nicky g
09-19-2003, 01:27 PM
I've been doing a bit more research, and found this organisation on the net:
Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace (http://www.edume.org/)
Despite its bizarre/slash meaningless name, this organisation claims to monitor school textbooks in the Middle East, with the aim of futhering peace. It cites a lot of anti-Israeli, and occasionally antisemitic, material in Palestinian school textbooks, as well as anti-semitic and anti-Israeli materials in Syrian school textbooks, and anti-semitic and anti-Western material in Saudi school textbooks. Feel free to have a look around yourselves. Pro-Israeli/anti-Palestinian posters here will have a field day with some of the material on there.
Let me say, however, that I have my doubts as to both how impartial an organisation it is, and how accurate a lot of its findings are. According to one source quoted below, its first President was an Israeli settler, and it's fairly obvious where it's sympathies lie. Its methodology is dubious: Sometimes its reports quote directly from textbooks, which is obviously more convincing; on other ocasions, it doesn't which is less so: for instance, one report gives ample space for quotes it deems anti-Israeli in Palestinian textbooks(there are about 6 in total, I think), but also describes Palestinian school textbooks as attributing a range of pernicious characteristics to Jews without quoting at all, providing any evidence, which makes me somewhat suspicious of what it's basing these assertions on. Some of its report clearly refer to textbooks that are no longer used, while some quotes seem to be quotes of quotes within the textbooks (ie statements the books are quoting, rather than statement's they're making). Several inferences are mades based on quotes which don't justify the inferences, IMO.
An article here reprinted from the Jordan Times claims that one of the books the Centre refers to is not a textbook, is not available in PA territories, and does not contain the quote the Centre alleges. The author is James Zogby, president of the Arab American Insititute, whose biography is available on their site here (http://www.aaiusa.org/zogby/zogby_home.htm) Obviously someone is spinning, and I'm sure we'll all revert to our own positions about who that is more likely to be.
The UNRWA (UN organisation in charge of Palestinian refugees) website claims the following:
"The United States Congress requested the US Department of State to commission a reputable NGO to conduct a review of the Palestinian curriculum. The Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI) was thereby commissioned by the US Embassy in Tel Aviv and the US Consul General in Jerusalem to review the PA’s textbooks. Its report was completed in March 2003 and delivered to the State Department for submission to Congress. Its Executive Summary states: “The overall orientation of the curriculum is peaceful despite the harsh and violent realities on the ground. It does not openly incite against Israel and the Jews. It does not openly incite hatred and violence. Religious and political tolerance is emphasized in a good number of textbooks and in multiple contexts.
Nathan Brown, Professor of Political Science at George Washington University, has also published studies on this subject. Regarding the Palestinian authority’s new textbooks, he states:
"The new books have removed the anti-Semitism present in the older books
while they tell history from a Palestinian point of view, they do not seek to erase Israel, delegitimize it or replace it with the "State of Palestine"
each book contains a foreword describing the West Bank and Gaza as "the two parts of the homeland."
the maps show some awkwardness but do sometimes indicate the 1967 line and take some other measures to avoid indicating borders; in this respect they are actually more forthcoming than Israeli maps
the books avoid treating Israel at length but do indeed mention it by name
the new books must be seen as a tremendous improvement from a Jewish, Israeli, and humanitarian view
they do not compare unfavorably to the material my son was given as a fourth grade student in a school in Tel Aviv".
Ruth Firer of Hebrew University reached similar conclusions in her study of the new books.
Much of the criticism of Palestinian textbooks has been based on research published by an organisation entitled the "Centre for Monitoring the Impact of Peace" CMIP. The organisation’s work has been criticised as "tendentious and highly misleading" by Professor Brown."
UNRWA statement (http://www.un.org/unrwa/allegations/)
There is an article by Nathan Brown on the subject here (http://www.redress.btinternet.co.uk/njbrown.htm) . I've not read beyond the introduction so I'm not sure what it says.
Just to add by way of conclusion that if we take everything the Centre says at face value, we learn that the PA, Syrian and Saudi textbooks contain anti-Israel and anti-seminitc teachings, and the Saudi ones also contain anti-Western sentiment. The PA and Syrian books, according to the Centre, justify terrorist attacks against Israelis, while "The Saudi textbooks are strictly opposed to any kind of terrorist activity, as can be inferred from the following passages. They also take a strong position against committing suicide, and even against attacks that may lead to the death of the attacker. " I didn't find anything about books encouraging the killing of tresspassing "infidels" or Westerners; almost all of the material referred to apart from in the Sadui books is about Israel, and the Saudi ones do not advocate violence despite their disdain for Western society.
