Belgium: PA textbooks not anti-Semitic
Sheera claire Frenkel, THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 12, 2005
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Although a new report states that some Palestinian Authority textbooks
feature descriptions of "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" as being an
"integral part" of Zionist history that was approved in "a confidential
resolution of the First Zionist Congress," the Belgian government says it is
continuing to fund production of the textbooks and does not consider them
offensive.

"We do not find [the textbooks] anti-Semitic in any way," said a spokesman
from the Belgian government press office, speaking to The Jerusalem Post by
telephone. "We have a screening process that goes through and reads the
books. There has been some controversy about it in the past, but we have had
people look into it."

However, other countries may be having second thoughts. While Finland, Italy
and the Netherlands have also provided aid for PA textbooks in the past,
this year's books only credit Belgium and "Arab nations" as providing aid.

Widely regarded as a cornerstone of anti-Semitic theory, the fabricated
Protocols purport to disclose the secret plans of a Jewish conspiracy for
world domination.
The description of the Protocols is one of many anti-Zionist and
anti-Semitic statements made in PA textbooks, according to a report issued
by the Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace (CMIP) on Monday, a
watchdog group.

The 122-page report notes that Israel is omitted from all maps of the Middle
East, and that Palestinian martyrs are portrayed as "heroic" strugglers
against the "occupying force."

"Unfortunately, the whole Palestinian Authority operation of publishing new
books for schools has fallen short of the standards set by the international
community," said Arnon Groiss, who wrote the report. "Until massive changes
are made, I don't think that the Palestinian Authority's textbooks
contribute to peace. The opposite is being done."

The PA Ministry of Education could not be reached for comment and did not
return phone calls.

However, a document on the ministry's Web site says that the issue of
incitement in PA textbooks is "a myth."

Claiming that CMIP has engaged in an "orchestrated crusade against
Palestinian education," the ministry's document also denies that PA books
incite hatred against Jews and says that it is, in fact, Israeli textbooks
that incite hatred against the Palestinians.

"Those who are critical of what Palestinian children are learning should try
to find out how Israeli children are taught to hate Arabs, and trained to
kill them," the document says.

Prior to 1967 Jordanian textbooks were used for schools in the West Bank and
Egyptian textbooks were used in the Gaza Strip.

"When we took over funding of the textbooks, we did so because we wanted to
replace the totally outdated textbooks that had been used up to that point,"
said the Belgian spokesman. "We wanted them to stress social values, human
rights and democracy."

In "A Study of the Impact of the Palestinian Curriculum," commissioned by
the Belgian Technical Cooperation at the end of 2004, researchers concluded
that in "light of the debate stirred by accusations of incitement to hatred
and other criticisms of the Palestinian textbooks, there is no evidence at
all of that happening as a result of the curriculum."

The report added that violence from "soldiers and settlers shooting in the
streets and in schools" and "occupation" were preventing Palestinian
children from realizing democratic values.

Members of CMIP claim that the other countries withdrew their funding of the
books because of their content, but officials in those countries could not
be reached for comment.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which
provides millions of dollars to Palestinian schools and universities each
year, said that the international community could not be expected to "turn
its backs" on the PA education system.

"There are problems in any education system," said Sylvana Foa, head of
USAID's public diplomacy office in the West Bank and Gaza. "But there is a
conscious effort being made to improve the Palestinian system."

The European Union also helped fund the PA textbooks until 2001, when a
group of pro-Israeli members of the European Parliament attached a rider to
an EU budget line saying the organization's money must not be provided for
PA textbooks if they contain material that is anti-Semitic or incites
hatred.

"Israel supports the international effort to aid the Palestinians," said a
Foreign Ministry official. "When such support is given by the international
community, we hope that that aid is done in a way that encourages positive
political development in the Palestinian territories."

He added that the government encouraged all international groups to make
certain that they were not supporting an education process that was
anti-democratic or "encouraging xenophobic, nationalist or any racist
stereotypes."