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On 11th January, 1999, former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres opened the session of the PERES CENTER FOR PEACE by saying that the era of Arab Incitement against Israel is a thing of the past.
What follows is a thorough study of the official curriculum used in the Palestine Authority, prepared by the CENTER FOR MONITORING THE IMPACT OF PEACE, whose website is located at www.edume.org, The Center was established to examine the impact of the peace process between Israel and the Arab countries, on the way youth are being educated, particularly through the crucial media of school books and television.
1a. Abusive terminology
Overview
A telling measure of a government’s genuine interest in peace is the intensity with which it acts to replace hateful stereotypes with positive attitudes. Thus, it is disturbing that the following abusive terminology for Israelis, Jews and Israeli characteristics is being used in Palestinian Authority school books and being aired on Palestinian Authority television.
[All sources and context appear later in the report.]
|
Palestinian Authority School Books Jews and Israelis are: Cunning Israel and Israeli characteristics include: A provocation to the Arab world A racist Jewish administration Zionist enemy Oppressors Occupied Palestine Israeli danger Zionist entity Zionist greed Zionist occupation The map that replaces all of Israel is: Palestine Israeli regions cities and towns are: “Israeli settlements in Galileein Israel’s Negev is: “Southern Palestine” |
Palestinian Authority Television Jews and Israelis are: Deceiver Israel and Israeli characteristics include: Oppressors The map that replaces all of Israel is: Palestine |
1b. The Evil Enemy
Section Index:
- Overview
- The Evil Enemy
- Islamic sources Used to Create Stereotype
- Misrepresentation of Modern Events
- Palestinian Authority Television
Overview
Palestinian Authority school children are actively taught that the Jews and Israel are the enemy, in a broad range of contexts. The school texts portray the Jew as the enemy of believers, the enemy of Islam, the enemy of the Arabs, as well as generally evil and dangerous. Jews are killers and robbers and have stolen Arab land. Modern events are misrepresented to portray Israel and Jews as the evil force in their world. Zionism is equated to Nazism, together they are depicted as the prototype examples of racism. These themes also appear regularly on PA television.
The Evil Enemy
• “Complete the following blanks spaces with the appropriate word: The Zionist enemy – – [attacked] – – civilians with its aircraft.
[Our Arabic Language, Part 2 for Third Grade #523 p..9]
• “Why do the Jews hate Muslim unity and want to cause division among them? Give an example of the evil attempts of the Jews, from events happening today.”
[Islamic Education for Seventh Grade p. 19]
• “The Jews… have killed and evicted Muslim and Christian inhabitants of Palestine, whose inhabitants are still suffering oppression and persecution under racist Jewish administration.”
[Islamic Education for Ninth Grade # 589 p. 182]
• “Who is the thief who has torn our homeland?”
[Our Arabic Language for Sixth Grade Part One #553 p. 15]
• “Write in your exercise book: An event showing the fanaticism of the Jews in Palestine against Muslims or Christians.”
[Islamic Education for Ninth Grade p. 182]
• “One must beware of the Jews, for they are treacherous and disloyal.”
[Islamic Education for Ninth Grade p. 79]
A section on Zionism is entitled:
• “Zionist Greed.”
[‘Modern Arab History and Contemporary Problems, Part Two, for Tenth Grade #613 p. 49]
Even racism is defined through the Jews, while Nazism and Zionism are equated:
• “Racism: Mankind has suffered from this evil both in ancient as well as in modern times, for, indeed, Satan has, in the eyes of many people, made their evil actions appear beautiful… Such a people are the Jews…”
[Islamic Education for Eighth Grade p. 95]
• The clearest examples of racist belief and racial discrimination in the world are Nazism and Zionism.
[The New History of the Arabs and the World, P. 123]
Modern ideologies and their effect on the Arab Nation (6 sections)
• Section 2: Understanding the racist and aggressive character of the Zionist Movement.
Section 6: Summary of the similarity between Nazism, Fascism and Zionism.
[The New History of the Arabs and the World, P. 92]
Islamic Sources Used to Create Stereotype
At times, the hateful portrayal is based on Islamic sources. The children are taught to apply the traditional narratives to hateful teachings regarding Jews and Israelis today. Five examples:
• “I learn from this lesson: I believe that the Jews are the enemies of the Prophets and the believers.”
[Islamic Education, Part Two, for Fourth Grade p. 67]
• “From the Uhud expedition… a number of lessons can be learned…: Treachery and disloyalty are character traits of the Jews and therefore one should beware of them.”
[Islamic Education for Ninth Grade p. 87]
• “The Jews adopted a position of hostility and deception towards the new religion. They called Muhammad a liar and denied him, they fought against his religion in all ways and by all means, a war that has not yet ended until today, and they conspired with the hypocrites and the idolaters against him and they are still behaving in the same way…”
[Islamic Education for Seventh Grade p. 125]
• “In many cases these Jews acted according to their known cunning and deceit, and they fomented wars [between Arab tribes]…
[Islamic Education for Ninth Grade # 589 p. 78]
• “Lessons to be learned: One must beware of civil war, which the Jews try to foment, and of their scheming against the Muslims.”
[Ibid. p. 94]
Misrepresentation of Modern Events
Modern events are misrepresented to portray Israel as active in an ongoing attack against Islam and the Arabs. Two examples: In 1969 an Australian [non-Jew] set the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem on fire. Yet, the children are taught that Israel did it.
