PNA: Incitement in Palestinian Textbooks ‘a Myth’

[newyorican]

‘Israeli Children Are Taught to Hate Arabs, Trained to Kill Them’

There has been a flood of accusations for several years over the content of Palestinian textbooks; that the textbooks incite children to hatred and violence towards Israeli Jews, and fail to promote the values of peace, tolerance and coexistence. This claim has been widely accepted as a fact mostly in the United States and Israeli official circles. Such claims are largely based on reports by the Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace (CMIP), a Jewish organization with links to extremist and racist Israeli groups that advocate settlement activities in the Palestinian territories, expulsion (transfer) of Palestinians from their homeland, and claims that Palestinians are all "terrorists" that peace with them is not possible. Israel's supporters now are intensifying their orchestrated crusade against Palestinian education, in preparation for the House International Relations Committee's planned consideration of the Foreign Relations Authorization bill, FY 2006-2007.

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In "A Study of the Impact of the Palestinian Curriculum", commissioned by the Belgian Technical Co-operation at the end of 2004, and conducted by education experts, Dr. Roger Avenstrup and Dr Patti Swarts, they found that: "In the light of the debate stirred by accusations of incitement to hatred and other criticisms of the Palestinian textbooks, there is no evidence at all of that happening as a result of the curriculum. What is of great concern to students, teachers and parents alike is that although they wish it, students find it difficult to accept peace and conflict resolution as a solution to the conflict, and teachers find it difficult to teach, while soldiers and settlers are shooting in the streets and in schools and checkpoints have to be braved every day. It would seem that the occupation is the biggest constraint to the realisation of these values in the Palestinian curriculum."

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Those who are critical of what Palestinian children are learning should try to find out how Israeli children are taught to hate Arabs, and trained to kill them?

-snip-

Egyptian researcher Safa Abdel-Aal studied the Israeli curriculum and media, and published her findings in a new book entitled Racist Education in the Israeli Curricula in which she found that Israel's educational curricula incite the new generation for war, and racism against the Arabs. Abdel-Aal's book analyses eleven history and five geography books for elementary school from grades three to six.

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A study by Daniel Bar-Tal of Tel-Aviv University reviewed 124 Hebrew language books approved for use in 1994 by the Ministry of Education. The study concludes that "the majority of books stereotype Arabs negatively." In one children’s book, Bar-Tal offers this sampling, "We were lonely… pioneers surrounded by a sea of enemies and murderers." In elementary school books, according to Bar-Tal, Arabs are often stereotyped negatively and portrayed as "uneducated people and enemies."

In a report titled "Israeli Textbooks and Children’s Literature Promote Racism and Hatred toward Palestinians and Arabs," journalist Maureen Meehan concluded that "Israeli school textbooks as well as children’s storybooks, portray Palestinians and Arabs as 'murderers,' 'rioters,' 'suspicious', and generally backward and unproductive. Direct delegitimization and negative stereotyping of Palestinians and Arabs are the rule rather than the exception in Israeli schoolbooks." (Washington Report for Middle East Affairs September 1999)

read the full article...

[Behind the Aegis]

1. Despicable

If this is true, then it should be corrected. Teaching hate doesn't help anyone. Perhaps, while they are reforming the textbooks, they can reform TV productions, such as;

The Death Games of Gaza Children

The following are excerpts from a report on Al-Arabiya TV on June 1, 2005.

Reporter: Abd Al-Sattar's favorite game is "Jews and Arabs."

Boy: The Arabs are in the street. The Jews stand over there and we shoot at them, and throw rocks and grenades at them.

Reporter: To win the game, the player must die.

Boy: Burn the tank!

Boy: Martyrdom for the sake of Allah is our greatest desire. Oh God! Don't be afraid because fear hurts me. Don't be sad because sadness frightens me. Don't scream because screams kills me.

"Injured" boy: Shoot at them. Shoot at them!

Boy: We are all dead, mother, but don't be sad. Mother, rejoice! Rejoice that I died a martyr's death for the sake of Allah.

Reporter: Do you like the Jews, Aya? Look at her. Do you like the Jews?

Aya: No.

Reporter: Why?

Aya: They are sons of dogs.

Mother: Sons of dogs.

Reporter: Have you ever seen any Jews?

Aya: Yes, I have.

Reporter: Where?

Aya: On TV.

Reporter: On TV?

