Notes
Game Setup
Suggested Schedule
Day 1 – Game prep (Jewish history; Arab/Islamic history); Role sheets distributed
Study the history of the Jewish and Arab peoples. Students should read the gamebook, and their role sheets. GM may use the PowerPoint slides provided (though they are very basic). Dr. Bunche, who serves as a “liaison” for the group, should make it clear that he is available to help all factions – for example, by sending private communications between players who don’t want some bit of information to be stated publicly.
NOTE: Dr. Bunche plays a key role in the game. Since he is not a voting member of UNSCOP, his main goal is to get the UNSCOP to arrive at a solution that both factions will support. In this sense, he is the “negotiator” and has to hold the whole game together so that it doesn’t fall apart. As such, you may want to pick a skilled student who can be an effective ambassador.
Day 2 – Game prep (Modern Middle East)
Study 19th-20th socio-political history of the modern Middle East, leading up to 1947. Students should read the gamebook, and their role sheets. GM may use the PowerPoint slides provided (though they are very basic).
Day 3 - Team quiz competition; Faction meetings
The quiz can/should be a competition taken in-class by the 3 teams (Arabs; Zionists; UNSCOP). Journalists should take the quiz with their appropriate factions (i.e., Emile Touma should join Arabs; Ruth Gruber should join Zionists; and Clare Hollingworth should join UNSCOP). The winner of the team quiz competition will be awarded a super bonus that will help them win the game.
NOTE: the winning team will announce how they plan to use their super bonus at the end of Day 7/Session 4.
Game Play Sessions Begin
NOTE: Among the decisions to be made, the UNSCOP must decide whether or not to end the British Mandate. They should decide to do so, and perhaps early in the game so as to move on to the key issues (what to do after they leave). The GM can/should encourage Special Liaison Dr. Bunche to make it clear to Mr. Sandstrom that ending the Mandate is the only viable option, and that Mr. Sandstrom should make that clear to the UNSCOP.
Day 4/Session 1
Opening remarks by Dr. Bunche. Speeches/debate about Option A (End Mandate and create one state, Palestine)
NOTE: Dr. Bunche’s opening remarks should “set the tone” and try to “nudge” the game in a certain direction (according to the victory conditions of his role sheet!).
Day 5/Session 2
Open with reports from journalists about what happened in Session 1. Speeches/debate about Option B (End Mandate and create one state, Israel)
Day 6/Session 3
At the beginning of this session, the GM should read the announcement about the SS Exodus 1947 (Appendix A)
After the GM announcement, game play opens with reports from journalists about what happened in Session 2. Speeches/debate about Option C (End Mandate and create one federal country with two provinces/states)
Day 7/Session 4
At the beginning of this session, the GM should read the announcement about the partition of India (Appendix B)
After the GM announcement, game play opens with reports from journalists about what happened in Session 3. Speeches/debate about Option D. (End Mandate, partition into 2 states)
NOTE: The faction that won the quiz competition must decide at the end of this session how they’ll use their super bonus. Should the Zionists have won the competition, they will likely eliminate Option A. Likewise, should the Arabs have won the competition, they will likely eliminate Option B. Should the UNSCOP team have won, they can get creative with how to use their super bonus. For example, they might create an option E. Or, they might institute certain voting rules that they favor. Etc. Whatever they propose must be approved by the GM.
Day 8/Session 5
Each UNSCOP member will give a speech, in the order outlined in the gamebook, indicating how he is planning to vote and why.
After the Committee members give their speeches, the factions will be given the chance reply and lobby members to change their votes. Dr. Bunche may want to call for a recess to allow factions to personally lobby UNSCOP members (and to “cool off” any overly-heated arguments).
Day 9/Session 6
In this session, the first half of class will be for final speeches/debate/lobbying. Then, approximately half-way through the class, Mr. Sandstrom and Dr. Bunche will call for the UNSCOP vote.
NOTE: voting procedures can be decided by the students or GM.
After the UNSCOP vote, it will be clear if the Arabs or Zionists (or both!) won
After the UNSCOP vote, Dr. Bunche will ask members of each faction (Arabs and Zionists) if they support the UNSCOP decision. If a majority of both sides, do then most of the UNSCOP members win.
NOTE: A small number of UNSCOP members are biased towards one faction winning. In that case, their victory does not necessarily depend on both sides agreeing to support the UNSCOP vote.
This is the final session of game play – unless you decide to play the “Flash Forward” game provided, which “flashes forward” to July of 1967 just after the June War (aka “Six Day War”). See below for more on that.
Day 10 – Post-mortem and/or Flash Forward Game
This session is full of surprises!
IMPORTANTLY, it does not matter what the UNSCOP committee voted to recommend…because there were only a Committee, and their vote was only for a set of recommendations You, as the GM, will announce that the UN General Assembly has voted to partition the land into two states (again regardless, of how they voted). Then, you should present to them the actual Resolution 181 that the UN General Assembly passed in 1947.
NOTE: you may want to share in the post-mortem that the United States lobbied hard to for the creation of the state of Israel, and that soured relationships with many Arab countries and Islamic groups, creating difficulties that last to this day.
Also, you might want to discuss the Cold War and/or post-colonialism at this point.
You can use this rest of this session to either debrief about the game and what happened in real history, or you can play a 1-day micro-game that “flashes forward” to the June war of 1967. Powerpoint slides are provided for both scenarios.
If you choose to play the Flash Forward game, it is set just after the June War of 1967 (aka “Six Day War”), in which Israel was attacked by neighboring Arab countries, won the war, and in the process secured a significant amount of land beyond the borders outlined by UN Resolution 181. That war created a new dilemma for the region, and the UN. Should Israel be required to give back land gained from this war, and allow Arab refuges to return to their homes/communities? Or, did they gain the land “fair and square” and have the right to keep it for purposes of security and population/state growth? This micro-game can/should be played with the same factions, but “generic” characters (not the same characters as in the regular UNSCOP game). The UNSCOP faction becomes just the “U.N.” Similarly, though, if the UN votes that Israel is in violation of international law and must give back any new territory it gained in the June War, then the Zionists lose this part of the game. If the UN votes that Israel can maintain the land, the Arabs lose.