Palestinian Authority schools are continuing to use textbooks that were made by the Palestinian education ministry to incite violent jihad and antisemitism and glorify terror attacks, the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-SE) reported this week.
In one of the September-released textbooks, it is written that "every Muslim" should engage in jihad "for the liberation of Palestine" and that students should act as "a shard of glass in Israel's neck and a whirlwind of fire" in Israel's eyes.
For example, the science textbook shows a girl using a slingshot as a way to "demonstrate" Newton's law of motion. Their history books are filled with antisemitism, stating that the Jews control the banks, the media, politics, and the list goes on. They also teach Palestinian kids that Israeli soldiers who "look like the face of death" laugh while killing Palestinian children.
"What starts with incitement to hatred and violence, becomes terror and prevents co-existence."
EU Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi
The Jawad Al-Hashlamoun Elementary School in Hebron posted a eulogy on their official Facebook page for one of their former teachers, Muhammed Kamel-al Jabari, who was killed after he opened fire on Israeli civilians on a Saturday night, injuring six and killing one. They praised him, saying that the attack was "full of pride, boldness and defiance."
What did the EU Parliament say about it?
The EU Parliament "deplores that problematic and hateful material in Palestinian school textbooks has still not been removed and is concerned about the continued failure to act effectively against hate speech and violence in school textbooks and especially in the newly created study cards," it wrote in a resolution passed in May, due to the hateful textbooks used to teach Palestinian kids.
"All textbooks and materials supported by Union Funds which are used in school must be in line with UNESCO standards of peace, tolerance, co-existence and non-violence; moreover, [the Parliament] insists that salaries of teachers and education sector civil servants that are financed from Union funds such as PEGASE be used for drafted and teaching curricula which reflect the UNESCO standards of peace, tolerance, coexistence and non-violence."
The Parliament "requests, therefore, the Commission to closely scrutinize that the Palestinian Authority and relevant experts to modify the curriculum expeditiously," the resolution continued.
EU Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi, whose department oversee PA aid, announced on Twitter that the EU will fund the second set of textbooks for the PA. "Following the decision of the MS on EU financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority, the Commission remains firmly committed to cooperating with the PA to ensure full adherence of all education material with UNESCO standards. COM with finance the second study on Palestinian textbooks," he wrote.
Following the decision of the MS on EU financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority, the Commission remains firmly committed to cooperate w/ PA to ensure full adherence of all education material w/ UNESCO standards. COM will finance a 2nd study on Palestinian textbooks.
— Oliver Varhelyi (@OliverVarhelyi) June 14, 2022
"No tolerance for antisemitism, incitement to hatred and violence. Textbooks that go against them undermind peace and co-existence and have no place in the classroom," he continued. "Fundamental principles can't be negotiable. Hereof, COM reserves the right to take appropriate measures as necessary."
No tolerance for anti-Semitism, incitement to hatred & violence. Textbooks that go against them undermine peace & co-existence & have no place in classroom. Fundamental principles can’t be negotiable. Hereof, COM reserves the right to take appropriate measures as necessary.
— Oliver Varhelyi (@OliverVarhelyi) June 14, 2022
Varhelyi also took it upon himself to speak to the EU Parliament about the rise of antisemitism. "Regretfully, antisemitism is on the rise in Europe and across the world," he stated. "What is even more troubling is that even fundamental commitments in the EU for this fight seem to be weakening, if not disappearing these days. One might have never anticipated that the fight against antisemitism will be negotiable in Europe, or even worse, be taken over by other considerations when certain decisions are made. Standing up against antisemitism should never become a question of the majority.
"For me, there can be no compromise and no discount on these fundamental principles. It must be non-negotiable. And EU taxpayer's money should not be used to finance any such activity," he said.
"What starts with incitement to hatred and violence, becomes terror and prevents co-existence."