Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News: Arab education

Showing posts with label Arab education. Show all posts

Thursday, April 27, 2023

Egypt gets rid of much of the antisemitism in school textbooks

This story from YNet did not get the publicity it should be getting:

A newly released study showed Egypt was successful in removing antisemitism and other hatred from its school books, The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se) found. The research and policy institute that analyzes curricula around the world through UNESCO-defined standards, has released its second full report on the Egyptian curriculum, from its London office.

This latest IMPACT-se report evaluated 271 textbooks from the Egyptian national curricula, published between 2018 and 2023. The study focuses on the Arabic language, Islamic and Christian religious education, social studies, values and respect for others, history, geography, philosophy, and more. Egypt has the largest education system in the Middle East and North Africa, with 25 million children currently enrolled in its schools - the largest in the Arab world.

"Our findings show major improvements in attitudes toward Jews and Judaism in the revised textbooks, part of the year-by-year reform of the Egyptian national curriculum between 2018-2030 across all grades, which has already reached Grade 5," IMPACT-se said.

"Promisingly, elementary school textbooks rewritten since 2021 do not include traditional, harmful antisemitic stereotypes such as attributing evil deeds and negative traits like disloyalty, fraud, greediness, and violation of contracts to Jewish people. These were replaced with values of tolerance and coexistence between Islam and Judaism, highlighting common ground such as Islam's recognition of the Torah, and permission for Muslims to eat Kosher food."

Students are required to memorize the provisions of the peace treaty, and describe the “advantages of peace for Egypt and the Arab states.” A photograph of the peace treaty signing at the White House is shown for the first time. Passages such as “recognition of the sovereignty of each side in the conflict over its territory” were changed to “respect by each side of the other’s sovereignty and independence,” and establishing “normal relations” between the two countries, was changed to establishing “friendly relations.”

The article notes that it is not all great; older grades still use the older textbooks with explicit antisemitism, and even in the new ones students are taught that it is an Islamic duty to end the "occupation" which appears to include all of Israel based on the map they still use.

But even so, this is a very positive change. Egypt is just about the most antisemitic nation there is and the indoctrination in the textbooks is part of the reason why.

IMPACT-SE has not yet published the complete study

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

The bizarre maps erasing Israel in Jordan's geography textbooks

Jordan complained that Bezalel Smotrich stood behind a map showing Jordan as part of the Jewish state under the original definition of Palestine before Sykes-Picot. They were quite insulted.

So I looked at the Jordanian geography textbooks, and saw plenty of maps (not all of them) that erased Israel, like this one:

But this map in a seventh grade geography book from 2019 has nothing to do with reality.

From left to right, the first one is captioned "1946."

The second one shows the 1947 UN partition plan that was never accepted by anyone, and the caption is "1949-1967."

The third shows the Green Line created in 1949, and is captioned "2008."

The key shows green as "Arab lands" and the white as "occupied lands."

According to this textbook, all of Israel is "occupied," and somehow in 1967 Israel occupied the lands it gained in 1948. (As far as I can tell, Israel isn't mentioned.)

If Jordan is going to complain about Smotrich's map, they should explain maps like these.

(h/t Yoel)

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Popular Arabic children's media empire, founded by a self-described Palestinian, targeted because it has connections to Jews

Fozi Mozi and Tutti is a hugely popular children's show on YouTube and on digital platforms, with billions of views.

Most of their videos are in Arabic, although they have branched out into English, Turkish, Hindi, Spanish and other languages.

It was founded by Fawzi Saeid, who calls himself a Palestinian on his LinkedIn page.

The characters have played to large audiences worldwide - and even went to Gaza recently to perform for children there.

Fozi Mozi is a true Arab success story.

But the Ultrapal news site has uncovered some shocking news - Fozi Mozi is partially owned by Mememe Studios which is owned by Dori Media which was founded by Nadav Palti - an Israeli Jew!

Horrors!

Naturally Ultrapal discovered that Palti was in the IDF decades ago.

The partnership between Saied and Israeli distributors is not surprising and it is probably the reason for Fozi Mozi's success. Fawzi Saeid is almost certainly an Israeli citizen; he is an Arab Christian who lives in Haifa and attended schools in Israel from his youth.

The Ultrapal expose doesn't talk much of that. They are far more upset over Palti's involvement than Saied's being a citizen of Israel.

