Telling Interview from April 2000 Concerning UNRWA Education

May 17, 2024

Date:April 4th, 2000.
Location: Netherlands rep. office at Al Birrha, Ramallah

Present were
Mr Ziad Sharia, Netherlands Development Corporation
and liason to UNRWA Education Committee
Mr David Bedein, Israel Resource News Agency
Dr Daphne Burdman, Psychiatric Research Associate

According to Mr Sharia who was recently, (March 2000), appointed as the Officer for “Development Cooperation” in place of a Dutch national, the Netherlands Representative Office is equivalent to a Netherlands Consulate It was established in Jericho in 1994, and moved to Ramallah in 1996. It is responsible for structural development in the fields of education, water management, and agriculture for the new Palestinian society under the Palestinian Authority, and as such came into being as part of the European Union mechanism for financial and administrative aid to this entity. The Italian and Belgian Consulates afford further parts of this E.U. structure.

Mr Sharia was educated in the UNRWA schools within the Deheisha Camp and thereafter received his M.A. in education from a university in Arizona. He taught science, mostly physics in the UNRWA school system for 7 years and then worked in the Ministry of Education of the P.A. for the past 3 years. He presently lives near Deheisha where parts of his family sojourn.

He confirmed that commencing September 2000, the new Palestinian curriculum will be initiated for the 1st and 6th grades; with inclusion of the 2nd and 7th grades in September 2001, and so on over 5 years until completed. Meanwhile the school textbooks used are from Jordan for the West Bank, and from Egypt for Gaza. Under Israeli occupation (1967 -1994), deletion of statements which were considered by the Israelis to be provocative and inciteful of hatred in the Jordanian and Egyptian texts were effected by unilateral decision of the Israelis without negotiation with Jordan or Egypt. It is important to note that the texts with deletions during Israeli occupation, were taught in the public schools only. The UNRWA schools continued to use the unabbreviated Jordanian and Egyptian texts. The official PA texts are now used in the state schools and in UNRWA schools.

After Oslo, the deletions were restored and remain in effect until the present time. Sharia states that requests by the P.A. to make changes in the Jordanian texts were refused under agreements made between the P.A. and Jordan, and the P.A. and Egypt. When asked about the possibility of deleting statements inciting hatred he referred back to those agreements. It also became clear that his professional work is operational and does not involve political issues. Political aspects are in the hands of the Dutch consul Renee Aquarone.

So far the new Palestinian curriculum is “under wraps” until August 2000 at which time it will first be ready for distribution. Mr Sharia has no knowledge of its content. The agreements between the P.A. / Jordan/Egypt account for the entire curriculum except for a “National Education” section to be created by the P.A. Something akin to civics education will form part of the new curriculum. The new curriculum is being developed by Salach Yassin of the Ministry of Education, who is also responsible for the contractual agreements. The PA criticizes that there is no reference to the refugee camps in the present texts. For issues such as the right of return there is no formal program, individual teachers approaching this according to their own viewpoint. UNRWA schools teach according to the policies of their host countries.

According to Mr Sharia, regarding financing, the Netherlands office pays the major part, with a smaller contribution from the P.A., with other donors to be involved in the future. Monitoring by the Netherlands authorities consists of sector reports with combinations of topics. Apparently regular annual reports are not issued. A Joint Evaluation Commission of donors was held in Jerusalem during the past year. Sharia noted that UNESCO would probably be more involved regarding educational matters. It appears that, from what Mr Sharia said, the actual curriculum content is not directly evaluated or monitored by funding EU organizations with regard to issues of the Peace Process and concerns about nationalist or religious incitement.

Who is Maher Bitar, the former anti-Israeli activist who became Biden’s senior intelligence official

Center for Near East Policy Research

May 17, 2024

President Barack Obama greets Alya Dorelien Bitar, the one-year-old daughter of Maher Bitar, the outgoing National Security Council Director for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs, and his wife, Astrid Dorelien, during a family photo in the Oval Office, Sept. 21, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

In 2021, President Joe Biden appointed Maher Bitar, a former anti-Israeli activist of Palestinian descent who has hosted conferences praising Islamic terrorism, as senior director of intelligence on the National Security Council (NSC).

