Palestinian Authority textbooks and teachers’ guides dealing with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict (based on books published in 2019)

By Dr. Arnon Groiss

Main Findings^[1]

• The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC) published during the years 2017-2019, in cooperation with the Center for Near East Policy Research, several studies dealing with the presentation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Palestinian Authority’s schoolbooks and teachers’ guides. These studies were based on close to 400 schoolbooks and over 100 teachers’ guides published by the Palestinian Authority (PA) between the years 2013-2018.
• As far as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was concerned, three fundamentals were found prominent in the examined schoolbooks: De-legitimization of the State of Israel’s existence, demonization of Israel and the Jews (“the Zionist enemy”), and advocacy of a violent struggle for the liberation of the Land of Israel (“Palestine”). Not a single call for a peaceful resolution of the conflict, or for co-existence with Israel, was found in any of the PA’s schoolbooks and teachers’ guides. During the year 2019, new editions of these schoolbooks appeared, with some changes, which necessitated an updating research. The examination of 133 books published in 2019 revealed that quite a few changes had been made there. But a thorough review of these changes made it clear that they strengthened the general picture regarding the conflict, as crystalized on the basis of the former studies, and that they did not change it (and see the list of published former studies in Appendix B).
• Therefore, the present study does not review in detail all the changes that have been made, but rather presents those ones that have some significance worth mentioning. The review of the changes was done according to three categories: Additions, omissions and corrections. It was noted during the review that a book not included in the former studies was added as well and that book was checked separately. Its findings do not change the general picture.
• Following are the main findings within the three said categories:
  • Additions: The additions do not change the schoolbooks’ general line. Examples: A poem describing the return of the refugees to their former places of residence, which is carried out violently; intensifying the narrative that exalts the terrorist Dalal al-Mughrabi, a female Fatah activist who commanded the murderous attack on Israel’s coastal highway in 1978;^[2] explaining the importance of Jihad in an “Islamic Education” textbook; an assignment of visiting a terrorist released from Israeli jail (“one of the freed detainees”) and writing about his suffering in prison in Israel (“Zionist occupation”); discussion of “the Zionist occupation’s abuses against the Gaza Strip in 2014” (“Protective Edge” Operation); checking the psychological impact of Israel’s actions on Palestinian children; and denial of the Jews’ part in the history of the Land of Israel.

“With my family’s help, I will mention names of detainees in the Occupation’s prisons”
(National and Life Education, Grade 1, Part 1, p. 63)

• Omissions: Omissions mainly took place due to editing considerations. They do not express changes in the general line that was traced in schoolbooks of previous editions, although there were cases where certain attempts of moderation were discerned. Thus, for example, a language exercise that featured a poetical verse stating the need for Jihad in Palestine has been omitted; some of the negative descriptions – not all – of an Israeli intelligence officer and a judge were omitted in a story depicting the suffering of a Palestinian detainee. An important omission is that of a cartoon that shows Israel as if it were striving to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque, although this omission does not cancel the general line according to which Israel endangers the mosque (see, for instance, a language exercise saying: “The Zionists set fire to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1969″)^[3]

• Corrections: Prominent corrections are those ones strengthening the line determined in 2016, according to which Israel’s name should not be mentioned. The name “Israel” that appeared in the former editions has been changed into “the Zionist occupation” in the 2019 edition; the adjective “Israeli” has been changed into “Zionist”; the sentence “the Israeli aggression against Gaza in 2014” (the “Protective Edge” Operation) has been replaced by “the war against Gaza in 2014”; a picture of the terrorist Dalal al-Mughrabi, who had been presented as an attractive feminine figure, has been replaced by one that presents her as a fighter.

Glorification of a terrorist who participated in a murderous attack in which 37 Israeli civilians were murdered

    
On the left: The former edition: Arabic Language, Grade 5, Part 2 (2017) p. 51; on the right: the 2019 edition: Arabic Language, Grade 5, Part 2 (2019) p. 51.

Additions

• As already mentioned, the additions appearing in the 2019 schoolbooks do not change the general line, except for few nuances to be discussed below, or the renewal of elements that had existed in the books before 2016 and later disappeared in the books of 2017-2018. One of these cases is the poem “We Shall Return” describing the refugees’ violent return to their former places of residence within Israel’s pre-1967 borders. It last appeared in Our Beautiful Language, Grade 7, Part 1 (2014) p. 28 and then disappeared, to reappear in a 2019 textbook:

“…Tomorrow we shall return and the generations will listen

To the footfalls’ sound during the return

We shall return with the thundering storms

With the sacred lightening and the shooting star

With the winged hope and the songs

With the soaring vulture and the eagle

Yes, thousands of victims shall return

The victims of injustice shall open every door.”