• “This arson is a further chapter in the Zionist plot, whose aim is to take control of this Islamic holy place, the Dome of the Rock and the whole area of the Jerusalem sanctuary and to destroy all that is holy to Islam.”
[Reader and Literary Texts for Eighth Grade #578 p. 97]
The Zionist movement has never called for the expulsion of Israel‘s Arab citizens. Yet the books teach that Zionism calls for this “expulsion”:
• “Zionism is a political, aggressive and colonialist movement, which calls for the Judaisation of Palestine by the expulsion of its Arab inhabitants…
[Modern Arab History and Contemporary Problems, Part Two, for Tenth Grade#613 p. 49]
Palestinian Authority Television
The same hateful portrayal of Jews and Israel found in the school books is promoted regularly on Palestinian television. There too, Israel is the enemy of the Arabs and Islam:
“The Koran stresses that the closest people to the Muslims are the Christians, whereas their greatest enemies are the Jews… ‘May Allah protect us from the evil of the Satan – there is no enemy of the believers greater than the Jews and the idoloters’… Jesus warned the Jews of destruction and his prophecy was fulfilled and the City of Peace was purified from the defilement of the Jews… This ended the invasive Jewish presence in the Temple…”
[PA television June 5, 1998]
• “Israel’s mean, brutal, inhuman, fascist, racist, genocidal, cleansing wars…”
[PA television May 14, 1998]
• “The Jewish gangs waged racial cleansing wars against innocent Palestinians… large scale appalling massacres saving no woman or children.”
[PA television May 14, 1998]
• One day they attacked… Attacked my country. They killed the old and slaughtered the young. They burned the Koran and destroyed the house. They marched upon my heart, you are my country.
[summer camp song – Palestinian Authority TV, July 19, 1998]
The Jewish-Israeli character is maligned: • “The occupier as you all know is a deceiver, a cheater, moreover, he is a liar…”
[PA television May 14, 1998, speech by Khalid Mismar, Deputy Political representative]
• Zionism is presented as “a cancer in the body of the nation”.
[PA television May 14, 1998]
• Israeli soldiers are “those terrorists”.
[ PA television May 24, 1998]
• “…the terrorism that the occupying Israeli forces put into practice against our Palestinian nation since 1948.”
[PA television May 19, 1998]
1c. Denial of Legitimacy
Section Index:
- Overview
- Fabrication of a racist “Talmudic quote”
- Denial of Jewish Nationhood
- Denial of Ancient Jewish History
- Denial of Modern Jewish History
- Denial of Religious History
- Creation of Palestinian History
- Palestinian Authority Television
Overview
The Palestinian Authority education has made Jews disappear from all contexts in Israel that are not negative and have even fabricated viciously racist statements, attributing them to Jewish sources. PA books describe Muslim and Christian religious, historical, and archeological sites but omit any reference to Jewish sites. Tourists who visit are Christian and Muslim but there is no mention of the Jewish tourists. The Western Wall of the Temple is called “al-Buraq Wall” but there is no mention of its Jewish history. A history book describes World War II, Hitler and Nazi racism while ignoring the Jews and the Holocaust.
[“World History on Modern Times for Eighth Grade” #586 pp. 34-45]
Fabrication of a racist “Talmudic quote”
It is mentioned in the Talmud: “We [the Jews] are God’s people on earth…[God] forced upon the human animal and upon all the nations and the races that they serve us, and He spread us through the world to ride on them and hold their reigns. We must marry our beautiful daughters with kings, ministers and lords and enter our sons into the various religions, thus, we will have the final word in managing the countries. We should cheat them [the non-Jews] and arouse quarrels among them, then they fight each other… Non Jews are pigs who God created in the shape of man in order that they be fit for service for the Jews, and God created the world for them [the Jews].”
[The New History of the Arabs and the World, P. 120]
Denial of Jewish Nationhood
As part of the overall de-legitimization, the books deny the continuity of the Jewish nation and their place in Israel, by severing modern Jewry and modern Israel from their history in the land. The children are taught that the Jews are not a nation, but rather, a religious group:
• “who deluded themselves that their religious faith was sufficient to turn them into one nation.”
[Modern Arab History and Contemporary Problems, Part Two, for Tenth Grade p. 49]
Denial of Ancient Jewish History
Thousands of years of Israeli – Jewish history and traditions and 2000 years of yearning to return to Israel, are likewise brushed away with:
• “The Zionists turn[ed] their attention towards Palestine as the national homeland of the Jews, while relying on false historical and religious claims.”
[Modern Arab History and Contemporary Problems, Part Two, for Tenth Grade p. 50]
Denial of Modern Jewish History
The establishment of the state of Israel is portrayed not as the authentic Jewish national movement but as a colonialist anti-Arab plot to split the Arab world:
• “The colonial powers regarded the Zionist Movement as the means for the attainment of their greedy colonial aspirations and saw Palestine as the base for the setting up of a Jewish state, thus tearing the Arab Homeland asunder and imposing their rule on it in order to exploit its natural resources. The European colonial powers spread the idea of Zionism among the Jews….”
[Modern Arab History and Contemporary Problems, Part Two, for Tenth Grade p. 48].
