you'd want these "stone age"dwellers as neighbours

Jul. 21, 2004 23:23
PA textbooks: Israel is Palestine
By MARGOT DUDKEVITCH




A MAP appearing in a new Palestinian textbook is titled ‘The Arab countries neighboring Palestine.’ It does not mention Israel.







Palestinian schoolbooks for the first time delineate the borders of the West Bank and Gaza Strip on maps but the entire territory encompassed by Israel, the West Bank and Gaza is referred to as Palestine, according to an Israeli government report.

These are the two most significant changes in textbooks published by the Palestinian Authority's Education Ministry for the 2003-2004 school year. The PA textbooks continue to deny Israel's right to exist and claim that the only solution to the current conflict is violence, according to a report by the coordinator of government activities in the territories.

The report, which was obtained exclusively by The Jerusalem Post, says Palestine, not Israel, appears on all of the books' maps and all the village, cities, and towns located in Israel are referred to by their Arabic names.

The PA does not teach pupils about co-existence or peace and the overall policy "appears to be one of delegitimization of the State of Israel and Zionists," the document stated.

While Israel is not formally recognized, it is mentioned as a party to peace agreements and Camp David Accords.

Jews and Judaism are portrayed negatively, but martyrdom is depicted as a positive national trend, according to the report.

The Israeli document is based on a study of 26 textbooks ranging from history, geography, economics, civic studies, and language books currently used by grade 4 and junior high students in Palestinian schools. The PA Education Ministry has been gradually replacing antiquated textbooks since the Oslo Accords came into effect in the 1990s.

Certain maps and topics refer to "Historical Palestine" and later as Palestine where the map of Israel and the West Bank and Gaza appear.

Other maps portray the defined borders of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under the heading of the Palestinian Authority.

The report suggests that such divisions teach pupils to believe that the PA is a temporary territorial solution that relates to two areas whereas Palestine includes Israel and the Palestinian territories as a whole.

Surrounding countries are referred to as the "Arab World" or "Muslim World."

The PA history books state that the Palestinian people have rights to the "country" [Israel] as they settled in it before the Jews, according to the report.

Some texts claim that Palestinians have resided in the area since the Stone Age while others express the "injustice in the establishment of the Jewish State" and state that Palestine gained independence in 1948, after the British Mandate ended.

The report points out that Zionism is referred to as an imperial movement and is compared to Britain and France. The term Zionists refers to "settlers," defined as a group of people who immigrate from a strong country to a weaker country and take control of its land.

The Israeli report notes that the term "jihad" [holy war] appears to be far less used than in the past and the right of return of Palestinian refugees is hardly mentioned in any of the books.

In textbooks on Palestinian economy, the report stated that Israel is not referred to even though many of its products are sold in Palestinian shops and markets while other trading partners like Jordan, China, and Germany are acknowledged.