(Arabic Language, Grade 7, Part 1, p. 49)

• Another addition replaces a piece on corruption in society. It mentions names of heroes in Arab and Muslim history, including those ones of Yasser Arafat, Izz al-Din al-Qassam – a religious figure in Mandatory Palestine who has become the source of inspiration to Hamas terrorist organization, and Dalal al-Mughrabi – who led the terrorist attack on a civilian bus on Israel’s Coastal Highway in 1978 (Arabic Language, Grade 5, Part 1, p. 28). This addition strengthens the emphasis put in the new textbooks on that particular terrorist in general, which was discussed widely in our former studies.
• An addition connected to an existing line is found in an Islamic Education textbook. One of its chapters features an added goal that was placed at the very beginning: “1. Understanding the importance of Jihad in the propagation of Islamic preaching” (Islamic Education, Grade 9, Part 1, p. 57).
• A new didactic element that had been absent formerly, a joint project of the whole class at the end of the semester, has been introduced into the 2019 books. In most books, the project’s subject is chosen by the teacher, but there are books where the subject is already defined. Following are some relevant examples:
  • “The Nakbah [the 1948 defeat] is a painful memory among our Palestinian people and its impact is still existent today. I will plan with my colleagues a wall-magazine on the Nakbah and on its impact upon the Palestinian people” (Arabic Language, Grade 5, Part 1, p. 103).
  • “We will organize an exhibition in school, to be titled ‘So that We shall not Forget’, by collecting photographs of several Palestinian ruined villages” (Arabic Language, Grade 6, Part 2, p. 127).
  • “We will visit one of the freed prisoners-of-war and write about their suffering in the Zionist occupation’s prisons” (Arabic Language, Grade 7, Part 2, p. 126).
  • “National [wataniyyah] unity is a national requirement for the defeat of the Zionist occupation. We will discuss the apparatuses for strengthening national unity among the various groups within the Palestinian people and write a research about that” (Arabic Language, Grade 8, Part 1, p. 111).
• Other joint projects were also added:
  • Discussion in separate groups of “the violations [perpetrated] by the Zionist occupation against the Gaza Strip in 2014” (Social Studies, Grade 9, Part 2, p. 86).
  • Research and discussion of “the violations against the historical and religious sites in the city of Jerusalem by the Zionist occupation in the context of international laws in defense of human heritage” (Social Studies, Grade 7, Part 1, p. 73).
  • “Posting pictures on boards that will reflect the violations by the Zionist occupation of the children of Palestine’s rights” (Social Studies, Grade 5, Part 2, p. 80).
• Beyond the joint in-class projects, some specific assignments were added too, with a view to intensifying Israel’s demonization, by comparing it to historical occupiers:
  • “6. I will draw conclusions regarding the similarities between the policy of the Roman occupation towards Carthage and the policy of the Zionist occupation towards the Palestinian people” (Social Studies, Grade 6, Part 1, p. 83).
• An assignment following the review of the destruction of Islamic culture in Baghdad by the Mongols [1258 AD]: “Let us think and discuss: The Zionist occupation’s actions to erase the national culture in the occupied territories” (Social Studies, Grade 7, Part 2, p. 14).

And more:

• “An issue for discussion: The psychological impact of the Zionist occupation’s actions against the Palestinian children” (Social Studies, Grade 8, Part 2, p. 89).
• “Discuss: The deformities of embryos in Palestine have a connection to the impact of the widespread wars and to the use of white phosphorus and other weapons” (Biology, Grade 10, p. 80):

• As regards grade 1 students:
  • “B. I will look at the following picture and express it orally.
  • C. With my family’s help, I will mention the names of prisoners-of-war in the occupation’s prisons.”

