The school system of the nascent Palestinian Authority, established in the wake of the Oslo peace process, has fostered the first curriculum since Nazi Germany to train children in the art of war against the Jews. A strange by-product of a peace process. Yet, the curriculum of the Palestinian National Authority remains a secret to most people in Israel. Why is this so?
When the CMIP, the Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace, presented its evaluation of the Palestinian Authority school books at a press conference at the King David Hotel on November 21, 2001, several media outlets were noticeably absent. The three main Israeli newspapers - HaAretz, Yediot Aharonot and Maariv - were not even there: None of them reported a word about the press conference, even though ITIM (Israel's news wire agency) fed them the story. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, the one news agency that informs all Jewish media and Jewish organizations around the world, was also absent. The JTA bureau in Israel is headed by David Landau, the co-author of the seminal 1993 volume, New Middle East, promoting the Oslo process, and has never reported anything about the official PA curriculum of war over the past eight years. Israel TV was there, yet preferred to delay the report of the press conference from its main 9 p.m. newscast until the less viewed midnight newscast. Voice of Israel radio news ran a story of the press conference on exactly two of its hourly newscasts. Most people in Israel are, therefore, in the dark concerning the PA curriculum, which inculcates a new generation of pupils to liberate all of Palestine from the Jews.
To add to the confusion, Hebrew University Professor Ruth Firer, who works as the head of the Peace Education Unit at the Truman Center for the Advancement of Peace, is currently on sabbatical and is giving lectures around the world in which she downplays the significance of the PA school books. Last January, Professor Firer made such a judgment about the significance of the PA school books at a forum held at the Truman Center, even though she acknowledged that she had never seen the books.
Two days before the CMIP press conference, the Belgian Foreign Minister visited Israel. The PLO press agency WAFA announced that the Belgian government would be funding this year's set of PA school books. When I asked the Belgian Foreign Minister's press secretary about the reason for the Belgian funding of the school books, she specifically mentioned that she had heard that the forthcoming CMIP report would state that there had been an "improvement" in the content of the books. Yet the CMIP could only point to "cosmetic" improvements in the books, such as the "recognition" of the Jewish connection to Palestine... during the time of King David. The Israeli Ambassador to Belgium, Mr. Shaul Amor, was instructed to ?discuss? the school books with the Belgian Foreign Minister.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry finally produced a response to the PA textbooks after many years of maintaining an official hands-off policy on the matter: The Foreign Ministry issued a press release stating that it would conduct its own inquiry concerning the PA school books. While this would represent the first time that the Israeli government has ever conducted its own study of PA textbooks, the question remains as to whether the Israeli government will ever protest the content of the PA school textbooks to those states and organizations that fund PA education.
In the meantime, the Israeli public at large knows next to nothing about the PA curriculum.
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David Bedein is Director of the Israel Resource News Agency ( www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com). The Agency can be contacted by e-mail (media@actcom.co.il), at the Beit Agron International Press Center (37 Hillel St. Jerusalem 94581 Tel: 02-5300125; Cell 067-222661 fax: 02-6245850) or, in the United States, at the Center for Near East Policy Research (170 R Gardner, Boston, Mass. 02132).
When the CMIP, the Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace, presented its evaluation of the Palestinian Authority school books at a press conference at the King David Hotel on November 21, 2001, several media outlets were noticeably absent. The three main Israeli newspapers - HaAretz, Yediot Aharonot and Maariv - were not even there: None of them reported a word about the press conference, even though ITIM (Israel's news wire agency) fed them the story. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, the one news agency that informs all Jewish media and Jewish organizations around the world, was also absent. The JTA bureau in Israel is headed by David Landau, the co-author of the seminal 1993 volume, New Middle East, promoting the Oslo process, and has never reported anything about the official PA curriculum of war over the past eight years. Israel TV was there, yet preferred to delay the report of the press conference from its main 9 p.m. newscast until the less viewed midnight newscast. Voice of Israel radio news ran a story of the press conference on exactly two of its hourly newscasts. Most people in Israel are, therefore, in the dark concerning the PA curriculum, which inculcates a new generation of pupils to liberate all of Palestine from the Jews.
To add to the confusion, Hebrew University Professor Ruth Firer, who works as the head of the Peace Education Unit at the Truman Center for the Advancement of Peace, is currently on sabbatical and is giving lectures around the world in which she downplays the significance of the PA school books. Last January, Professor Firer made such a judgment about the significance of the PA school books at a forum held at the Truman Center, even though she acknowledged that she had never seen the books.
Two days before the CMIP press conference, the Belgian Foreign Minister visited Israel. The PLO press agency WAFA announced that the Belgian government would be funding this year's set of PA school books. When I asked the Belgian Foreign Minister's press secretary about the reason for the Belgian funding of the school books, she specifically mentioned that she had heard that the forthcoming CMIP report would state that there had been an "improvement" in the content of the books. Yet the CMIP could only point to "cosmetic" improvements in the books, such as the "recognition" of the Jewish connection to Palestine... during the time of King David. The Israeli Ambassador to Belgium, Mr. Shaul Amor, was instructed to ?discuss? the school books with the Belgian Foreign Minister.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry finally produced a response to the PA textbooks after many years of maintaining an official hands-off policy on the matter: The Foreign Ministry issued a press release stating that it would conduct its own inquiry concerning the PA school books. While this would represent the first time that the Israeli government has ever conducted its own study of PA textbooks, the question remains as to whether the Israeli government will ever protest the content of the PA school textbooks to those states and organizations that fund PA education.
In the meantime, the Israeli public at large knows next to nothing about the PA curriculum.
-----------------------------
David Bedein is Director of the Israel Resource News Agency ( www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com). The Agency can be contacted by e-mail (media@actcom.co.il), at the Beit Agron International Press Center (37 Hillel St. Jerusalem 94581 Tel: 02-5300125; Cell 067-222661 fax: 02-6245850) or, in the United States, at the Center for Near East Policy Research (170 R Gardner, Boston, Mass. 02132).