Aya: They wear helmets like yours. Like this. They put it on like this. They wear ones like these… They hold the Kalashnikov. They come in a tank, and shoot.

Or you can watch this 'lovely' news segment at MEMRI TV, clip #700.

Of course, reform could also target:

#689 - Iranian TV: Jewish Lobby Set the Watergate Trap for Nixon
IRINN (Iran) - 5/16/2005 - 00:01:28
#687 - Jews' "Character as Pigs" Is Evident in Their Refusal to Acknowledge Muhammad's Prophecy in Jordanian-Produced Soap Opera
Iqra TV (Saudi Arabia) - 02/2005 - 00:02:04
#686 - Voodoo Jews Pierce a "Dough Muhammad" with Needles in Jordanian-Produced Soap Opera
Iqra TV (Saudi Arabia) - 02/2005 - 00:06:14
#685 - Jews Distort Torah and Admit, "We Live off Prophets' Blood" in Jordanian-Produced Soap Opera
Iqra TV (Saudi Arabia) - 02/2005 - 00:03:45
#672 - Egyptian Cleric Gamal Qutub: The Jews Hate the World and the World Hates Them
Iqra TV (Saudi Arabia) - 4/21/2005 - 00:01:58
#670 - Egyptian Imam Sings of Apes, Pigs and the Annihilation of Jews on Judgment Day
Al-Majd (Saudi Arabia/UAE) - 5/4/2005 - 00:01:34
And on Palestianin TV sets:
#669 - Palestinian Friday Sermon by Sheik Ibrahim Mudeiris: Muslims Will Rule America and Britain, Jews Are a Virus Resembling AIDS
Palestinian Authority TV - 5/13/2005 - 00:04:56

Seems lots of reform is in order on both sides.

[pelsar]

2. whats missing....and flawed

first of all israeli children receive information from TV and radio, where the information is quite mixed.....from interviews with settlers to interviews with palestenians.

the newspapers as well are filled with articles on all sides of the rainbow.....

the palestenians according to the latest poll, believe Al-Jazeer TV far more than the PA.....and we have yet to see an israeli interviewed on the PA radio (might actually make us human....)

_____________________________________________

seems someone is trying very very very hard (and failing) to find israeli as an racist society with a single view on the arabs...anybody who has ever been here would simply laugh at at such a view.

[Violet_Crumble]

3. 'an racist society with a single view on the arabs'

But the sad thing is it appears to be okay, even something to be encouraged, for people to try very very very hard to find Palestinian society a racist society with a single view on Israelis...

Violet...

[Name removed]

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[Colorado Blue]

6. These quotes are the products of research done in good

faith.

I am not trying to portray Palestinian society in any way whatsoever, as I had no preconceived ideas about the subject.

And indeed, my professional career AND my personal interests have exposed me to a great many people of Arabic, Turkish and Iranian descent. Professional relationships and friendships of long standing have evolved. My husband's boss of 15 years is a Muslim from Pakistan. It would not be an exaggeration to say that our lives have been intertwined with the Muslim community. I have ALWAYS regarded the Arab people as brothers and we are inextricably linked throughout history.

So I totally resent the implications.

Indeed, I hadn't, beyond the usual scanning of newspaper headlines, been paying much more attention than the average American to this situation - until I starting reading on DU.

I found myself utterly shocked by the attitudes people have toward Israel and also toward Diaspora Jews and therefore I started spending more time researching the topic as it relates to current events. I had, of course, studied it deeply from a MODERN historical POV, beginning as a very young person.

But the phenomenon of Islamic bigotry toward Jews, which dates back to the earliest times of Islamic history, and MODERN bigotry, as taught, preached and broadcast throughout the Arab world, was something I really hadn't studied until recently.

In fact it has come as a total shock to me. I did NOT go out seeking sources to back up a preconceived point of view. Rather I have discovered information that has broken my heart.

[Name removed]

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[Colorado Blue]

7. AND FURTHERMORE - the same sources that found the

"Protocols" are still being taught ALSO criticized ISRAELI BOOKS. This includes CMIP. The fact that studies are being made of Israeli books BY ISRAELIS is indicative of the open and self-critical nature of Israeli society and thus bears every hope of making the changes essential to creating a more balanced outlook about Arabs and Arab society.