• Other additions are intended to strengthen or widen existent lines. Thus, a chapter on racism depicts Britain’s support of Zionism in Palestine as racial discrimination, and this is the case with the 1948 war and the conflict in general:
  • “The British Mandate embraced a racist policy that brought about the denial of the Palestinian people’s existence and divided the inhabitants of Palestine according to religion into two groups as follows: The first one, the non-Jewish communities that reside in Palestine (Muslims and Christians), and the second one, the Zionist Jews. That was clearly revealed during its implementation of the Balfour Declaration regarding the establishment of a national home for the Zionist Jews in Palestine, while denying the Palestinians’ political rights… Britain collaborated with the Zionist movement in bringing Zionist Jewish immigrants and giving them a base [in Palestine] at the expense of the Palestinian original inhabitants’ rights.
  • [Then] came the great racist disaster that hit the Palestinian people in 1948, when the Zionist armed gangs occupied 77% of Palestine[‘s territory], perpetrated massacres against the Palestinians, destroyed 531 Palestinian villages and forced a million Palestinians to emigrate as refugees to what was left of Palestine, or to neighboring states, such as Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and other diaspora areas. They completed the occupation of what had been left of Palestine in June 1967. The Zionist occupation still denies the Arab-Palestinian people’s rights to freedom and independence, the establishment of the Palestinian state in the territories that were occupied in 1967, in addition to its denial of the Palestinian refugees’ right of return, and it continues its racist measures that have influenced the [various] aspects of life of all Palestinians, like killing, deportation, detention, the military check points, electronic gates, house demolition, building of the Zionist settlements and the racist annexation and expansionist wall” (Social Studies, Grade 9, Part 2, pp. 98-99).
• Another addition in the field of Israel’s demonization:
  • “The [Zionist] settlements snuggle to us degraded merchandise” (Arabic Language, Grade 8, Part 1, p. 43).
• Another element found in the additions is a development of the ongoing effort to deny the Jews’ part in the country’s history as well as the existence of their holy places there. Following are two pieces in this regard that have been added to the new edition:
  • A short piece on the Samaritans in Nablus says that they are the only remnant of the ancient Israelites, thus denying the present Jewish people’s connection to their Israelite forefathers: “…The Samaritans consider themselves the only remnant of the original ancient Israelite tribes, followers of our Lord Moses, peace be upon him. They have kept their racial purity and attribute themselves to three of the twelve tribes of the Children of Israel: the tribe of Levy, son of Jacob, to which the priests’ family belongs, and the tribes of Ephraim and Menashe, sons of our Lord Joseph, peace be upon him, to which the rest of the Samaritan families belong… As regards the other tribes, they disappeared or accepted the Christian or Muslim religion…” (Geography and Modern and Contemporary History of Palestine, Grade 10, Part 1, p. 59).
  • One of Jerusalem’s woes brought by the Zionist occupation is that they “regard the Al-Buraq Wall [the Jewish Western Wall], which they call ‘the Wailing Wall’, [as their holy place], while knowing that it became sacred to them only after the Ottoman conquest [1517], and their interest in it increased with the development of the Zionist movement” (Geography and Modern and Contemporary History of Palestine, Grade 10, Part 2, p. 110).

Omissions

• Omissions mostly occurred as a result of editing consideration, namely, shortening chapters, or adding new materials, which necessitates extra room, etc. and they do not reflect changes in the general line. For instance, the 2019 edition of an Islamic Education textbook omitted a sentence saying that Palestine in its entirety is an Islamic waqf land and, by implication, should be defended. But it was replaced by another sentence carrying a similar meaning: “I am a Muslim; I protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque, defend it and sacrifice for it” (Islamic Education, Grade 5, Part 1, p. 99). Even when a meaningful piece is omitted from a certain book with no such replacement, there still remain in that book, or in other ones, similar pieces. Yet, there were cases in which an attempt of certain moderation was discerned:
  • A 2017 textbook features the following piece: “Self-sacrifice [fida’], sacrifice [tad’hiyyah], struggle [nidal], Jihad and fight [kifah] are life’s most important meanings, especially among a people that suffers from the disasters of occupation, such as siege, oppression, restrictions, [house] demolition and detention for the sake of achieving freedom, establishing [its] state and self-determination. This is the Palestinian people that has expressed the most beautiful forms of belonging and steadfastness and has brought forth heroes full of faith, knowledge and love of the homeland” (Arabic Language, Grade 5, Part 1, p. 27). The last sentence mentioning the Palestinian people in this context was omitted from the 2019 edition (this piece has been relocated to p. 20).
  • A language exercise using a poetic verse on the need for Jihad in Palestine has been omitted (Arabic Language 1, Grade 11, Part 1. In the former edition it is found on p. 14), and a whole chapter discussing the value of ribat, that is, standing on guard against the enemies of Islam – in the context of Palestine and Al-Aqsa Mosque, was omitted too (Islamic Education, Grade 11, Part 2. The omitted chapter appears on pp. 52-56 in the former edition).
  • As regards martyrdom, an expression assignment of describing “a funeral procession of a martyr in which I took part or heard about” disappeared (Arabic Language 1, Grade 11, Part 1. In the 2017 edition it appeared on p. 79)
  • The “right of return” is an important element of the Palestinian narrative that is mentioned in a few schoolbooks. Nevertheless, we see that a picture related to this subject, with the accompanying question, has been cancelled (Mathematics, Grade 7, Part 1). Following is the piece as appearing in the 2017 edition (p. 79): “in 2013, the city of Nablus dedicated the largest mural that expresses the history of the Palestinian cause, with the participation of 25 artists, both male and female…”:

