The Israeli Palestinian Conflict

This research discusses the image of the city of Jerusalem as revealed in the Palestinian Authority's schoolbooks currently used the PA schools in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. Seventy textbooks for grades 1-10 were examined for the purpose of this study. These are the most updated versions, mostly published in 2020 (see the List of Sources at the end of this study). Jerusalem's image, as reflected in the books is strongly one-sided, in sharp contrast to its image in the Israeli schoolbooks, which emphasize its holiness to the three monotheistic religions and treat its Arab inhabitants as the city's integral. Read more...

In recent months the PLO Anti-Discrimination and Apartheid Department, headed by Ramzi Rabah, a member of the PLO Executive, has been organizing an international conference against "Israeli apartheid," expected to take place in South Africa at the end of 2023. Its objective is to "build a global front against 'Israeli apartheid' with extensive Arab and international participation, which will adopt an operational strategy and common vision for action to condemn and boycott the Israeli government and demand it be held accountable for its 'crimes' against the Palestinians, their land and their rights." During June 2023, in preparation for the conference, senior figures of the PLO Anti-Discrimination and Apartheid Department visited several European countries to form sympathetic fronts while promoting a European forum before the international conference had been held. After the visits the decision was made to hold the European forum in Belgium on October 15, 2023. In July 2023 senior Department members met with government and political figures and senior members of the BDS movement in South Africa to prepare and coordinate the conference. It will be the second annual conference organized by the PLO Anti-Discrimination and Apartheid Department; it held the first in al-Bireh on December 11, 2022. Read more...

The present research deals with some 115 maps of the country appearing in the latest edition of schoolbooks issued by the Palestinian Authority and used in the PA schools, including UNRWA schools. Its source material included 125 books of grades 1-10 in the subjects of Arabic, English, Social Studies, Islamic Education, Mathematics, Sciences and Technology. The research aimed at checking the way this country – Israel/Palestine – is presented, in view of the ongoing conflict between the two nations that claim to be its owners. The basic hypothesis of this research was that the two parties see this country in its entirety as their homeland, which should be expressed in the maps appearing in their respective schoolbooks Indeed, there were found in the Israeli textbooks maps that present the country as one unit with no internal boundaries under the name "Israel" when those maps were not of political character. Read more...