The difference between Zionism and Imperialism:
|
Zionism |
Imperialism |
|
Zionism is not linked to land or country |
Colonies are an extension of the motherland |
|
A tool for establishing a non-existent State |
A tool and means for serving a state which exists in effect |
|
Believes in the elimination of the original inhabitants |
Imperialistic behavior has not gone as far as the elimination of original inhabitants. |
|
Settlement based on the foundation of false religious and historical rights |
Based on foundations of economic interests |
[The New History of the Arabs and the World, P. 123].
Furthermore, Israel‘s legitimacy is denied from the first international recognition until today:
• “the Balfour Declaration [to establish a Jewish state- ed] is regarded as illegal…”
[Modern Arab History and Contemporary Problems, Part Two, for Tenth Grade #613 p..51]
Israelis still called:
• “occupied Palestine.”
[Ibid. p..95]
Denial of Religious History
When the school books discuss sites of religious, historical, archeological and tourist interest, Muslim as well as Christian sites are included but not Jewish. Even the Jews’ connection to the remnant of their holiest site, the Western Wall of the Temple, is denied:
• “The Jews claim that this is one of the places belonging to them and call it “The Western Wall”, but this is not so.”
[Reader and Literary Texts for Eighth Grade #578 p. 103]
• “Jerusalem: I have many Islamic holy places and antiquities. This is al-Aqsa Mosque and this is the Dome of the Rock…To the west of the holy mosque you can see a vast stone wall called ‘al-Buraq Wall’, [Western Wall of the Temple -ed] to which the angel Gabriel, peace be upon him, tied the beast of the Prophet Muhammad on the night of his journey [to heaven -ed ]…
As for my Christian holy places – the most famous of them are ‘The Church of al-Qiama’ [Holy Sepulchre-ed], next to the mosque of ‘Umar ibn al Khatab, and the church of ‘al-Juthmana’ opposite al-Isbat Gate, outside the wall.
[Palestinian National Education for Third Grade #529 P. 14]
Questions:…
Write down the names of the Islamic holy places in Jerusalem.
Write down the names of the Christian holy places in Jerusalem.
[ ibid. Page 15]
• “The importance of Palestine arises from the fact that Allah has chosen it to be the centre of religions. It is the place where the Nazarene, ‘Jesus the son of Mary, peace be upon him, was born and it is the place to which Muhammad, the prayer of Allah and peace be upon him, was made to journey… Thousands of Christians come to Palestine in order to perform their religious duties…”
[Palestinian National Education for Fourth Grade #539, p..5]
• “Tourists from all over the world come to Palestine to visit its holy religious places… Muslims come to visit the first Qibla [direction of prayer]…. Christians come to visit Bethlehem, the birthplace of the Lord Messiah and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem…”
[Christian and Muslim sites are mentioned, Jewish sites are ignored- ed]
[Ibid. p. 23]
Creation of Palestinian History
After erasing and ignoring Jewish history in Israel, it is replaced by the creation of an ancient Palestinian history”:
• “Dear pupil, do you know who the Palestinians are?
The Palestinian people are descended from the Canaanites.”
[National Palestinian Education for Fifth Grade # 550 p. 19]
To create a connection to Jerusalem before it was Israel‘s capital, the school books teach that the inhabitants of Jerusalem before the Jews were Arabs:
• “Jerusalem is an ancient Arab city, built by the Jebusite Arabs before Islam… “
[Islamic Culture for Eighth Grade #576 p. 50]
• “Jerusalem: I am an ancient city, thousands of years old. I occupy a mountain plateau in the center of Palestine… My most ancient name, Jebus, is derived from the ancient Arabs, the Jebusites.”
[Palestinian National Education for Third Grade #529 P. 12]
Palestinian Authority Television
Jewish religious and national history in Israel and Israel‘s legitimacy are denied on television, as well, going so far as to teach that the religion of ancient Israel was Islam.
• “Israel [of the Bible]… dwelled near Yemen… Their [Israel’s] original religion in the days of our master Moses… it is strange that the Torah doesn’t give it a name, and I almost dare say, that it is Islam… Mt. Sinai is Mt. Sinin in Yemen… All these events [of Israel in the Bible] did not happen in Palestine… 90% of today’s Jews have no [biological] connection to the Israelites.”
[“Palestine: History and Tradition” – PA television May 26, 1998]
• “Jerusalem is a Palestinian Arab city, and it has no connection to Israel.”
[PA television May 24 1998] Abd al-Rachman [PA official]
As in the texts, the Jewish history in the land of Israel is called: “false” “fake” “claims” and “allegations”:
• “Palestine” is the “… beautiful and blessed homeland, raided by invaders who came from remote lands with false promises and fake contracts…..”
[ PA television, May 19, 1998]
• “At the conference… the Jewish claims and historical allegations in favor of their right to Palestine were noted and the historical right of Arabs over Palestine ever since the dawn of history were stressed…”
[PA television May 19, 1998]
Again echoing the school books, PA television presents Israel as a foreign colonial “entity”:
• “The Israeli entity on our Palestinian land… the war of 1948 brought about the establishment of the Zionist entity on Palestinian land… they raped Palestine and planted the Zionist entity in her land as a colonial project.”