In January 2024, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan relocated Bitar to a new position on the council, where he now serves as deputy assistant to the president and coordinator for intelligence and defense policy.

Read full article

Statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Center for Near East Policy Research

May 15, 2024

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today (Wednesday, 15 May 2024) [translated from Hebrew]:

“Yesterday, on Independence Day, I visited our wounded heroic soldiers who are undergoing rehabilitation in hospital. I left with tears in my eyes but my soul was greatly uplifted. Our heroes told me two things: First, ‘continue to the end – until victory.’ The second: “We want to complete rehabilitation and return to our friends who are fighting.’ Unfortunately, not all of them will be able to do so. Together with you, I pray for their recovery. Thanks to these heroes, thanks to this tremendous spirit, we are here in our country. I promised them that we would do everything in order to fight until total victory.

Our forces are fighting throughout the Gaza Strip – in Jabaliya, Zeitoun and Rafah. We are doing this even as the civilian population is being evacuated and while fulfilling our obligation to its humanitarian needs. Our latest efforts are bearing fruit. As of now, in Rafah, almost half a million people have been evacuated from the areas of fighting. The humanitarian catastrophe that has been spoken of has not been realized, nor will it.

Eliminating Hamas is an essential step in order to ensure that on ‘the day after’ there will be no element in Gaza that can threaten us. One hundred days ago I directed the security echelon to allow local Gazans, who are not identified with Hamas, to be integrated into the civilian management of food allocation in Gaza. This attempt has not been successful because Hamas has threatened them and even hurt some of them in order to deter others.

Until it is clear that Hamas does not control Gaza militarily, nobody will be prepared to take upon himself the civil management of Gaza out of fear for their lives. Therefore, all the talk about ‘the day after’, while Hamas stays remains intact, will remain mere words devoid of content. Contrary to what is being claimed, for months we have been engaged in various efforts to resolve this complex problem. Some of the efforts are covert and it is good that this is so. This is one of the objectives of the war that we have defined and we are determined to achieve it as well.

In any case, there is no alternative to for military victory. The attempt to bypass it with this or that claim is simply detached from reality. There is one alternative to victory – defeat, military, diplomatic and national defeat. My government will not agree to this.

Today, the Government stated its opposition to last week’s UN decision to advance recognition of a Palestinian state. We will not reward the terrible massacre of October 7, which 80% of the Palestinians support, both in Gaza and in Judea and Samaria. We will not allow them to establish a terrorist state from which they will be able to vigorously attack us.

Nobody will prevent us, prevent Israel, from realizing our basic right to self-defense – not the UN General assembly or any other body. We will stand together with our head held high to defend our country.

Together we will fight and with G-d’s help – together we will win.”

Watch: Terrorists operate next to UN vehicles, in UNRWA Rafah compound

Center for Near East Policy Research

May 15, 2024

Click Here to Watch Video

During IDF operational activity in eastern Rafah on Saturday, terrorists were identified in UNRWA’s central logistics compound alongside UN vehicles.

In the footage, a number of terrorists and gunfire can be seen near UN vehicles and in the area of UNRWA’s logistics warehouse compound in eastern Rafah, which is a central point for the distribution of aid on UNRWA’s behalf in the Gaza Strip.

Following the event, representatives of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) conveyed the findings to senior officials in the international community and called on the UN to conduct an urgent investigation into the matter.

In addition, COGAT representatives warned the UN against the presence of terrorists in the area, and the seriousness of the danger that exists in the presence of the terrorists in the logistics center compound with regard to the continued protection of the organization’s facilities.

The IDF stated that it “will continue to act in accordance with international law to distribute aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip.”

Israel Foreign Minister Israel Katz said following the publication of the video showing the terrorists in the UN compound: “Hamas terrorists firing at civilians from within a UNRWA facility next to UN vehicles in Rafah.”

“No lie from Guterres and Lazzarini will hide the truth: UNRWA is an arm of the terrorist organization Hamas. Lazzarini must resign!” Katz said.

