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 in the subjects of Arabic, Islamic Education, Christian Education (for Christian students in the Palestinian school system), National Education, Social Studies, Geography and History 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 part (see in the Appendix). The PA textbooks never mention the fact that Jerusalem is a city holy to Jews as well, alongside its sanctity to Muslims and Christians. Nor are Jews mentioned as part of this city’s history or as its legitimate inhabitants in any of the schoolbooks examined for the purpose of this study (as well as PA schoolbooks for grades 11 and 12 which are not included in the PA schools). There are even expressed denials of these facts in the books, thus falsifying both history and reality.
This research was written on the initiative of “The Center for Near East Policy Research” (https://www.cfnepr.com/site/index.asp?depart_id=205640)
Following are exemplary references to Jerusalem taken from the books and analyzed by categories:
