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Jews Demonized, Martyrdom Praised in PA Textbooks

(Jerusalem Post) Joshua Hamerman - The Palestinian Authority still has a long way to go before textbooks in its schools begin to teach true coexistence with Israeli Jews, according to a study released Tuesday by the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-SE). The organization reviewed 118 textbooks currently used in Palestinian schools and 22 teacher guides distributed by the PA Ministry of Education. "There is generally a total denial of the existence of Israel - and if there is an Israeli presence it is usually extremely negative," said Eldad Pardo, head of IMPACT-SE's Palestinian textbook research group and a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In geography textbooks, Israel usually does not appear in maps of the Middle East; instead "Palestine" is shown to encompass Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Jewish cities such as Tel Aviv are not shown. One textbook included a map of the Old City of Jerusalem - which did not contain the Jewish Quarter. No Israeli is depicted as a friend or partner, the Oslo Accords are rarely mentioned, and political agreements in general are presented as resulting from Arab and Muslim weakness. The bulk of funding for PA textbooks comes from the EU.
2011-04-14 00:00:00
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