And this is the way things work. Ultrapal's problem with Fozi Mozi isn't that Saeid is Israeli himself; it is that he partners with Jews.

This is the same as BDS as a whole, one doesn't boycott Israeli Arabs, only Israeli Jews.

The antisemitism is as obvious as it is denied by the BDSers.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Former Jordanian PM warns new Israeli government wants to take over Jordan and the Arabian Peninsula

Former Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister Mamdouh al-Abadi, speaking at a symposium held by the Middle East Institute for Media and Political Studies, said, “A clash is inevitably coming between the Jordanian state and the new Israeli occupation government.”

Speaking Sunday night in Amman, al-Abadi said, “The Israeli right-wing program has become clear....The first clause in the charter for the establishment of Greater Israel is the subjugation of Transjordan."

He continued, “The Likud party, after occupying Jerusalem, is now trying to subjugate Amman, and its ambition is to control Medina, and thus the Arabian Peninsula.”

Al-Abadi then uses his incredible powers of prediction to say, "When the Palestinians are displaced, and the West Bank is emptied of its people, the Jordanian decision-making circles will find, at some point, nothing but the option of clash and confrontation, with all its political and military meanings. I suggest starting to prepare the current and future Jordanian generations for this historical inevitability.”

When we hear insanity like this, the J word cannot be too far away. And indeed, in 2020, al-Abadi said, "I insist that our relations with the Israelis and Jews in this region is existential and not just a border dispute."

This isn't a random columnist or social media commentator. He's a former deputy prime minister. This is deep seated delusion, and a frightening indication of how hate twists even basic information gathering in many Arab countries. News sites and history books only teach what the authorities want to hear.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Amnesty's hypocrisy on antisemitism is off the charts

Yesterday, Amnesty-USA issued a press release:

In light of the recent surge in antisemitic rhetoric, messages and memes, Amnesty International USA reiterates its condemnation of antisemitism in the strongest possible terms and demands action to counter antisemitism by the US government, Twitter and other social media companies.

Antisemitism is hatred. It attacks the rights and well-being of Jews around the world and the very notion of universal human rights. The right to be free from discrimination is a fundamental principle of human rights law, and all governments are obliged to combat discrimination in all its forms.

Antisemitism is the most commonly reported anti-religious hate crime in the United States, which is a crisis we must work to end. We must hold accountable — in our personal interactions, in our workplaces, in our communities, and in our activism — those who commit, encourage or acquiesce in such abuse against Jewish people, whenever and wherever it is inflicted.

I could write a book about how antisemitic Amnesty International is. In fact, I did discuss a small subset of my criticisms in three chapters of my book. But there is a lot more.

For the purposes of this article, I will talk about one further proof that Amnesty does not care about antisemitism, even in the form that they pretend to condemn here.

Amnesty has never condemned antisemitism from media in the Arab world.

Arab newspapers and TV shows feature pure antisemitism and incitement against Jews all the time - from Holocaust denial to fake Talmud quotes to Christian deicide to saying Jews control the world.

Quotes from actual articles:

"Jews are the enemy of God"

"Jews are rats who desecrate Jerusalem"

"Jews are like the devil"

"Jews are spreading corruption, usury, the spreading of lies and myths"

I see these kinds of articles several times a week.

Every single antisemitic myth that has ever been uttered over history - from medieval Christian hate to "Elders of Zion" conspiracy theories to Nazi literature - is rife in Arabic media.

But that's not even the worst part.

Palestinian media feature lots of purely antisemitic cartoons.

Some are incitement to hate Jews.

Others are incitement to murder Jews.

Amnesty has never said a word. And Western media, taking its cue from organizations like Amnesty and HRW, keep silent - if human rights groups aren't concerned, it must not be an issue.

As bad as antisemitism is on Twitter, outside of people like Kanye West, most of the antisemitic posts are only seen by a very small number of people. But those in Arab media are seen by tens or hundreds of thousands.

Not to mention the anti-Jewish incitement is in Arab schools and textbooks as well.

Thousands of Jews have been killed because of this incitement in Palestinian society. And as much as Amnesty likes to pretend that they only hate "Zionists," their own media often says "Jews."

Amnesty, which pretends to care about incitement and antisemitism, has not mentioned these things once - even though this is far worse than nearly all of the antisemitism in American social media.

