Why is it Important that PA Textbooks Used in UNRWA Schools be Translated into German?

Germany, which presents itself as a democratic power, is now the leading  donor state of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) which services the  Palestinian refugees of the 1948 was… and their descendants.  

Yet 54% of the current UNRWA budget is allocated to an education system which indoctrinates Arab children to make war with  Jews.

The most recent tabulation of donations from UNRWA donor nations was issued on March 14, 2020. 

As such, Germany shoulders a responsibility to assure the people of Germany and the Jewish people that their money is not channeled in a non-peaceful direction. 

One of the best and simplest ways of doing that is checking the attitude of textbooks issued by the Palestine Liberation Organization, and used in UNRWA schools, toward the Israeli/Jewish “other” and to the issue of peace with that “other”. 

All 364 UNRWA have now been examined by three journalists with PhD’s in Islamic Studies.

It is imperative that an effort be made to provide this information to the German reader in his/her own language. 

Schoolbooks are the most revealing source of information regarding the values and aspirations a society would instill in the minds of its youngsters.  

Following a protracted state of war, these texts serve as a trustworthy indicator of the existence, or non-existence, of peace education.  

The Oslo Accord signed by the State of Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1993 opened a new phase in the Middle East in which both parties were supposed to advance towards a peaceful solution of that war. 

In 1994, the Palestinian Authority (PA) was established by the PLO to rule the West Bank and the Gaza Strip which, until then, were fully administered by Israel.  

The PA assumed most governmental powers in those areas, including education. In 2000 it started issuing its own schoolbooks in a process that lasted until 2006. A newer set of PA schoolbooks was published between the years 2016-2018.  

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for the 1948 Palestinian refugees and their descendants, which has been operating in Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza (as well as in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon) since 1950, use the PLO books in its schools. UNRWA, as a UN agency, is bound by the UN endorsed principle of resolving all conflict peacefully, as well as by UNESCO principles of peace education [See chart below] As a UN agency, all UN agencies  should treat all member states equally, including the State of Israel 

It is imperative  for the German powers that be to know whether the PLO textbooks used in UNRWA schools (as well as in all other schools in Jerusalem,  West Bank and Gaza Strip) advocate  peace or call for an armed struggle, recognize the existence of Israel as a sovereign state in the region and the presence of its six-million Jews  in the country as well as their holy places there, treat Jewish/Israeli individuals as ordinary human beings, renounce terrorist activity against civilians, employ self-criticism in this regard, etc. 

Germany, more than any other nation, should be extra-careful while dealing with issues closely connected to the wellbeing of the citizens of the Jewish State.    

A few months ago, I visited the Bundestag German Parliament, accompanied by professionals who had examined all UNRWA textbooks, and by Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the Associate Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. 

We briefed seven German political parties with films and studies which documented the new UNRWA war curriculum. 

The office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel would not meet with us.  

After our visit, Germany increased its funds to UNRWA, granted with no conditions. 

Now we must find a way to translate all these films and studies into German 

We must   return to Germany to make a high profile presentation in Berlin. 

We must hold German Chancellor Merkel accountable.  

The German instigation of the Holocaust commenced in the classroom.  

“Never Again”

Appendix: UNESCO Principles of Education for Peace and Tolerance 

• Does the curriculum promote tolerance, understanding and respect of the              “other”, its culture, achievements, values and way of life?  1 

1. Does the curriculum develop capabilities for non-violent conflict resolution?
2. Does the curriculum promote peace?
3. Does the curriculum promote international understanding and cooperation?
4. Does it motivate the student to understand and bear responsibility for the keeping of peace?
5. Is the curriculum free of wording, imagery and ideologies likely to create prejudices, misconceptions, stereotypes, misunderstandings, mistrust, racial hatred, religious bigotry and national hatred, as well as any other form of hatred or contempt for other groups or peoples?
6. Is all the educational material (textbooks, workbooks, teachers’ guides, maps,              illustrations, instructional aids) up-to-date, accurate, balanced and unprejudiced? Does it use equal standards to promote mutual knowledge and understanding between different peoples?
7. Does the curriculum include objective, complete and up-to-date data, as well as critical analysis of the historical and contemporary factors at the root of the differences, conflicts and tension between states and groups, as well as ways to overcoming those differences?