• In the field of Israel demonization there are some important omissions. One, for example, is the omission of some negative descriptions – not all – of an Israeli security agent and a judge in a story about the suffering of a Palestinian administrative detainee (Arabic Language 1, Grade 12, pp. 80-81). A research assignment regarding harmful materials emanating from Israeli settlements that pollute the Palestinian environment has been dropped, as well as another one comparing the “colonialist Zionist imperialism in Palestine” to the Apartheid regime in South Africa, to French colonialism in Algeria and European colonialism in America (History Studies, Grade 11, Part 1. It appears on p. 105 in the former edition). Another assignment of distinguishing between Palestinian cities occupied in 1948 and those ones that were occupied in 1967 was also omitted (Social Studies, Grade 7, Part 1, p. 54, as compared to this piece on p. 56 in the previous edition). Again, all these omissions do not mean that the demonization of Israel in general has been reduced – and see the additions above.
• An important omission is that of the cartoon showing an Israeli bulldozer trying to destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque (Social Studies, Grade 7, Part 1 – p. 64 in the former edition):

• Still, this omission too does not cancel the line presenting Israel as one that endangers the mosque, and see, for example, a language exercise in the new edition saying: “4. The Zionists burned the Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1969” (Arabic Language, Grade 7, Part 2, p. 96), but the omission of such a strong visual means cannot but indicate a kind of moderation.
• Regarding peace, as found in previously conducted studies, the PA schoolbooks never advocate peace and coexistence with Israel, but there are several references in favor of peace in general. A prominent piece of this sort that had appeared in a book of the former edition (Social Studies, Grade 5, Part 2, pp. 83-84) was omitted from the 2019 one.
• Finally, another omission, in a history textbook for grade 12, does not indicate moderation but rather a concealment of a genuine intention. It is said in the book’s draft edition:

“Arab unity has become today an urgent necessity for the Arab nation in light of the intensification of the Zionist danger and the Imperialist dangers that surround it. The Zionist entity, which was established on the land of Arab Palestine as a barrier preventing the unification of both parts of the great Arab homeland, and which aspires to sowing the seeds of dissension in all Arab and Muslim societies in order to prevent the creation of an Arab unity among the sons of the Arab nation that would act in support of the Palestinian people’s resistance for the achievement of its independence and for the uprooting of this artificial and foreign entity from the Arab region, necessitates a comprehensive Arab unity of the nation’s sons and assets, in order to withstand the confrontation with these dangers and threats” (History Studies, Grade 12 (Draft, No date [2018] p. 145). The bold-lettered words were omitted from the 2019 edition and were replaced by the word “goals” (p. 106).

Corrections

• Prominent in this field are the corrections made in order to strengthen the line determined in 2016 which has not been implemented in full in all places. These are pieces that were still featuring the name “Israel” in the former edition, which was changed into “the Zionist occupation” in the 2019 edition (History Studies, Grad 12, p. 96), or the adjective “Israeli” that was transformed into “Zionist” (Arabic Language, Grade 10 [Academic path], Part 2, p. 122; History Studies, Grade 12, p. 128), or the term “the Green Line” which was changed into “the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948” (History Studies, Grade 12, p. 56). Another similar correction was made in the caption accompanying a picture of a ruined airport in Gaza. It said in the original: “The Gaza international airport after the war [‘Protective Edge’ operation, 2014]”. In the corrected form the word “war” was replaced by the expression “the Zionist aggression against Gaza” (Social Studies, Grade 9, Part 2, p. 53). An opposite correction appears in another book. Instead “the Israeli aggression against Gaza in 2014” we now have “the war against Gaza in 2014” (History Studies, Grade 12, p. 4):