And, I have ALSO stated personally that attempts to dehumanize or revise or ignore the impact of modern history on the Palestinian people is terribly wrong. I believe that would be a very popular viewpoint in Israel as well. I will also state unequivocably that in such cases where bias does appear, it is wrong.

Indeed, I believe it is fundamental for people to understand and respect and tolerate each other's differences as well as each other's essential brotherhood.

There is, meanwhile, absolutely nothing in Judaism or Jewish tradition that refers to Muslims as monkeys and dogs or has tried to relegate Muslims to dhimmitude. No Jew has EVER sworn to exterminate all the Arabs in the Middle East. However such threats are routinely heard by Jews ad nauseum.

Worse, such threats have been carried out, ad nauseum.

The fact that they haven't yet succeeded doesn't seem to have dampened the enthusiasm for making them. The Palestinian Covenant expressly states that the long term goal is the destruction of Israel. The threateners now include certain mullahs in Iran as well as members of Hizbollah, who are pleased that atomic weapons may soon be coming on line. Jack Straw, the British diplomat, has just stated that Hamas should be boycotted until they change their attitude in regard to such matters.

I'll append a link as a separate post. Unfortunately, Hamas is notorious for incitement so one has doubts, as they gain political power, that the climate toward Jews and toward Israel will improve any time soon.

I'm getting more than a little tired at the refusal to see intolerance where intolerance is part of the written and historical tradition of certain people, in a region of the world where minority status frequently confers persecution, second class citizenship and death.

Perhaps a wider view of the world would help. Stop looking at the treatment of Jews in the Middle East and take a look at the treatment of CHRISTIANS, minority sects of Muslims, and minority ethnic groups such as Berbers and Kurds, or the people who are being exterminated in Sudan.

Indeed, the US government is trying to introduce the topic of respect for minorities into the dialogue within Iraq. Without such respect, no democratic system of government can possibly work and no peaceful solution to the problems of the Middle East will ever be found.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/12/international/middleeast/12convene.html?th&emc=th

So please do NOT lecture ME about intolerance.

[newyorican]

10. ummm..

I was not lecturing you. I was responding to another poster. Some of the posts I used to make a specific point were from you. That you feel the need to rationalize your previous statements in multiple post, or feel offended by seeing your own words cited, is not my problem. Nor does it consist of a "lecture" directed at anyone. Honestly, one gets the feeling that some people believe themselves to be the center of the universe, and all simply revolves around them. You're not, it doesn't, get over it.

[Colorado Blue]

13. Really? When one sees, in bright red letters, with disparaging

comments attached, quotes from hard work performed in good faith used to provide fodder for mockery, I think one is more than justified in taking offense.

None of us who are working to SOLVE THESE PROBLEMS believes him or herself to be at the "center of the universe". If we did, we wouldn't spend so much time studying SERIOUS sources and trying to make sense of often contradictory viewpoints. Nor would we be voluntarily expose ourselves to ridicule and the sting of repeated insults. We would simply turn around and swim with the current of fashionable political correctness and agree with the rest of y'all.

So I am going on record at this point to state that, in fact, I most certainly take offense at the overall tone of these posts. It is hardly the first time I have been insulted. And I'm getting tired of it.

Moreover, one can't help but notice that good faith efforts have been insulted by others and serious documents, completely ignored or disrespected. This includes disparagement of encyclopedia articles and the complete halt to conversation when works by world famous historians, some of the most highly regarded in their field, are appended.

Instead, low-blow tactics are employed, as in this case, in order to disparage points of view or historical information which contradicts certain positions.

Worse, people on this forum have, when requesting information about well-known and highly documented historical FACTS, such as the expulsion of Middle Eastern Jewry from age-old communities after 1948, or the conditions of dhimmitude, disparaged even the most highly regarded Jewish sources and demanded "neutral" sites.

Naturally, since we're discussing facts, this isn't difficult to do. But the insult is unnecessary, unseemly on a progressive website, and it burns.

Finally, personal attacks and attempts to disparage other DU members are just plain low and do nothing to improve knowledge or communication.

[drdon326]

14. Wow.

So I am going on record at this point to state that, in fact, I most certainly take offense at the overall tone of these posts. It is hardly the first time I have been insulted. And I'm getting tired of it.


ON EDIT.....Thats pretty clear.

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[Lithos]

16. Locking

This thread has degenerated into personal accusations of bias and lacks any useful progress.

Lithos
I/P Forum Moderator
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