[PA television, May 14, 1998]
1d. Israel Must Be Fought by Waging Jihad (Holy War)
Section Index:
- Call to Fight Israel
- Impending Victory of Islam and the Arabs Over Israel and the West
- Palestinian Authority Television
Call to Fight Israel
The calls to fight and eliminate Israel through Jihad (Holy War) and Martyrdom for Allah, appear frequently in the PA school books. In addition there is a separate recurring theme: the children are taught to fight and conquer Israel‘s capital, Jerusalem.
• “Know, my son, that Palestine is your country… that its pure soil is drenched with the blood of Martyrs… Why must we fight the Jews and drive them out of our land?” [Ed. – The map to the right accompanies this text]
[Our Arabic Language for Fifth Grade p. 64-66]
• “…there will be a Jihad and our country shall be freed. This is our story with the thieving conquerors. You must know, my boy, that Palestine is your grave responsibility…”
[Our Arabic Language for Fifth Grade. # 542. p. 69-70]
In the poem “Palestine” the children are taught to wage Jihad (Holy War) against Israel:
• “My brothers! The oppressors [Israel -ed.] have overstepped the boundary. Therefore Jihad and sacrafice are a duty… are we to let them steal its Arab nature… Draw your sword… let us gather for war with red blood and blazing fire…Death shall call and the sword shall be crazed from much slaughter… Oh Palestine, the youth will redeem your land…”
The books then ask questions to emphasize the message that Israel, the enemy, is to be fought and defeated:
“2. Who are the “oppressors” to whom the poet is referring in the first verse?
3. What is the road to victory over the enemy that the poet mentions?
4. The poet urges the Arabs to undertake Jihad. Indicate the verse in which he does so.”
[Reader and Literary Texts for Eighth Grade #578 p. 120-122]
• “If you look towards the city Jerusalem, you will see the Dome of the Rock with its beautiful golden color, and you will feel you have the responsibility to free the captive Mosque and the mourning Dome from the thieving conquerors.”
[Our Arabic Language, Part 1, for 4th grade. p. 28]
• “What, in your view, is the way to liberate Jerusalem, enlightened by its liberation by the Muslims in the time of Saladin [who conquered Jerusalem in 1187 -ed.]”
[Reader and Literary Texts for Eighth Grade p.102]
• “Bayonets and Torches ‘…In you left hand you carried the Koran, And in your right an Arab sword… Without blood not even one centimeter will be liberated Therefore, go forward crying: ‘Allah is great.'”
[Ibid. p. 131-133]
“The poem represents a reality lived by Palestinians. Explain this.”
[Ibid. p. 135]
• “Poems to Learn by Heart:
‘Oh Jerusalem‘
If the thief tears our homeland
And our people driven from the land
What is left but the call “Allah is Great”…
Who will not take hold the sword, without fear of death…
Or will hold the flag at the head of great victorious army
Lead by Al-Faruk…”[or ‘Umar ibn al Khatab who conquered Jerusalem in 638.]
[Our Arabic Language, Part One for Sixth Grade #553 p. 14]
Questions on Comprehension:
Who is the thief who has torn our homeland?
What, in the poet’s opinion, is the way to liberate Jerusalem?
Can Al-Faruk lead an army? Why did the poet mention him?
[Ibid. p. 15]
• “Muslims must protect all mosques… and must wage a Jihad both of life and property to liberate al-Aqsa Mosque from the Zionist conquest”
[ Islamic Education for Seventh Grade p.184]
• “Subject for Composition: “How are we going to liberate our stolen land? Make use of the following ideas: Arab unity, genuine faith in Allah, most modern weapons and ammunition, using oil and other precious natural resources as weapons in the battle for liberation.”
[ Our Arabic Language for Seventh Grade Part A #566 p. 15]
• “What must we do to liberate Jerusalem?”
[Reader and Literary Texts for Eighth Grade. 578 p. 63]
• “What can we do to rescue Jerusalem and to liberate it from the thieving enemy?”
[Ibid. p. 99]
• “Make use of the following expressions making logical sentences:
Wise opinion the Zionist danger he called for a Jihad disaster remaining cool-headed.”
[Our Arabic Language, Part One for Sixth Grade #553 p.29]
• “A Poem of Palestine
To Palestine greetings from Arab hearts…
Who has stubbornly and successfully resisted the chains of the enemies.
For me – the promise of Martyrdom and Palestineis my song
From Jerusalem I shall build my ladder towards eternity.”
[Our Arabic Language for Second Grade, Part Two. #513 p.51]
• “The Muslim connects the holiness of al-Aqsa Mosque, and its precincts, with the holiness of the ‘Sacred Mosque’ and Mecca. Therefore, any aggression against one is an aggression against the other and to defend them is to defend Islam itself. Disregard of the duty in respect of them is a crime for which Allah will punish every believer in God and His Prophet.”
[Islamic Education for Eighth Grade #576 p. 50]
• “Fill in the appropriate word from among the following: they, he, she: ______ is the commander of the Muslim forces in the capture of Jerusalem.”