• A change in the similar spirit was made in a language exercise for grade-4 students using the idioms “how nice… how ugly”. In the original text there are two contradicting sentences: “How beautiful are these fields!” and “how ugly are these fields!”. In the 2019 edition the second sentence was replaced by “how ugly is the occupation!” (Our Beautiful Language, Grade 4, Part 1, p. 38).
• A different kind of correction is found in the description of the 1948 battle in the village of Al-Qastal. The former edition featured an illustration of Arab fighters vis-à-vis an Israeli tank, which was not the case in reality. That illustration was replaced in the 2019 edition by a photograph of Arab fighters in their post (both on p. 73):

    
(Arabic Language, Grade 5, Part 2, 2017) (Arabic Language, Grade 5, Part 2, 2019)

• Significant changes were introduced into the description of the 1978 terrorist action on Israel’s Coastal Highway. First, the picture of the female commander of that operation, Dalal al-Mughrabi, which presented a gentle feminine figure, was replaced by one in which she appears more fighter-like (both on p. 51):

      
(Arabic Language, Grade 5, Part 2, 2017)                 (Arabic Language, Grade 5, Part 2, 2019)         

• Second, the piece describing the group’s landing in Jaffa was omitted, as it had landed north of Tel Aviv and never reached Jaffa.
• Third, the description of the battle between the group and the Israeli police has been greatly exaggerated as if it took place between the group and large army forces under the command of General Ehud Barak (who was studying in the USA at that time). It was also argued that the goal of the Israeli forces was the elimination of the terrorist group by destroying the commandeered bus with all its Israeli civilian passengers, in what was described as “the policy of scorched earth”:

“The occupation forces were informed of the [commandeered] bus that reached the area of Sidna Ali [north of Tel Aviv] and they assigned a special unit of the army, under the command of Ehud Barak, to attack the bus with machine guns and shells, while [also] using aircrafts and tanks, and kill everyone on board, which is known as the policy of scorched earth. A large number of passengers were killed. Dalal ascended [to Heaven] as a martyr, with eight of her group’s heroic members, whose bodies are still kept in what the occupation authorities call ‘the numbers cemetery’ to this very day, while two fidais survived” (Arabic Language, Grade 5, Part 2 (2019) p. 52).

• A new question added in the 2019 edition at the end of the lesson saying: “How was Dalal al-Mughrabi killed and her body abused?” (p. 54).

Arabic Language 2, Grade 12 [humanities] (2019)

• As already mentioned, the former edition of this book was not available while working on the previous studies. The main findings in this 2019 edition are as follows:
• The one-sided Palestinian narrative is given in the introduction to a chapter on Palestinian literature:
  • “Since the end of the First World War to this day, Palestine have been witnessing colossal events and its people have lived through harsh periods reflected by the occupation of its homeland and the killing, destruction and expulsion that followed…
  • The Nakbah [i.e., the 1948 defeat and its aftermath] constituted a destructive shock for the Palestinian people. Britain withdrew from Palestine after having paved the way for the Jews so that they would take control over a large part thereof in 1948, which brought about the expulsion of the Palestinian people from its land. It now lives a life of misery in the refugee camps and in exile…
  • Since the occupation by the Jews in 1967 of what had been left of Palestine, Palestine and the Arab homeland [in general] have been witnessing a series of events… The Zionist occupation waged repeated wars against Lebanon, while targeting the Palestinian refugee camps, the stone-Intifadah erupted in 1987 and then the Al-Aqsa Intifadah broke out in 2000, accompanied by cruel aggression against the cities and refugee camps, as well as the destructive wars waged by the occupation against the Gaza Strip following that” (p. 33).
  • Among the elements characterizing Palestinian nationalist poetry:

“Description of the revolts… spreading the spirit of hope regarding the inevitability of the return and the disappearance of the occupation… description of the wandering in exile, the reality of prison and the suffering of the prisoners-of-war… [writing] poetry about the land… incitement to confrontation with the occupier… appearance of the ‘resistance poetry’ [of Israel’s Arab citizens] which is a poetry calling for struggle for the liberation from occupation and reclamation of the rights… the spread of the ‘prison literature’ which is the literature written about the prison and the suffering of the prisoners-of-war… description of the exile reality, loss of the homeland and the lamentation of the martyrs… clinging to the right of return” (pp. 34-35).

