nd there’s always the beauty of education, thus:
INDOCTRINATING MUSLIM CHILDREN TO HATE JEWS
Young people throughout the Arab and Muslim world are taught – in their homes, schools, and mosques – to detest Jews and to view them as evil. The contents of the textbooks used in Palestinian Authority ¶ schools play a crucial role in inculcating this hatred.
The PA began publishing its own textbooks in 2000, to replace the Jordanian and Egyptian texts that had been previously used in its schools. In addition to promoting a contempt for factsâ??such as the legitimacy of the Israeli state, these texts are filled with derogatory references to Jews, and with calls for violent jihad to “liberate” Palestinians from their Jewish oppressors.
Purportedly as a gesture of good faith and conciliation, PA President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to have such items excised from the texts – a task he said would be completed in time for the start of the 2006-07 school year. But a 2006 study commissioned by the Israel-based Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (an agency that had been consistently supportive of the Oslo Peace Process) found that scarcely any of the anti-Semitic references had actually been removed from the texts. The researchers found, for example, that in these “revised” books:
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Israel does not appear on any maps of the world. Where Israel should be, the maps substitute the name “Palestine.” All Jewish holy places in the country are presented as purely Islamic sites. Israeli cities, such as Haifa, are referred to as Arab cities. One 5th grade text, for instance, states that “Haifa is a Palestinian seaport.” Similarly, a 10th grade publication says that “Galilee, Nazareth and Beit She’an are regions in Palestine.”
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Jews, Israel, and Zionism are depicted as the treacherous, murderous enemies of the Palestinian people. For example, a 10th grade text titled Our Beautiful Language says: “There is no doubt that the Israeli occupation has a negative impact on [Palestinian] agriculture and its export.” According to a 5th grade text: “The Palestinian people are under an oppressive siege, limiting their movement and way of life.” Yet another 5th grade book says: “The Palestinian family has problems … stemming from the occupation … [I]t loses father, mother or son to death or imprisonment … [and] endures the difficulties of life.” In an 8th grade text, we find: â??Your [Jewish] enemies kill your children, split open womenâ??s bellies.â??
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One text falsely claims that an “extremist Zionist” set fire to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1969, when in fact the culprit was a mentally unstable Christian Australian.
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It is asserted that the only ancient inhabitants of Israel were Arabs; the ancient Jewish presence in the region is ignored.
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One 5th grade text extols a heroic Palestinian mother “who incessantly presents one sacrifice [fida’] after another” – a reference to her numerous sons, all of whom willingly become martyrs for the sake of their religion. Another 5th grade text says: “The fighter goes to battle with two happy ends in front of him – either victory or martyrdom.” A 10th grade book states: “Allah gave the people of this land … an important task: they must stand on the forefront of the Muslim campaign against their enemies.” And an 8th grade text informs its readers: “Your enemies seek life and you seek death… These drops of blood that flow from your bodies will be transformed into red fiery shooting stars that will come down on the heads of your enemies.”
Apart from what they read in their schoolbooks, Palestinian children also learn anti-Semitism from such popular publications as the Hamas children’s magazine Al-Fateh. This periodical commonly features stories and poems that glorify jihad and terrorist operations against Jews, who are depicted as “murderers of the prophets.” The magazine’s titular character, Al-Fateh (“The Conqueror”) is a boy who rides his horse while brandishing a drawn sword.
Palestinian children are also heavily influenced by what they see on television. For example, the official Hamas station, Al-Aqsa TV, uses a replica of Disneyâ??s Mickey Mouse to teach young viewers not only that they should despise Jews and Israel, but also that they must advance the global jihad by any means necessary. The squeaky-voiced mouse, named Farfur, refers to Israel as â??the oppressive invading Zionist occupation,â?? which the children must “resist” by means of armed struggle.
Adapted from “Texts of Hate,” by Arlene Kushner (March 13, 2008); "Erasing Israel, by David Bedein (September 26, 2006); “Hamas Children’s Magazine,” by C. Jacob (October 9, 2007); and “Hamas Steals Mickey Mouse Image to Teach Hate and Islamic Supremacy,”
by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook (May 6, 2007).
or at least, education is a beautiful thing in most OTHER parts of the world…