[Our Arabic Language for Second Grade, Part Two. # 513 p. 42]
The need to fight Israel, all of which is said to be on “occupied Arab land” becomes a religious imperative, with teachings like the following:
• “… if the enemy has conquered part of its land and those fighting for it are unable to repel the enemy, then Jihad becomes the individual religious duty of every Muslim man and woman, until the attack is successfully repulsed and the land liberated from conquest and to defend Muslim honor…”
[Islamic Education for Seventh Grade #564 p.108]
Impending Victory of Islam and the Arabs Over Israel and the West
Finally, the children are assured through their books that the victory of Islam and the Arabs over the Jews, Israel, and all religions are preordained eventualities:
• “Know, my son, that Palestine is your country… that its pure soil is drenched with the blood of martyrs… Just as this sacred soil returned to its owners [in the past], so will it return again thorough your courage and determination…”
[The accompanying map of “Palestine” includes all of Israel.- ed.]
[Our Arabic Language for Fifth Grade. # 542. pp. 65-66]
• “Our brothers in Arab and Muslim countries felt the danger threatening us and joined with us in a noble Jihad… until the [Arab] Nation recruits its forces and there will be a Jihad and our country shall be freed, by Allah’s will.”
[Our Arabic Language for Fifth Grade. # 542. p. 69]
• “Remember:
– The final and inevitable result will be the victory of the Muslims over the Jews.
[Our Arabic Language for Fifth Grade p. 67]
• “This religion will defeat all other religions and it will be disseminated, by Allah’s will, through the Muslim Jihad fighters.”
[ Islamic Education for Seventh Grade. p. 125]
• In the present period, which exceeds all previous periods in the material and scientific advances taking place, social, psychological and medical scientists in the West are perplexed by the worrying increase in the number of people suffering from nervous disorders… and the statistics from America in this matter are a clear indication of this…There is no escape from [the need for] a new civilization… The Western world is not capable of fulfilling this role…There is only one nation capable of discharging this task and that is our nation [Islam]… We do not claim that the collapse of Western civilization, and the transfer of the center of civilization to us [Islam] will happen in the next decade or two or even in fifty years, for the rise and fall of civilizations follow natural processes… Nevertheless [Western civilization] has begun to collapse and to become a pile of debris.
[Some Outstanding Examples of Our Civilization for Eleventh Grade p.3,12, 16]
Palestinian Authority Television
The promotion of violence against Israel is rampant on Palestinian television:
• “Jihad is the principle belief which will never end regardless of how many fall”
[Palestinian Authority TV, July 12, 1998]
…I came to you with my sword in hand…we will oust them [Israel] out to the sea. Your day is coming, conqueror, then we will settle accounts. Our accounts are unending in stones and bullets.
[Summer camp poem- Palestinian Authority TV, July 2, 1998]
[Young Girl- Palestinian Authority TV, July 7, 1998]
• “My brothers! The oppressors [Israel -ed.] have overstepped the boundary. Therefore Jihad and sacrifice are a duty…. are we to let them steal its Arab nature… Draw your sword… let us gather for war with red blood and blazing fire…Death shall call and the sword shall be crazed from much slaughter… O Palestine, the youth will redeem your land…”
[This is the same poem quoted above from a school book. PA television May 14, 1998]
• “…every child carries Palestine in his heart, and in his hands he has a stone, a gun and an olive branch…”
[PA television May 14, 1998]
• “This is our Palestine. We will defend it with blood.”
[Phrase is “typed” and “declared” numerous times daily – PA television May 1998]
• A spliced segment shows a youth throwing a stone followed immediately by a segment of an Israeli soldier being hit by a large rock. The clip was repeated 6 times, one after the other.
[PA television May 18?, 1998]
Echoing the school books, the ultimate victory over Israelis also promised:
• [Following a map of “Palestine” that replaces Israel:]
“Palestineis the land of my forefathers
Get out of it. Go away! Go Away!
Oh occupier! You won’t remain, you won’t remain…”
[Phrase is “typed” and “declared” numerous times daily – PA television May 1998]
1e. Israel does not exist on maps. Its Place is marked – “Palestine.”
Section Index:
- In books and in Schools
- On PA Television
The Palestinian Authority school books and television use a map of the Middle East in which Israel does not exist and is replaced in its entirety by a state called “Palestine”.
In Books and in Schools
• Under the words on the blackboard “Our Country Palestine”, this map replaces all of Israel
[Palestinian National Education for Second Grade #519 p. 21]
• To the right are giant maps of “Palestine” erasing Israel prominently displayed at the entrance to two PA schools.
[Palestinian Authority television.]
In the new world atlas the word Israel does not appear even once. The map of Palestine replaces all of Israel.
[Ed: – This atlas is privately published in Nablus in the Palestinian Autonomy and approved by the PA for the upcoming school year]
• Map entitled: “Map of Palestinebefore and after the war of 1967” The purple is defined as “The Arab lands conquered before 1967”. The Green is defined as “The Arab lands conquered in 1967”.
All of Israel is called “conquered Arab land”
[Modern Arab History and Contemporary Problems, Part Two, for Tenth Grade #613 p. 66]
• Maps of the Middle East in which Israel does not exist and its area is marked “Palestine” appear on the following pages: 81, 84, 88, 89, 103, 107, 109, 110, 120, 122 and 124.
[Social And National Education for Fifth Grade, Part A #549 p. 107]
• This map, which accompanies the lesson entitled “Palestine Our Homeland”, encompasses all of the State of Israel and specifies numerous Israeli cities: Safed, Acre, Haifa, Tiberias, Nazareth, Bait Shean, Jaffa [southern Tel Aviv], Jerusalem and Beer-Sheba. – edit]
[Our Arabic Language for Fifth Grade, # 542 p.64]
• “Palestine is situated at the very heart of the Arab Homeland, in the western part of the Continent of Asia, on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.”
