your own words.

Personal Reflection:

1. Think back to your opening interview, and yours and your partners’ ideas about justice. Did you see them reflected in either of the clips? Did anything you see in the clips change your answer?
2. What personal beliefs and experiences influence your own ideas about justice?
3. How should a society cope with deep divides in the way different parts of the population perceive justice?

Step Three:

What is the relationship between a nation’s law and upholding human rights?

Transition from Lea Tsemal’s legal work to Explain to students that the next films clips (Clips 4 and 5) raise the legal framework of human rights. Have students create a KWL Chart focusing on human rights and brainstorm words and phrases for the Know and Want to know columns.

After completing as much as they can on their KWL chart, transition and explain that there are specific national laws in every country that provide a basis for their court systems, and each country builds a legal code by drawing from many sources. The United Nations established this definition of human rights:

Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible.[1]

*Let students know that after they watch the clip, they will complete the L column after they watch Clips 4 and 5.

Distribute Handout Two: Transcripts for Clips 4 and 5 and again students can choose how they watch the film.

Screen Clip 4: A Big Problem in Human Terms

Introduce Clip 4 with a bit of background context.

Lea Tsemel is representing Ahmad, a 13 year old Palestinian boy who says he brought a knife to a market with the intention of scaring Jewish people. Ahmad ended up in an altercation where he stabbed a Jewish boy, who was seriously injured.

After watching, have students return to the transcript and underline key phrases that stand out, marking words or phrases they don’t understand, noting questions that arise and information they want to learn more about.

Clip 4 Group Discussion Questions:

• Should Ahmad’s age matter? Why or why not?
• Does it matter how Ahmad was interrogated?
• How do you think the trial might be different if the fight happened between two Israeli boys? Two Palestinian boys? If the Jewish boy stabbed a Palestinian? How do you understand these possible differences?
• Does it seem like Ahmad’s human rights are being threatened or upheld by the plea decision he faces? Explain your answer.

Clip 5: She Was Very Human

Introduce the clip by explaining that students with this background:

This clip refers to earlier cases Lea has worked on, and how she sees her role as a lawyer. Her work and commitment is described by her close friend, Palestinian scholar and legislator Hanan Ashrawi, who states that Tsemel is “the only one who recognized us in the Greek sense of anagnorisis:I recognize your humanity and what you’re going through.”

Watch Clip 5. (This film clip is in English.)

After watching, have students return to the transcript and underline key phrases that stand out, marking words or phrases they don’t understand, noting questions that arise and information they want to learn more about.

Clip 5 Group Discussion Questions:

• What does Lea Tsemel understand to be her role as a lawyer?
• Hanan Ashrawi describes Lea as “very human” in her ability to empathize with Palestinians, even those who commit violent acts. What is the relationship between empathy and the law?
• How do you see empathy in relation to human rights?
• Is there a limit to empathy?

Complete the L column. Based on their viewing of the clips, ask students to complete the L column of their KWL chart.

Step Four: How does Lea hope to bring about more justice?

In the final film segment the verdict to Lea’s two cases gets handed down. Distribute Handout Three and Watch Clip 6

Clip 6 Group Discussion Questions:

• What are your reactions to this final clip?
• What do you understand as the basis for Lea’s conviction for justice and belief in the rule of law?

Step Five: My Perception of Justice

Lea’s statement to the press is her way of communicating her vision of justice to other Israelis. Another way to do that is to write a letter to the editor of a newspaper. Students’ final assignment (may be assigned as homework) is to write an opinion piece for a local newspaper that states their reaction to Lea’s work, and their idea of justice.

Letters to the editor are usually 2-3 paragraphs long. The first paragraph should refer readers to the specific incident or article their opinion is about (her press conference).

The next 1-2 paragraphs should make original points about the incident, including evidence and references to back up their points.

Homework. Assign unanswered questions from the “Want to know” column homework, challenging students to find their answer from international law sources such as:

The United Nations and Human Rights Law

Human Rights Watch - Human Rights Education

EXTENSIONS

Learn More about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

“Making a Difference in the Midst of the Israeli Palestinian Conflict,” PBS Learning Media lesson for High School classrooms

https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/wa10.socst.global.20cent.lpheartjen/making-a-difference-in-the-midst-of-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict/

Books

Side by Side: Parallel Histories of Israel-Palestine, Ed: Adwan, S., Bar-On, D, Naveh, E. Peace Research Institute Middle East, 2012.

The Lemon Tree, Tolan, S. Bloomsbury, 2008

Resource List

Alliance for Middle East Peace

A joint Israeli-Palestinian coalition of organizations who work in different ways towards peaceful resolutions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Council on Foreign Relations

U.S.-based think tank studying U.S. foreign affairs. The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict page offers study and analysis into US policy with regard to US involvement and policy in the region.

Human Rights Watch

International non-governmental (not-for-profit) organization that investigates and reports on human rights abuses all around the world. The website includes resources for educators seeking to teach about taking action in defense of human rights.

United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights

Office of the United Nations with a mandate to investigate, report on and act to end human rights violations around the world.

Standards

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.3

Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.4

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.4

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including analyzing how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term over the course of a text

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.6

Evaluate authors' differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by assessing the authors' claims, reasoning, and evidence.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.7

Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.9

Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.

About the Author

Blueshift
Blueshift is a team of education specialists with background in environmental and social impact work. The team recognizes and builds on the power of documentary film in reaching broad audiences to spark energy for deep and lasting social change. The team works with filmmakers, photographers and writers to develop innovative educational strategies, experiences, tools and resources that bring stories off the screen and into viewers' lives.

Lesson Plan Producers, POV

Chrissy Griesmer
POV Engage Intern

Courtney Cook
Education Manager

Thanks to those who reviewed this resource:

Rachel Friedland
Senior Associate, Programs & Engagement

This resource was created, in part, with the generous support of the Open Society Foundation.