Click Here to Watch Video

IAF strikes Hamas war room in UNRWA school

Center for Near East Policy Research

May 14, 2024

Based on IDF and ISA intelligence, the IAF carried out a precise strike on a central Hamas war room embedded inside a UNRWA school in the area of Nuseirat. The war room was used by terrorist operatives in Hamas’ military wing. The strike was carried out using precise munitions in order to minimize harm to uninvolved civilians.

The Hamas war room had been used by the terrorist organization to plan multiple attacks against IDF troops in central Gaza in recent weeks. The Nukhba terrorists situated inside the war room took part in the October 7th Massacre and carried out ambushes and attacks on IDF troops in the Gaza Strip. In the IAF strike, approximately 15 operatives from terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip were eliminated, more than 10 of which were part of Hamas.

“The Hamas terrorist organization systematically exploits the civilian population and institutions as human shields for their terrorist activities against the State of Israel.,” the IDF stated.

Earlier Tuesday, terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired at least three rockets at Sderot during a rally and march by tens of thousands of Israelis calling for victory in Gaza and the restoration of Jewish settlement in the Strip.

The marchers arrived in Sderot by buses and private vehicles from across the country. The organizers emphasized that the march wass coordinated with the security forces and has received all necessary security approvals.

Among the participants in the march were bereaved families who have lost their loved ones in the defense of the settlements around Gaza and in fighting during the Swords of Iron war, ministers, rabbis, Knesset members, public figures, residents of the Gaza region, and soldiers who participated in battles. The bereaved families also called for the public to join the march.

Skulle du vilja att ditt barn är med i ett av UNRWAs läger den här sommaren?

Center for Near East Policy Research

May 14, 2024

Under de senaste 15 åren har jag, som undersökande reporter, haft den unika möjligheten att dokumentera vid UNRWA:s sommarläger. Med hjälp av tre arabiska journalister och tre judiska journalister som alla har en djup förståelse för den arabiska kulturen har min uppgift varit att dela de oroande realiteter som jag sett sedan jag först började bevaka UNRWA 1987.

Varje sommar ägnar barnen i UNRWA:s läger sig åt simuleringar som skildrar det våld som de tror är nödvändigt för att ”återvända till Palestina”. De så kallade ”roliga spelen” kretsar kring att förbereda sig för det kommande kriget för att ”befria Palestina”.

Chockerande nog utövar barnen på UNRWA:s sommarläger aktiviteter som att kidnappa soldater, bränna IDF-fordon och hantera autentiska vapen.

Det är oroande att bevittna simuleringslekarna som barnen lärt sig i dessa läger. Detta är nu alltför verkliga, särskilt med tanke på händelserna den 7 oktober, då tusentals hetsande arabiska ungdomar invaderade Israel och Negev.

Bevisen pekar på att UNRWA styr kriget, med Hamas som agent.

Den 1 augusti 2000 antog UNRWA formellt den palestinska myndighetens läroplan för ”rätt att återvända” . Nu har den omvandlat den till ”rätten att återvända med vapenmakt,” vilket bevittnades den 7 oktober 2023.

Förvånande nog kräver inte en enda nation att en sådan dödlig läroplan tas bort och den 1 juli 2024 kommer UNRWA att genomföra samma våldsamma sommarläger med de arabiska flyktingar som bor i UNRWA:s läger i Judéen, Samarien, Gaza och Jerusalem.

Under dessa sju månader av väpnad konfrontation efter Hamas anfallskrig har IDF upptäckt mängder av vapenarsenaler i UNRWA:s skolor och sjukvårdsinrättningar.

Vi har nu förberett en 15 minuter sammanställning av UNRWA:s sommarläger filmer och kommer att presentera budskapet för Knesset och ambassaderna i länder som donerar till UNRWA:s budget med 1,6 miljarder dollar. Filmerna som dokumenterats under åren vid UNRWA:s sommarläger kommer att vara en värdefull resurs för de utredare som undersöker händelserna vid anfallet mot Israel den 7 oktober.

Den förbryllande frågan är:

Hur är det möjligt att ingen verkade veta att UNRWA använde sina sommarläger för att träna arméer av ungdomar för gerillakrigföring med totalt uppror?

Det är dags att sammanställa och avslöja hur UNRWA:s anläggningar förvandlats till arsenaler.