Anyway, knock yourselves out having a look at all this. I'm off.
Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace (http://www.edume.org/)
Despite its bizarre/slash meaningless name, this organisation claims to monitor school textbooks in the Middle East, with the aim of futhering peace. It cites a lot of anti-Israeli, and occasionally antisemitic, material in Palestinian school textbooks, as well as anti-semitic and anti-Israeli materials in Syrian school textbooks, and anti-semitic and anti-Western material in Saudi school textbooks. Feel free to have a look around yourselves. Pro-Israeli/anti-Palestinian posters here will have a field day with some of the material on there.
Let me say, however, that I have my doubts as to both how impartial an organisation it is, and how accurate a lot of its findings are. According to one source quoted below, its first President was an Israeli settler, and it's fairly obvious where it's sympathies lie. Its methodology is dubious: Sometimes its reports quote directly from textbooks, which is obviously more convincing; on other ocasions, it doesn't which is less so: for instance, one report gives ample space for quotes it deems anti-Israeli in Palestinian textbooks(there are about 6 in total, I think), but also describes Palestinian school textbooks as attributing a range of pernicious characteristics to Jews without quoting at all, providing any evidence, which makes me somewhat suspicious of what it's basing these assertions on. Some of its report clearly refer to textbooks that are no longer used, while some quotes seem to be quotes of quotes within the textbooks (ie statements the books are quoting, rather than statement's they're making). Several inferences are mades based on quotes which don't justify the inferences, IMO.
An article here reprinted from the Jordan Times claims that one of the books the Centre refers to is not a textbook, is not available in PA territories, and does not contain the quote the Centre alleges. The author is James Zogby, president of the Arab American Insititute, whose biography is available on their site here (http://www.aaiusa.org/zogby/zogby_home.htm) Obviously someone is spinning, and I'm sure we'll all revert to our own positions about who that is more likely to be.
The UNRWA (UN organisation in charge of Palestinian refugees) website claims the following:
"The United States Congress requested the US Department of State to commission a reputable NGO to conduct a review of the Palestinian curriculum. The Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI) was thereby commissioned by the US Embassy in Tel Aviv and the US Consul General in Jerusalem to review the PA’s textbooks. Its report was completed in March 2003 and delivered to the State Department for submission to Congress. Its Executive Summary states: “The overall orientation of the curriculum is peaceful despite the harsh and violent realities on the ground. It does not openly incite against Israel and the Jews. It does not openly incite hatred and violence. Religious and political tolerance is emphasized in a good number of textbooks and in multiple contexts.
Nathan Brown, Professor of Political Science at George Washington University, has also published studies on this subject. Regarding the Palestinian authority’s new textbooks, he states:
"The new books have removed the anti-Semitism present in the older books
while they tell history from a Palestinian point of view, they do not seek to erase Israel, delegitimize it or replace it with the "State of Palestine"
each book contains a foreword describing the West Bank and Gaza as "the two parts of the homeland."
the maps show some awkwardness but do sometimes indicate the 1967 line and take some other measures to avoid indicating borders; in this respect they are actually more forthcoming than Israeli maps
the books avoid treating Israel at length but do indeed mention it by name
the new books must be seen as a tremendous improvement from a Jewish, Israeli, and humanitarian view
they do not compare unfavorably to the material my son was given as a fourth grade student in a school in Tel Aviv".
Ruth Firer of Hebrew University reached similar conclusions in her study of the new books.
Much of the criticism of Palestinian textbooks has been based on research published by an organisation entitled the "Centre for Monitoring the Impact of Peace" CMIP. The organisation’s work has been criticised as "tendentious and highly misleading" by Professor Brown."
UNRWA statement (http://www.un.org/unrwa/allegations/)
There is an article by Nathan Brown on the subject here (http://www.redress.btinternet.co.uk/njbrown.htm) . I've not read beyond the introduction so I'm not sure what it says.
Just to add by way of conclusion that if we take everything the Centre says at face value, we learn that the PA, Syrian and Saudi textbooks contain anti-Israel and anti-seminitc teachings, and the Saudi ones also contain anti-Western sentiment. The PA and Syrian books, according to the Centre, justify terrorist attacks against Israelis, while "The Saudi textbooks are strictly opposed to any kind of terrorist activity, as can be inferred from the following passages. They also take a strong position against committing suicide, and even against attacks that may lead to the death of the attacker. " I didn't find anything about books encouraging the killing of tresspassing "infidels" or Westerners; almost all of the material referred to apart from in the Sadui books is about Israel, and the Saudi ones do not advocate violence despite their disdain for Western society.
Anyway, knock yourselves out having a look at all this. I'm off.