[Palestinian National Education for Fifth Grade # 550 p. 7]
• This drawing shows a woman waving the Palestinian Authority flag. In the background is a map of “Palestine” in place of all of Israel.
[National Palestinian Education for First Grade. # 509 p. 11]
• Nineteen times in this book, maps mark Israel as “Palestine”. [Pages 12, 20, 23, 36, 48, 50, 53, 55, 61, 66, 72, 73, 75, 80, 81, 88, 90, 115, 124]
[Geography of the Arab Homeland for Sixth Grade #557]
On PA Television
Palestinian Authority television likewise displays the map of Palestine that erases all of Israel. This map appears at the beginning and end of daily news report.
A graphic image of the map depicted as a pulsating heart, dripping blood. This map appears at the start of a weekly broadcast.
1f. Israeli Cities are labeled Palestinian cities and Israel is “occupied Palestine.”
Section Index:
- Overview
- Israeli Cities are Called Palestinian Cities
- Israel is “Occupied Palestine”
- Israeli industry is Presented as Palestinian Industry
- Palestinian Authority Television
Overview
The entire land of the State of Israel, its cities including its capital Jerusalem, are often treated as “Palestine” “Palestinian” or “occupied Palestine”. Events that happened in Israel are often said to have occurred in “Palestine”. Israeli industry, such as “the citrus fruit industry” and “oil refineries… in Haifa and Ashdod”, are presented as Palestinian industry.
Israeli Cities are Called Palestinian Cities
The following Israeli cities and regions are defined as Palestinian in one or more texts:
Safed, Tiberias, Haifa, Jaffa [a part of Tel Aviv], Ashdod, Nazareth, Beer Sheba, Bet Shean, Lod, Acre, the Negev, Shaar Hagai, Jezreel Valley, the Galilee and Southern Israel. Israel’s border with Lebanon is “the border of occupied Palestine.”
[All sources appear below.]
The following are examples:
• “After the River Jordan flows out of the Lake of Tiberias [Galilee]… it passes on the west the plain of Bait Shean, which leads to the ‘Bani ‘Amer Valley’, which has the best soil in the whole of Palestine…”
[Note: the said valley is the Jezrael Valley in northern Israel -ed]
[Geography of the Arab Lands for Twelfth Grade #650 p. 49]
• “Explain the following:… The plain of ‘Bani ‘Amer Valley’ is the most fertile of Palestine.”
[Note: the said valley is the Jezrael Valley in northern Israel -ed]
[Ibid. p. 55]
• “Know, my son, that Palestine is your country… its pure soil is drenched with the blood of martyrs because it is a land of glorious battles and wars: in Jerusalem… in Acre, in Haifa,… in Shaar Hagay… and in the Negev.”
[Note: all are Israeli cities and regions -ed.]
[Our Arabic Language for Fifth Grade. # 542 p.65-66]
• “The Arab Homeland attracts tourism from all over the world. Some of the tourists come to visit the holy places, such as: Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth in Palestine…”
[Geography of the Arab Homeland for Sixth Grade #557 P. 79]
• “Map of resorts: Palestine: Haifa ” [Israeli city -ed.].
[Geography of the Arab Homeland for Sixth Grade #557 P. 83]
• “Question: Jaffais a Palestinian town captured by the Jews. Name three other Palestinian towns which were captured by the Jews.”
[Note: Jaffa is an Israeli city- part of the municipal Tel Aviv -ed.]
[Our Arabic Language for Seventh Grade Part A #566 p.13]
• “…There is nothing to remind us, Jaffa still exists…and our blood is still spattered on its ancient walls while the robbers and the locusts feed off its bare fields…the road is twisting and full of obstacles and long; the faint of heart will not endure long on it. Jaffa, we shall return to you tomorrow…”
[Note: Jaffa is an Israeli city- part of municipal Tel Aviv -ed.]
[Composition and Summarizing for Eighth Grade, # 581 p. 20]
• “Beautiful Jaffa
…And I said: I am enchanted by Jaffa:
How good are the companions of Jaffa
Palestine, O good mother – your daughters are all beautiful and goodly
From afar the wind has borne me to Jaffa…
And I saw Lod spread out in the midst of its wells…”
[Note: Jaffa and Lod are Israeli cities -ed.]
[Reader And Literary Texts for Ninth Grade part 2. #592 Part Two Page 33]
Israel is “Occupied Palestine“
• “Following the growth in the Palestinian presence in Lebanon at the beginning of the 1970’s, and its armed uprising against the Israeli occupation of Palestine, Israel acted – in collaboration with the Lebanese Phalange Party – to remove the Palestinians from Lebanon…. Israel declared that its aim was to remove the danger of attacks of the resistance on Israeli settlements in Galilee in northern Palestine” [the Galilee is Northern Israel – edit]…
[Modern Arab History and Contemporary Problems, Part Two, for Tenth Grade, #613 p. 70]
• “There is an additional problem arising from the fact that Israel is transferring water from the River Jordan to the south of Palestine.”
[Ibid p. 91]
• These forces, [the Christian South Lebanese Army -ed.] with Israel’s help, took control of a number of Lebanese villages close to the border of occupied Palestine.