Det är dags att se över UNRWA:s läroplan ännu en gång och begära att graffiti målningarna med uppmaningar till mord och attentat runt UNRWA:s skolor omedelbart tas bort.

Det är dags att dela alla bevisen på vapen i UNRWA:s skolor .

Innan detta års UNRWA:s sommarläger börjar!

Israel Security Assistance Support Act

Center for Near East Policy Research

May 14, 2024

Washington, D.C. – House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee Chairman Ken Calvert (R-CA), joined by Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK), State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee Chairman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), and Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee Chairman David Joyce (R-OH), today released the Israel Security Assistance Support Act to support our great ally and U.S. national security. The legislation curbs President Biden’s misguided efforts to withhold critical security resources appropriated in U.S. law by compelling the delivery of defense weapons to Israel as they fight to protect themselves against radical terrorists.

The Members said, “Unlike the Administration, House Appropriators will not waver in our ironclad support for Israel. The House and Senate acted on the will of the people, overwhelmingly providing Israel with the firepower to send a message: the U.S. and our allies will not cower to terrorist organizations like Hamas. The Administration is expected to utilize the very aid it requested to equip Israel with what it needs to defend itself, destroy Hamas, and maintain peace in the region. Any actions to withhold resources impede our national and global security and send a dangerous signal that the U.S. cannot be counted on as a partner. We demand the Administration fulfill our commitment to our great ally in the Middle East, especially so in this serious time of need.”

The Israel Security Assistance Support Act:

Compels the expeditious delivery of approved defense articles and services to Israel, including third-party deliveries;
Withholds funds from the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State, and the National Security Council until suspended defense articles are delivered;
Condemns the Biden Administration’s dangerous decision to pause arms as Israel faces unprecedented threats from Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran;
Reaffirms Israel’s right to self-defense;
Upholds the power of the purse and oversight responsibilities of Congress; and
Requires a report on actions taken by the Executive Branch to withhold security assistance and therefore impede Israel’s ability to defend itself.

At a time when Israel is facing increased attacks, including the imprisonment of their citizens and Americans by Hamas terrorists—alongside the rise of other global threats, antisemitism, and campus demonstrations around the U.S. that have empowered anti-Jewish aggression—this bill is a vital step in standing with our allies and supporting the U.S.-Israel alliance.

Contact: Alexia Sikora, Alex Attebery, (202) 225-2771

The Attack on Iran’s IRGC Leaders in Damascus and the Iranian Attack on Israel: An Iranian View

Center for Near East Policy Research

May 13, 2024

Political leaders make policy based on their perceptions, not those of others. Americans/Westerners tend to believe that people who speak good English think like Americans. They don’t. Even worse, some of the West’s worst enemies speak superb English; they use this skill against us. We ignore this fact at our peril.

Javad Zarif, Iran’s then-foreign minister, bamboozled then-President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry into submitting to Iran’s demands in what began the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) —which was, in essence, American submission to Iran’s will. Zarif bragged about this in his tell-all book in Persian.

We cannot understand the attack on Iran’s senior IRGC leaders in Damascus on April 1, 2024, which many attribute to Israel, and the subsequent Iranian attack on Israel without taking the above into account.

Iranians constantly worry about a “Grand Conspiracy” (in Persian Tote-e-ye Bozorg) against them and their country. The events of the past few weeks fit perfectly into this mindset.

The Iranians ask: How did Israel know precisely when and where to eliminate Iran’s senior IRGC leadership in Syria and Lebanon?

Iranians reason: it was their erstwhile Alawite allies in Syria who run the country, i.e., President Assad.

How does Iran know this? Because the Alawites, though an offshoot of Shiism, aren’t truly allies because, while they both share the belief in the centrality of Muhammad’s cousin Ali as the central figure of their respective religions, Alawites see Ali as a god, which is anathema to Shiism. So, in the end, no matter how close they are as allies against the Sunnis, the Shiites have long suspected them as unreliable.

The Iranians reason: Assad’s people knew which Iranians were there. And Assad has been somewhat “unreliable” lately. How did Israel “get to them? Did Assad change sides?”

