Textbooks in U.N. schools vilify Israel, Jews

By David Bedein

David Bedein
David Bedein

JERUSALEM — UNRWA reports that its $1.2 billion budget, funded by 62 nations, cannot come up with the necessary $101 million  to launch the new school year for 492,000 students who study in 699 UNRWA schools in  Judea, Samaria, Jerusalem and Gaza.

Since the theme of UNRWA education is: “Peace Starts Here”… UNRWA could ask people of conscience the world over to help UNRWA ameliorate its funding crisis –  by removing school books from UNRWA classrooms that do not  promote peace,  in five  categories:

  1. De-legitimization of Jewish presence the land of Israel, both past and present.

Examples:

      1. The Palestinians are direct descendants of the “Arab” Canaanites and Jebusites (Christian Education, Grade 2, 2010, p. 11; Our Beautiful Language, Grade 6, Part 2, 2012, p. 9; National Education, Grade 5, 2013, p. 30)
      2. Jews have “greedy ambitions” [atmaa’] in the country (National Education, Grade 7, 2013, p. 20)
      3. Jewish holy places (the Western Wall in Jerusalem, the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem) are all presented as Muslim holy places threatened by Jewish usurpation (National Education, Grade 7, 2013, pp. 21, 55)
      4. Israel’s 6 million Jews are not counted among the country’s inhabitants, while Israel’s Arab population and the Palestinians of the Diaspora are (National Education, Grade 6, 2013, p. 10)
      5. Jewish cities, including Tel Aviv, are not found on maps, except for one or two cases
      6. The Hebrew language is denied legitimacy: a Hebrew inscription is erased from a British Mandate stamp reproduced in a PA textbook (National Education, Grade 2, Part 1, 2007, p. 7)

Demonization of Jews

Examples:

      1. Compulsive aggression and robbery (Reading and Texts, Grade 9, Part 2, 2013, pp. 51-53)
      2. Genocidal intentions towards Palestinians (National Education, Grade 7, 2013, p. 20)
      3. Unfaithfulness (Islamic Education, Grade 9, Part 1, 2013, question on p. 51)
      4. Enmity to Muslims (Islamic Education, Grade 9, Part 2, 2013, p. 41)
      5. Enmity to Christians (Christian Education, Grade 3, 2002, p. 86)

Non-recognition of Israel as a sovereign state

Examples:

        1. Israel does not appear on the map except for two cases. Many maps bear the name “Palestine” instead (Examples: National Education, Grade 2, Part 1, 2007, p. 16; National Education, Grade 4, Part 2, 2013, p. 33)
        2. Israel is not counted among the sovereign states of the region and its name is replaced by “Palestine” (Islamic Education, Grade 2, Part 1, 2013, p. 72; History, Grade 5, 2012, p. 27)
        3. The term “Israeli territory” is replaced by circumlocutions such as “the Interior”, “the Lands of 1948″ and “the Green Line” (National Education, Grade 4, Part 1, 2013, p. 43; National Education, Grade 6, 2013, p. 10)
        4. Regions, cities and sites in pre-1967 Israel are described exclusively as Palestinian (Our Beautiful Language, Grade 5, Part 2, 2012, p. 90 National Education, Grade 2, Part 2, 2013, p. 25; National Education, Grade 6, 2013, p. 13)

          Demonization of Israel as a source of evil

Examples:

          1. Expulsion of the Palestinians from their homeland (Geography, Grade 9, 2013, p. 40; National Education, Grade 6, 2013, p. 12)
          2. Massacre of Palestinians (National Education, Grade 6, 2013, p. 12)
          3. Killing of Palestinian children (Our Beautiful Language, Grade 7, Part 2, 2013,p. 58; Reading and Texts, Grade 8, Part 2, 2013, p. 28; Reading and Texts, Grade 8, Part 1, 2013, p. 32)
          4. Destruction of Palestinian cities and villages (Reading and Texts, Grade 8, Part 1, 2013, p. 61; National Education, Grade 7, 2013, p. 55)
          5. Desecration of Muslim and Christian holy places (Christian Education, Grade 5, 2004, p. 81; National Education, Grade 7, 2013, p. 55)
          6. Pollution of Palestinian soil (Civics, Grade 6, 2013, p. 55; Health and the Environment, Grade 8, 2012, p. 112)
          7. Robbery of Palestinian water resources (Our Beautiful Language, Grade 6, Part 1, 2013, p. 48)
          8. Attempts at the obliteration of Palestinian identity and heritage (National Education, Grade 7, 2013, pp. 44, 54)
          9. Responsibility for Palestinian in-family violence (Civics, Grade 8, 2013, p. 55)

Advocacy of the “Right of Return,” through violent struggle, Jihad and martyrdom

Examples:

            1. The Right of Return (Islamic Education, Grade 6, Part 1, 2012, p. 69; Our Beautiful Language, Grade 5, Part 1, 2013, p. 91; History, Grade 5, 2012, p. 7; National Education, Grade 2, Part 1, 2007, p. 36; National Education, Grade 4, Part 1, 2013, p. 43; National Education, Grade 5, 2013, p. 35; National Education, Grade 7, 2013, p. 21)
            2. The return of the refugees by force of arms (Our Beautiful Language, Grade 5, Part 1, 2013, p. 50; Our Beautiful Language, Grade 7, Part 1, 2013, p. 28)
            3. Violent struggle as the only way to liberate Palestine (never specifically restricted to the territories of the West Bank and Gaza alone – Our Beautiful Language, Grade 3, Part 2, 2013, p. 83; Our Beautiful Language, Grade 4, Part 2, 2012, pp. 20-21) Reading and Texts, Grade 9, Part 1, 2013, pp. 9-10, 12)
            4. Exaltation of Jihad (Islamic Education, Grade 7, Part 2, 2013, p. 60; Reading and Texts, Grade 8, Part 1, 2013, p. 44)
            5. Glorification and Call for martyrdom (Islamic Education, Grade 6, Part 1, 2012, p. 22, Our Beautiful Language, Grade 6, Part 1, 2013, p. 89; Our Beautiful Language, Grade 7, Part 1, 2013, p. 75; Our Beautiful Language, Grade 7, Part 2, 2013, p. 49; Linguistic Studies, Grade 8, Part 2, 2012, p. 60)
            6. Glorification of “prisoners of war” [convicted members or supporters of Palestinian terrorist organizations] (Our Beautiful Language, Grade 2, Part 1, 2013, p. 165; Our Beautiful Language, Grade 5, Part 2, 2012, p. 29; Our Beautiful Language, Grade 6, Part 1, 2013, p. 66)

Unless these inappropriate texts are removed from UNRWA schools,  you cannot expect people to “feed the hand that bites them”.

(Research for this piece provided by Journalist Dr. Arnon Groiss, who holds a PhD in Islamic Studies from Princeton. Dr. Groiss has worked in the Arabic language Service of IBA News for the past 41 years)

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Bedein is author of Roadblock to Peace-How the UN Perpetuates the Arab-Israeli Conflict: UNRWA policies reconsidered