[Ibid p. 95]
• There are migrations which take place because of the desire of the migrants to improve their economic standard of living, such as the migration to the Gulf area, and there are migrations that take place because of duress, such as that which took place from occupied Palestine.
[General Geography for Seventh Grade, #569 p 60]
Israeli Industry is Presented as Palestinian Industry
The children are often taught that Israeli industry is Palestinian, as in these examples:
• Chart 38: Produce of Fruit Trees in the Arab Homeland: Palestine has the most citrus trees, in front of Morocco and Algeria.
[Geography of the Arab Lands for Twelfth Grade #650 p. 142]
• Table No. 10: Oil Refineries in the Arab Homeland: “Palestine: 2 oil refineries, refining 132 thousand barrels, in Haifa and Ashdod.”
[Ibid. p. 186]
Palestinian Authority Television
Israeli cities are presented as Palestinian cities on PA TV, as well. A young girl recited this on a children’s program:
• “…The land is my land
here is my house and I will build it…
with my blood I shall water it…
Haifa and Jaffa [part of Tel Aviv] and the land of Lod
Jerusalemcalls out and that’s Acre
calling for us…
In the Galilee we have a sister whom we salute…
and if Ashkeloncalls out go find her…
shall we neglect the Galilee and Beer Sheva?”
[PA television March 3, 1998]
A four minute clip presents young children building up and playing with a toy “Palestine“, which is then destroyed to the narration of the following text:
• “Do you know what happened in 1948? They took everything! They emptied the room, broke the houses, they set fire to the forests, they changed the names… my country’s name is Palestine.”
[PA television, numerous broadcasts May 1998]
1g. Israel’s capital, Jerusalem, is called: the capital of the “State of Palestine“
The Palestinian Authority school books teach their children that an independent “State of Palestine” already exists, independence day is celebrated yearly, and Israel‘s capital Jerusalem, is said to be the capital of “Palestine“. Some examples:
• “The Capital of Palestine:
Jihad asked the teacher: What is our capital?
The teacher: Jerusalemis our capital.
Jihad: Does it have other names?
The teacher: Yes. The blessed soil…
Questions: What is our capital?
Write [a composition on]: Jerusalem Our Capital.”
[Palestinian National Education for First Grade. # 509 p. 63]
• “Exercise: Distinguish between verb and noun clauses:
‘The land is our land and Jerusalem is ours.'”
[Our Arabic Language for Fifth Grade. # 542 p.74]
• “Determine what is the subject, and what is the predicate, in the following sentences:
‘Jerusalem is Arab.'”
[Our Arabic Language for Fifth Grade. # 542 p.167]
• “Muntasar paid a visit to Jerusalem…
Jerusalem: I am an ancient city, thousands years old. I occupy a mountain plateau in the center of Palestine…”
[Palestinian National Education for Third Grade #529 p. 12]
• “The Proclamation of the Palestinian State:
At the nineteenth gathering of the Palestinian National Council in Algiersit declared [the adoption] of a document proclaiming Palestinian independence. The following are extracts from this document:
The Palestinian National Council declares in the name of Allah and the Palestinian nation the establishment of the state of Palestine on our Palestinian land whose capital is Jerusalem…”
[ Palestinian National Education for Fifth Grade # 550 p. 39]
• “The second section will [bring] the general terms and administrative and legal institutions… in the State of Palestine.” [Note: This book discusses the state structures of the “State of Palestine” using the expression “in the State of Palestine” at least twelve times. – ed.]
[Palestinian National Education for Sixth Grade # 596 – Introduction p. 6]
• “The Greedy Designs of the Jews in Jerusalem”
“The Jews have clear greedy designs on Jerusalem. They believe that their state is not complete without Jerusalem as its capital, which is what they claim. The proof of this is that their Minister of Defense declared on the third day of the war of 1967, together with the Prime Minister, when both of them were standing by “al-Buraq”, which they call the Western Wall: ‘We have returned to you, Jerusalem, and we shall never part from you again. You are not just the capital of “Israel”, but the capital of the entire Jewish People.’…
Thus do the Jews conspire, before the eyes and ears of the Arabs and the Muslims. What can we do to rescue Jerusalem and to liberate it from the thieving enemy…?
[Reader and Literary Texts for Eighth Grade. [578] P. 96, 99]
2. Education to Jihad – Holy War and Martyrdom
Section Index:
- Education to Jihad – Holy War
- Education to Martyrdom
Palestinian Authority (PA) school books praise and encourage the waging of Jihad – Holy War.
• “Jihad for Allah is one of the greatest commandments and duties of Islam, the purpose of which is to establish Allah’s rule on Earth… Jihad is not an issue of need, necessary only at certain times, rather, it is an ever-present necessity which a Muslim society must never relinquish. Its abandonment brings weakness and humiliation and invites aggression.”