The Alawite-Jewish-Sunni Plot

In the 1930s and early ‘40s, Alawite leaders often saw the Jews in Palestine as an ally against the Sunnis, who then ruled Syria and were the largest group in British Palestine. Assad’s great-grandfather was one of seven Alawite leaders who signed a letter to the French rulers of Syria asking them to set up an independent Alawite State in Syria. In the letter,¹ they cite the way the Sunnis were treating the Jews in Palestine as the way the Sunnis treated the Alawites in Syria. One of those Alawite leaders who signed this was the great-grandfather of Bashar Assad, the present leader of Syria.

(See below: The actual documents where the Alawites compare their situation to the Jews under Sunni/Muslim rule.)

So now, “behind the curtain (posht-e pardeh),” as they say in Persian, this supposedly “proves” the Alawite-Jewish/Israel connection.

How Did Iran’s Missile Attack on Israel Fail so Miserably?

Let’s continue the reasoning: How did? That is a miracle, even by scientific standards! Does this mean that Allah is against them? If so, what is Iran doing wrong? We have heard multiple answers to this question.

One more interesting suggestion from Iranians is that the leadership feels pushed into the corner. This fact plays into the hands of one of the ruling factions in Iran, which believes that if they provoke a conflagration with the Jews, then their Mahdi (Messiah) would come down and save them. The late Professor Bernard Lewis used to say, for them, a conflagration was an incentive, not a deterrent.

Others within the Iran regime fear an Israeli attack and do NOT want to go for broke.

Read the Writing on the Wall

But what concerned the Iranian regime even more was that Israel’s fantastic success deeply humiliated the Iranian government.

After Israel’s strike, graffiti began appearing on the streets in Iran. Though we don’t know how widespread it was, we know that the Iranian people were emboldened because they scribbled on walls asking Israel to continue striking. “You (i.e., Israel) go after the regime, and we will go out into the streets (and do the rest.)”

To complicate matters further, we have been hearing from many people in the Arab world and Iranians that there are now two opposing alliances in the Middle East:

the American administration and their ally – the Iranian government.
the Arab Sunni regimes (minus Qatar) and Israel.

Why do more and more Middle Easterners believe this? Because the American administration is putting massive pressure on the Israelis NOT to attack Iran’s allies – i.e., not to go into Rafah in the Gaza Strip and destroy Iran’s Hamas ally, not to go after Hizbullah, the Iranian’s fifth column in Lebanon, and, of course, not to attack Iran.

Absurd Conclusions

From the Iranian perspective, this “proves” that their view of the American-Iran alliance vs. Israel makes perfect sense.

From both an Iranian and Sunni Arab perspective, the American administration has shown that it is doing everything it can to strengthen the Iranian regime at the expense of America’s supposed ally Israel, America’s supposed Arab Sunni Allies, and finally, against the Iranian people.

Absurd? Certainly, from a Western point of view!

But it makes perfect sense to Middle Easterners.

Dr. Mordechai Kedar – Debate, Speaking Tour

Center for Near East Policy Research

May 13, 2024

Dear friends and colleagues,

Recently I took part in a heated debate on SKY News in Arabic about Israel and peace with its neighbors.

2. I am offering to speak to your congregation or organization in person or via Zoom. There is so much to hear and learn about Israel and the Middle East especially at this time and I am available to speak in person or via Zoom to your audience. List of suggested topics – below.

Dr. Mordechai Kedar
Researcher at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, Bar-Ilan University
NEWSRAEL’s vice president
Kedar@newsrael.com
Phone and WhatsApp in Israel: +972-54-477-8908

List of suggested topics

Understanding Arab and Muslim Culture

1.The roots of Anti-Semitism in Islam. Why are Muslims taught to hate Jews?
2.What is the struggle over Jerusalem all about?
3.Islam – A religion at war, Sunnis vs Shi’is.
4.Islamic Radicalism – Causes, ideology, and ways to face it.
5.The Right of Return: Jews vs Muslims
6.The Other Voices in the Muslim World – My personal experience.

Israel Today

1.What are the origins of the Hamas-Israel conflict?
2.Who is Hamas? What do they really want?
3.What is the difference between Hamas and Hezbollah?
4.Can the “two state solution” resolve the conflict between the Arabs and Israel?

