Israeli Textbooks Incite Anti-Arab Hatred, but So Very Subtly

“If you look closely at the Israeli books you will find passages about war and how it is the only way to defend their rights,” said Abdel Aal. “They make them accept war as a mission inherited from the first Zionist generations to regain their so-called legitimate and historical rights.”

In her latest book “Racist Education in Israeli Curricula”, Abdel Aal has analyzed 16 history and geography books being taught at the primary education level. These books justify decades of abuse against the Arabs and Palestine, in particular, the theme being it is important to establish the Kingdom of Israel. Young Israelis are subjected to this as early as the third grade until the sixth grade and later they are educated about the army in the11 th grade.

A brief skim through the230 -page book reveals that Abdel Aal’s main objective is not just giving detailed information about the Israelis’ education system but rather a warning toward a method that degrades and demeans the image of the Arabs. The Israeli books include stories about the early settlers like “Jerusalem for me and you”, “I’m the discoverer of Jerusalem”, “Homeland” and “City of Taparia”, a selection of stories that shows the sacrifices made by the early Jewish generations “despite a harsh climate and an environment full of the Arab embezzlers, killers, thieves and terrorists who cause insecurity in the holy land”.

“All the books I have analyzed include images about the Arabs such as barbarous and thieves and other descriptions that make the younger Israeli generation hate and fear the Arabs,” said Abdel Aal. “By implementing this method Israel kills every possible chance of having peace with Arabs as children are taught to believe strongly in war,” she told Arab News.

Veteran education expert Hamed Ammar, who wrote the introduction to the book, told Arab News that the Israeli education curricula mirror the Israeli racist and imperialist ideologies applied by their government. “Let them talk about their objectivity but these books are a stark example of how they are keen on planting such racist ideologies, which proves that they have no intention of establishing a comprehensive peace in the Middle East as they claim,” he stressed.

The publisher Muhammad Rashad, meanwhile, expects the book to be a hit when it is translated into other languages in the foreseeable future and will distribute 10, 000copies to Cairo’s bookstores. He explains that his confidence stems from Abdel Aal’s credibility which rests on her experience in the Israeli education system and the interest of international readers to know about the Zionist plans of Israel. Rashad said that Abdel Aal’s previous book about the scientific and technological education in Israel has also raised her profile as a researcher.

Abdel Aal’s book, however, is not the first attempt to reveal the Israeli racist education system. In1978 , Palestinian university teacher and researcher, Rateb Al-Badawi released a book in which he exposed how the Israeli education system was built on themes like hatred toward the Arabs, war and racism.

Another Egyptian researcher and Hebrew professor, Rashad Al-Shami, said that the Hebrew literature was recruited for the service of the Zionist goals.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=62414&d=19&m=4&y=2005