• One of the examples appearing in this context is a poem by Rashed Hussein, an Israeli-Arab originally, about an incident that took place in the village of Sandalah in the Jezreel Valley – “the massacre of Sandalah in 1957 in which fifteen school students fell victim to an explosion of a suspicious object while returning from their school in the Al-Muqeiblah village” – for which Israel is implicitly accused (excerpts):

“O Valley of Jezreel, do you have spikes or you have someone who sowed wars as bombs

…Did you think that the pencils were rifles and that our little boys were army legions?” (p. 34)

• Another example emphasizes “the determination regarding the right of return” by the Israeli-Arab Tawfiq Zayyad:

“My beloved ones, I will pave the road of your return with my eye lashes… and build the bridge of your return with my flesh…” (p. 34).

• Mahmud Darwish, another Israeli-Arab poet originally, says, describing the flight from his village in 1948:

“Joshua Bin Nun’s soldiers were building

Their fort from the stones of their houses [i.e., the former owners]…”^[4]

The explanation of this verse: “Joshua Bin Nun: It is said that he was a prophet of the Children of Israel who became a leader of the Jews following the death of Moses, peace be upon him, took them out of the desert, entered Jerusalem, besieged it and took it from the Canaanites.”

And more: “The poet applies the epic style while describing the loss of Palestine and the exile of its people…” (p. 37)

• Other examples in this context:

“The Jews have come to destroy this place, erase its history and build their houses on the ruins of Palestinian houses… The Zionist occupation will be defeated much the same as the crusaders, Napoleon and the Englishmen were defeated” (p. 38)

“The poet has indicated the need to continue the age-old struggle for the liberation of Palestine…” (p. 39).

A chapter about the expressions of the revolution in Palestinian poetry features a poem written “after the fall as a martyr of a young Palestinian woman who was bombed by an Israeli airplane in Beirut in 1976…” (p. 42)

• And among the poetic allegories used in this context:

“3. The martyrs are like candles – with light and glamor” (p. 45)

“Our mothers stand erect like olive and palm trees vis-à-vis the usurping occupier” (p. 50).

Further on, the book describes a novel by an Egyptian writer about a Palestinian family from the village of Tanturah in 1948 and afterwards. Following are excerpts referring to the Jewish “other” in this context:

“The Palestinian cities and villages are exposed to attack by the Zionist gangs and fall in their hands one after another… The Jews attack Tanturah and it falls into their hands. They kill the village’s youngsters in a horrible massacre… The women and the elderly are transferred by trucks and the refuge stations thus begin: Fureidis, Tulkarm, Hebron, Irbid… The Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, especially Sabra and Shatila, are attacked by the Jews, with whom some of the Lebanese organizations make alliance… (p. 66)

The novel’s events take place between 1947 and 2000. They cover the Palestinians’ life before the Nakbah and after – the attacks of the Palestinian cities and villages by the Zionist gangs in 1948, the massacres perpetrated by those gangs and the forced emigration to exile that followed.

The novel also presents various scenes of the massacres inflicted upon the sons of our people, who were forced to emigrate to Lebanon, as well as the barbarous oppression of the sons of our people during the stone Intifadah in 1987″ (pp. 69-70).

• Some of the novel’s figures:
  • Abd al-Rahman… [who] studies law in order to legally pursue the Jews for the massacres they perpetrated…
  • Hasan… [who] loses his loved one in the war waged against the refugee camps in Lebanon…
  • Abu al-Sadeq… [who] falls as a martyr in the Tanturah massacre…
  • Al-Sadeq and Hasan… [who] fall as martyrs with their father in Tanturah” (p. 70)
• Part of an excerpt from the novel provided by the textbook:

“Three armed men broke into the house and led us to the house of the village-head. They threatened us with their rifles’ butts. The women column started moving. They led us towards the cemetery. On the way I saw three bodies and, later, two more bodies. Two trucks were waiting in the cemetery. Under the threat of arms, we were required to climb on board and the trucks started moving. I suddenly screamed and pulled my mother’s arm, pointing with my hand at a pile of bodies. My mother looked to that direction and screamed: ‘Jamil! Jamil! My cousin!

But I pulled her arm again with my left hand and with my right hand pointed at the direction where the bodies of my father and my two brothers were piled upon one another near Jamil’s body, a few meters away from us. I am pointing and my mother keeps screaming with Jamil’s mother over Jamil. The women screamed and the children cried in panic” (p. 69).

Appendix A

List of Sources (All the books on this list were published in 2019)

Arabic Language

• Our Beautiful Language, Grade 1, Part 1
• Our Beautiful Language, Grade 1, Part 2
• Our Beautiful Language, Grade 2, Part 1
• Our Beautiful Language, Grade 2, Part 2
• Our Beautiful Language, Grade 3, Part 1
• Our Beautiful Language, Grade 3, Part 2
• Our Beautiful Language, Grade 4, Part 1
• Our Beautiful Language, Grade 4, Part 2
• Arabic Language, Grade 5, Part 1
• Arabic Language, Grade 5, Part 2
• Arabic Language, Grade 6, Part 1
• Arabic Language, Grade 6, Part 2
• Arabic Language, Grade 7, part 1
• Arabic Language, Grade 7, Part 2
• Arabic Language, Grade 8, Part 1
• Arabic Language, Grade 8, Part 2
• Arabic Language, Grade 9, Part 1
• Arabic Language, Grade 9, Part 2
• Arabic Language, Grade 10 (Academic Path) Part 1
• Arabic Language, Grade 10 (Academic Path) Part 2
• Arabic Language, Grade 10 (Vocational Path)
• Arabic Language 1, Grade 11 (Academic Path) Part 1
• Arabic Language 2, Grade 11 (Humanities)
• Arabic Language 1, Grade 12 (Academic Path)
• Arabic Language 2, Grade 12 (Humanities)

Islamic Education

• Islamic Education, Grade 1, Part 1
• Islamic Education, Grade 1, Part 2
• Islamic Education, Grade 2, Part 1
• Islamic Education, Grade 2, Part 2
• Islamic Education, Grade 3, Part 1
• Islamic Education, Grade 3, Part 2
• Islamic Education, Grade 4, Part 1
• Islamic Education, Grade 4, Part 2
• Islamic Education, Grade 5, Part 1
• Islamic Education, Grade 5, Part 2
• Islamic Education, Grade 6, Part 1
• Islamic Education, Grade 6, Part 2
• Islamic Education, Grade 7, Part 1
• Islamic Education, Grade 7, Part 2
• Islamic Education, Grade 8, Part 1
• Islamic Education, Grade 8, Part 2
• Islamic Education, Grade 9, Part 1
• Islamic Education, Grade 9, Part 2
• Islamic Education, Grade 10, Part 1
• Islamic Education, Grade 11, Part 1
• Islamic Education, Grade 11, Part 2
• Islamic Education, Grade 12

National Education

• National and Life Education, Grade 1, Part 1
• National and Life Education, Grade 1, Part 2
• National and Life Education, Grade 2, Part 1
• National and Life Education, Grade 2, Part 2
• National and Social Upbringing, Grade 3, Part 1
• National and Social Upbringing, Grade 3, Part 2
• National and Social Upbringing, Grade 4, Part 1
• National and Social Upbringing, Grade 4, Part 2

Social Studies

• Social Studies, Grade 5, Part 1
• Social Studies, Grade 5, Part 2
• Social Studies, Grade 6, Part 1
• Social Studies, Grade 6, Part 2
• Social Studies, Grade 7, Part 1
• Social Studies, Grade 7, Part 2
• Social Studies, Grade 8, Part 1
• Social Studies, Grade 8, Part 2
• Social Studies, Grade 9, Part 1
• Social Studies, Grade 9, Part 2

Geography and History

• Geography and Modern and Contemporary History of Palestine, Grade 10, Part 1
• Geography and Modern and Contemporary History of Palestine, Grade 10, Part 2
• History Studies, Grade 11, Part 1
• History Studies, Grade 11, Part 2
• Geography Studies, Grade 11, Part 1
• Geography Studies, Grade 11, Part 2
• History Studies, Grade 12
• Geography Studies, Grade 12

Mathematics

• Mathematics, Grade 1, Part 1
• Mathematics, Grade 1, Part 2
• Mathematics, Grade 2, Part 1
• Mathematics, Grade 2, Part 2
• Mathematics, Grade 3, Part 1
• Mathematics, Grade 3, Part 2
• Mathematics, Grade 4, Part 1
• Mathematics, Grade 4, Part 2
• Mathematics, Grade 5, Part 1
• Mathematics, Grade 5, Part 2
• Mathematics, Grade 6, Part 1
• Mathematics, Grade 6, Part 2
• Mathematics, Grade 7, Part 1
• Mathematics, Grade 7, Part 2
• Mathematics, Grade 8, Part 1
• Mathematics, Grade 8, Part 2
• Mathematics, Grade 9, Part 1
• Mathematics, Grade 9, Part 2
• Mathematics, Grade 10, Part 1
• Mathematics, Grade 10, Part 2
• Mathematics, Grade 11 (Sciences) Part 1
• Mathematics, Grade 11 (Sciences) Part 2
• Mathematics, Grade 12 (Sciences)
• Mathematics, Grade 12 (Humanities)
• Mathematics, Grade 12 (Vocational Education)