General Issues:

Jew-Hatred / Antisemitism: roots, causes and ways to deal with it.
Israel and the Diaspora: How to minimize the gap?
The European Jewry – past, present, and future predictions
The Muslim mass migration to Europe and its consequences and effects on the Jewish communities

Israeli Issues:

Understanding the Israeli Electoral System
What are Israel’s rights in Judea and Samaria and in the Golan Heights?
Israel’s Political System: Right, Center and Left
Pressing issues in Israel today

Israel and its neighbors

The strategy of USA and Russia in the Middle East

2. Israel in 2024: Achievements and Challenges

3. Challenges and Opportunities in a Changing Middle East
4. Different views of peace in the Middle East
5. The challenges the world is facing from Iran – what motivates the Ayatollahs?

Jewish Topics

Sefer Bereshis – A view through the looking glass of the Middle Eastern culture

Would you want your child to to go to an UNRWA summer camp?

Center for Near East Policy Research

May 13, 2024

For the past 15 years, as a community organizer turned investigative reporter, I have held the unique position of running the sole agency which documents UNRWA summer camps . Assisted by three Arab journalists and three Jewish journalists with a deep understanding of Arab culture, my task has been to share the unsettling realities witnessed since I first covered UNRWA in 1987.

Each summer, the UNRWA camps engage in simulations depicting the violence they believe is necessary for claiming and “returning to Palestine.” The so-called “fun games” revolve around preparing for the perceived war to “liberate Palestine”.

Shockingly, children at UNRWA summer camps practice activities such as kidnapping soldiers, burning IDF vehicles, and handling short-lived weapons.

Having now prepared a compilation of UNRWA summer camp footage, we will present it to the Knesset and the embassies of countries that donate to the $1.6 billion UNRWA budget.

It is disturbing to witness the simulation games the children learned at these camps which now seem all too real, especially given the events of October 7, when thousands of incited Arab youngsters invaded the Negev.

While most journalists find joy in their achievements, my scoop brings little pleasure. The evidence points to UNRWA directing the war, with Hamas acting as the agent. The films and footage captured at UNRWA summer camps will serve as a valuable resource for generations of investigators examining the events of October 7 that caught the world by surprise.

The perplexing question arises is: How is it possible that no one seemed to know that UNRWA used its summer camps to train an army of young people for guerrilla warfare aimed at total insurrection?

On August 1, 2000, UNRWA formally adopted the “right of return” curriculum of the Palestinian Authority. Now, it has transformed it into the “right of return” by force of arms, as witnessed on October 7, 2023. Astonishingly, not a single nation calls for the removal of such a lethal curriculum.

And on July 1, 2024, UNRWA will conduct these same violent prone summer camps for descendants of Arab refugees who live in UNRWA camps in Judea, Samaria, Gaza and Jerusalem.

Throughout these seven months of armed confrontation, the IDF has discovered arsenals of weapons in the UNRWA schools and medical facilities.

This is the time to compile how UNRWA facilities were transformed into arsenals, before the UNRWA summer camps commence. This is the time to review the UNRWA curriculum once again and to ask for the removal of the murder murals around the UNRWA schools and to share the evidence of weapons in the UNRWA schools, before the UNRWA summer camps commence.

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Israel Behind the News

Telling Interview from April 2000 Concerning UNRWA Education

Who is Maher Bitar, the former anti-Israeli activist who became Biden’s senior intelligence official

Statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Watch: Terrorists operate next to UN vehicles, in UNRWA Rafah compound

IAF strikes Hamas war room in UNRWA school

Skulle du vilja att ditt barn är med i ett av UNRWAs läger den här sommaren?

Israel Security Assistance Support Act

The Attack on Iran’s IRGC Leaders in Damascus and the Iranian Attack on Israel: An Iranian View

The Alawite-Jewish-Sunni Plot

How Did Iran’s Missile Attack on Israel Fail so Miserably?

Read the Writing on the Wall

Absurd Conclusions

Dr. Mordechai Kedar – Debate, Speaking Tour

Would you want your child to to go to an UNRWA summer camp?

Column from the Director