[Islamic Education for Twelfth Grade # 641 p. 284, 139]
Fighting is the highest level of Jihad:
• “Jihad with of one’s life: This is by fighting enemies… This is the highest level of Jihad because the Jihad fighter sacrifices himself in accordance with Allah’s way for the sake of his religion and to defend his nation…
[Islamic Education for Seventh Grade, #564 p. 107]
The reward for Jihad:
• “The reward for shooting an arrow for Allah covers not only the archer, but also him, who made the arrow, as well as him who handed it to the archer…”
[Islamic Education for Twelfth Grade # 641 p. 319]
• “The Muslim believes in Allah and His Messenger and fights a Jihad for Allah with property and his life in order to please Allah and to earn a place in paradise on the day of resurrection… “
[Islamic Education for Seventh Grade, #564 p. 129]
The punishment for shirking Jihad:
• “These verses prove the superiority that is in Jihad for Allah’s sake… and warned against evading a Jihad for Allah….and a warning to the Muslims not to defy His word nor refrain from Jihad…”
[Islamic Education for Seventh Grade, #564 p. 124]
• “Islam has forbidden flight from the battle and regards this as a grave sin.
[Islamic Education for Eighth Grade #576 p. 176]
Jihad is promoted not only in books on Islamic studies, but in grammar, literature and civic studies as well:
• “Determine what is the subject, and what is the predicate, in the following sentences: -The Jihad is a religious duty of every Muslim man and woman.”
[Our Arabic Language for Fifth Grade. # 542, p. 167]
Education to Martyrdom
PA text books glorify Martyrdom as an ideal to be sought. The fortunate are those who are killed – reaching “Martyrdom”.
• “Martyrdom is when a Muslim is killed for the sake of Allah… A person who dies thus is called a “Martyr” [Shahid]… Martyrdom for Allah is the hope of all those who believe in Allah and have trust in His promises… The Martyr rejoices in the paradise that Allah has prepared for him…
[Islamic Education for Seventh Grade #564 p. 112]
• “The Muslim sacrifices himself for his faith and fights a Jihad for Allah. He does not know cowardice because he understands that the time of his death is already ordained and that his dying as a Martyr on the field of battle is preferable to dying in bed… “
[Islamic Education for Eighth Grade #576 p. 176]
• “…Martyred Jihad fighters are the most honored people, after the Prophets…”
[Reading And Literary Texts for Tenth Grade – #607 p. 103]
• “… competing with each other to achieve Martyrdom in the battle…”
[Our Arabic Language for Fifth Grade. # 542, p. 193]
• “Martyrdom is life.”
Reading And Literary Texts for Tenth Grade – #607 p. 171]
Numerous poems encourage the children to see themselves as future Jihad fighters seeking Martyrdom. Many school book poems have the word “Martyr” in their title, including the following poem which is in at least two grammar books [the children are instructed to learn the poem by heart] and was broadcast three times recently on PA television, read by different children.
• “Song of the Martyr
1 -I shall take my soul in my hand and hurl it into the abyss of death [in war]…
5 -Upon your life, I see my death and am marching speedily towards it
6 -Upon your life, this is the death of men and he, who seeks an honorable death – this is that death.”
[Our Arabic Language for Fifth Grade. # 542. P. 60]
[Guide for Improving Arabic Language for Twelfth Grade” #719 p. 84]
[PA television, May 22, 1998]
[PA television, May 1998]
[PA television, May 1998]
The students are instructed to “learn the following poems by heart”, as well:
• ‘My Homeland’
…The youth will not tire,
They desire to be free or to perish
We draw our water from death
And we will not be as slaves to the enemy…
Our symbol is the ‘sword’ and the ‘pen’, but not ‘words’…
[Palestinian National Education for First Grade. # 509 p. 67- 68]
•”O Muslims, Muslims, Muslims, where there are truth and justice there shall we be found. Death pleases us and we refuse to be humbled. How sweet is death for Allah….”
[Islamic Education for Sixth Grade #551 p. 151]
This poem: “We Are The Youth” expresses the same sentiment:
• “We are the youth and tomorrow is ours…
We shall march on despite death
Onward, onward
We shall build, we shall not rely on others
We shall perish, but, we shall not be humbled…”
[Palestinian National Education for Third Grade #529 p. 70]
The Martyrs of the Intifada:
•…They stoned with them [the stones], the wild animals of the way…
They died standing, burning with excitement… Death attacked with raised pickaxe
Facing death, they stood erect…
[Reading and Literary Texts for Tenth Grade – #607 p. 167]
Grammar exercises likewise glorify Martyrdom:
• “Write five lines on the virtues of the Martyrs and their superior status.”
[Our Arabic Language for Fifth Grade. # 542. p. 201]
The Jihad-Martyr concept is encouraged and glorified through many personal stories. The following are excerpts from a sixth grade school book:
• “The first words the young boy heard were the words “Jihad”, “attack” and “conquest”…These words were constantly on his lips…'[The boy] Uqba grew up with the love of Jihad flowing through his veins and filling every fiber of his being……. For him no joy equaled that of taking part in Jihad…Nothing gave him pleasure but the sight of swords and spears shining in the hands of the fighting horsemen. Nothing was pleasing to his ear but the sound of the horses charging into battle and nothing gave him joy but the sight of the enemy lying dead on the battlefield, or defeated and fleeing for their lives…Uqba showed heroism and courage… attacking them from his horse and hacking the enemy soldiers to pieces, coming down on them blow after blow, crushing their skulls…
[Uqba bin Nafi’ or The Conqueror of Africa for Sixth Grade #700- p. 6-7, 43, 83, 96]
The entire content of this book is the glorification of war and Jihad. [See appendix]
Appendices
a. The Palestinian Authority Educational System
