Letter: Incitement against Israel and encouragement to take violent means against Israel in the textbooks of the schools in the refugee camps in Eastern Jerusalem, schools which are supported by “UNRWA”

Jerusalem, July 10, 2013

To:
Ms. Jessica Smith
Deputy Head (London)
Palestinian Team
Middle East And North Africa Department
“DFID”: Department for International Development
By e-mail: JESSICA-SMITH@DFID.GOV.UK

Dear Madam,

Re: Incitement against Israel and encouragement to take violent means against Israel in the textbooks of the schools in the refugee camps in Eastern Jerusalem, schools which are supported by “UNRWA”

1. On behalf of my client, “The Center For Near East Policy Research Ltd. – Israel Resource News Agency” and its director, Mr. David Bedein, I hereby wish to thank you for receiving him so cordially.

2. As Mr. Bedein described to you, within its framework, the Center has undertaken, in addition to its other activities, thorough research into the contents of the textbooks of the “Shoafat” and “Calandia” refugee camp schools in Eastern Jerusalem, which were established and are to date still supported, by the “United Nations Relief and Works Agency” – “UNRWA” (hereby known as: “The Schools”).

3. As proven clearly in the research undertaken by my client, the textbooks, which are taught in the schools and which were prepared, in fact, by the Palestinian authorities, incite against Israel, undermine its existence, encourage “The Right of Return” of the Palestinians by violent means, among others by “jihad” and blood, a process which is meant to bring about the destruction of the State of Israel (hereby known as: “Hostile Content“).

…

Tomorrow we shall come back and the ages shall listen

To the footfalls during the return

We shall return with the resounding storms

With the sacred lightening and the star

With the winged hopes and the songs

With the soaring vulture and the eagle

Yes! The thousands victims shall return

Victims of oppression shall open every door”

)Our Beautiful Language, Grade 7, Part 1 (2002) p. 3)

“We Shall Return

Return, return, we shall return

Borders shall not exist, nor citade

“We Shall Return

Return, return, we shall return

Borders shall not exist, nor citadels and fortresses

Cry out, O those who have left:

We shall return!

We shall return to the homes, to the valleys, to the mountains

Under the flag of glory, Jihad and struggle

With blood, sacrifice [fida’], fraternity and loyalty

We shall return

We shall return, O hills; [we] shall return, O heights

We shall return to childhood; [we] shall return to youth

To Jihad in the hills; [to] harvest in the land”

(Our Beautiful Language, Grade 5, Part 1 (2011) p. 50)

(Emphasized by the undersigned)

9. The terms “Jihad”, struggle and blood imply that the implementation of the “Right of Return” does not stand alone but rather comes within the wider context of the liberation struggle against Israel, which necessitates a few references to this latter issue

10. In the light of the above quotes, the manifestations of the “Right of Return” in the PA textbooks taught in UNRWA’s schools are not nostalgic literary pieces. Rather, as presented to the Palestinian students and shown here, the “Right of Return” plays a prominent role in the Palestinian political vision of a continued struggle against a delegitimized and demonized Israel until its eventual destruction. The educational services provided by UNRWA to Palestinian students thus help to propagate this non-peaceful line, in absolute contradiction to the Agency’s declared mission.

11. Therefore and given the fact that your country economically supports UNRWA, we hereby wish to make the following request of you:

11.1. To demand that the schools immediately erase from the textbooks any content which denies the existence of the State of Israel or undermines it, and/or encourages, directly or indirectly, “The right of return”, and/or the use of any violence of any kind.

11.2. To condition the continuation of the economic aid which your government gives to UNRWA on the erasing from the textbooks any hostile content as described above and to demand that the schools, without derogating from the above, do not and will not transmit to the pupils any hostile material orally or by any other including electronic means

11.3. If, despite the above, a school, some of the schools or all of them do not act in accordance with the above, your government will immediately stop the economic aid which is given them.

11.4. To demand towards the end of every school year ( around May-June), as a precondition of the continuation of the economic aid which your government gives to the school, a written confirmation from the Ministry of Education of Israel that the textbooks of the following school year follow the criteria as specified above.

12. This letter does not constitute a waiver of any claim and/or exhaust any claim of my client.

Sincerely Yours,

Chenia Schorr-Stolberg, Adv.