Sciences

• Sciences and Life, Grade 3, Part 1
• Sciences and Life, Grade 3, Part 2
• Sciences and Life, Grade 4, Part 1
• Sciences and Life, Grade 4, Part 2
• Sciences and Life, Grade 5, Part 1
• Sciences and Life, Grade 5, Part 2
• Sciences and Life, Grade 6, Part 1
• Sciences and Life, Grade 6, Part 2
• Sciences and Life, Grade 7, Part 1
• Sciences and Life, Grade 7, Part 2
• Sciences and Life, Grade 8, Part 1
• Sciences and Life, Grade 8, Part 2
• Sciences and Life, Grade 9, Part 1
• Sciences and Life, Grade 9, Part 2
• Physics, Grade 10
• Chemistry, Grade 10
• Biology, Grade 10
• Physics, Grade 11 (Sciences) Part 2
• Chemistry, Grade 11 (Sciences) Part 2
• Biology, Grade 11 (Sciences) Part 2
• Physics, Grade 12 (Sciences)
• Chemistry, Grade 12 (Sciences)
• Biology, Grade 12 (Sciences)
• Scientific Education, Grade 12 (Humanities)

Technology

• Technology, Grade 5
• Technology, Grade 6
• Technology, Grade 7
• Technology, Grade 8
• Technology, Grade 9
• Technology, Grade 10
• Technology, Grade 11 (Humanities)
• Technology, Grade 11 (Sciences)
• Technology, Grade 12 (Humanities)
• Technology, Grade 12 (Sciences)

Management and Economics

• Management and Economics, Grade 12

Appendix B

The ITIC’s publications on Palestinian Authority textbooks

• Israel, Jews and Peace in Palestinian Authority Schoolbooks and Teachers’ Guides. By Dr. Arnon Groiss (June 8, 2020)
• Jews, Israel and the the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in Teachers’ Guides Published by the Palestinian Authority’s Education Ministry. By: Dr. Arnon Groiss (February 3, 2020).
• Jews, Israel and Peace In the 2017/18 Palestinian Authority Schoolbooks for Grades 11 and 12: A Complementary Study By :Dr. Arnon Groiss (11 October, 2018)
• Palestinian Authority textbooks: the attitude to Jews, Israel and peace) Update, June 2018 .((July 22, 2018)

• Schoolbooks of the Palestinian Authority (PA): The Attitude to the Jews, to Israel and to Peace. (December 26, 2017)
• About the Report of the Mideast Freedom Forum Study of Palestinian Authority Textbooks By Brigadier General (Ret.) Amos Gilboa (April 20, 2016)
• An examination of Palestinian fifth and tenth-grade textbooks for the 2004-2005 school year shows a continuing denial of the State of Israel’s right to exist and a continuing cultivation of the values of armed struggle against Israel. The books contain incitement against the State of Israel and the Zionist movement, one of them even employing anti-Semitism. By Noa Meridor (March 7, 2006)

^[1] This document is a continuation of the ITIC publication on June 8, 2020 titled " Israel, Jews and Peace in Palestinian Authority Schoolbooks and Teachers' Guides". The present study was written by Dr. Arnon Groiss, following his former studies that dealt with the Palestinian schoolbooks' contents. Dr. Groiss presented his findings to the Israeli Knesset, as well as to the UN, the American Congress, the European Parliament, the British House of Commons, the French Assemlee nationale and Canadian and Swedish parliaments. ↑
^[2] 37 Israeli civilians, including 13 children, were murdered in that terrorist attack. ↑
^[3] See Nadav Shragai's article published by the ITIC on August 12, 2020: " Al-Aqsa Terrorism: The Role of Religious Motivation in Popular Terrorism (Article by Nadav Shragai based on his new book: Al-Aqsa Terror – From Libel to Blood, published by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and Sella Meir Publishing House)". The Hebrew version of this document appears on the ITIC's website. It is currently under translation and will be posted shortly. ↑
^[4] The poem intends to show that the Jews have always been foreigners in the land and therefore needed fortifications which they used to build with stones taken from the ruined houses of their predecessors. ↑

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