So when Amnesty pretends to suddenly care about antisemitism in rightwing social media, ask them where they have been for the past couple of decades when direct incitement to murder Jews has been a feature in Palestinian media?

Amnesty doesn''t say a word because they agree with the underlying message that Jews have no right to their own nation, and if they refuse to commit national suicide they must be expelled from the Middle East.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Examples of materials in Israeli Arab textbooks that Palestinians consider offensive

Today, Arab schools in Jerusalem are on strike because Israel has been trying to encourage them to use the Israeli Arab curriculum instead of the antisemitic Palestinian curriculum. Israel provides additional funding for the schools that adopt the Israeli curriculum, but it is not mandatory; many schools have adopted it.

Arab media is falsely claiming that the Israeli curriculum is being "imposed" on Arab Jerusalem schools.

The preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, told thousands of worshipers on Friday that “it is not permissible by Sharia to teach the Israeli curricula, and whoever teaches them is sinful, and so is whoever supports teaching them, and whoever sends his son or daughter to the school that teaches these curricula."

Shehab News among others shows examples of the highly offensive materials in Israeli Arab textbooks.

Prepare to be shocked!

"The countries surrounding the homeland"

"There are different religions in Israel but all worship one God"

"Sabbath is a holy day for the Jews, and the Wailing Wall is one of the holy spots for Jews"

"Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, where the Knesset, ministries, Supreme Court and other government institutions are"

The Palestinians are upset at materials that encourage tolerance. And no wonder. Compare these to materials issued by the Palestinian Authority that teach:

"Jihad for the sake of Allah for the liberation of Palestine is a private obligation for every Muslim."

"The obligations towards Al Aqsa Mosque: Protecting and defending it, chasing away the Occupation, committing jihad, and dying as a martyr for the sake of liberating it."

"It is the right of any people captive under foreign occupation to use armed force for their freedom, independence, and right to self-determination."

"It is my duty to defend my motherland and not to neglect it; to redeem it with blood, possessions, and with the most precious things we have."

“The Jews are foreigners in this land, and Palestine is for its Arab Muslim population.”

There is no room for Jews in the Palestine that the children are taught to spill their blood for.

There is direct line from these materials to terrorism. And that is really what they are fighting for.

(h/t Abu Ali Express)

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Indonesian books on Jews are uniformly filled with hate

An Iranian news agency said that the Indonesian International Book Fair was being held in Jakarta this week. As far as I could tell, it is being held in November.

Either way, since Indonesia is the largest Muslim country, I was curious as to what their books say about Jews.

A cursory look at the top search results for books in Indonesian about Jews shows nothing but pure antisemitism.

History of Judaism's blurb includes:

What kind of events happened until today we witness how Jews dominate almost all aspects of life? The dominance that makes them act as they please; seized the land of the Muslims by force, houses were demolished with barbarism, children, women and the elderly were brutally killed, their possessions greedily robbed. What's worse, they don't even feel ashamed or guilty, instead they become proud and arrogant. Before the end of the world, a great war will occur between the Muslims and the Jews. This book will be very helpful in providing knowledge and understanding about the religion so we understand who is really the enemy and who is the friend.

Jewish Red Reports Throughout History:

Lots of rottenness, cunning, tyranny, and all the crimes committed by the Jews, all have been described in the Qur'an. Where the Qur'an shows us about the opposition of the Jews to the Prophets, their denial of the Apostles, their defilement of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, and much more.

Alhamdulillah, this book unpacks and explains the Jewish red report cards, which are explained in 30 chapters throughout history, based on the Qur'anic sources which are explained clearly and are easy to understand. I hope this book is useful.

There is an entire book that is the transcript of a 2006 interview between a pastor and a fake Jew who called himself "Rabbi Abe Finkelstein" who "admits" that Jews made up the Holocaust and kill Christian children for Passover matzoh. This is a popular audio on American antisemitic sites today.

The Zamzam Illustrated Encyclopedia of Judaism Book of Religion by Dr. Tariq As-Suwaidan is described this way: "The Jews always instill hatred and hostility towards the Muslims, both openly and hidden. Thus, understanding the causes of hostilities, their history, and the methods they use requires in-depth and careful research; includes history, creed, system, and all things related to Judaism. So we will be alert and know where their strengths and weaknesses are. Furthermore, we will be able to deal with them by focusing attacks on those weaknesses. Because, how can we be able to face an enemy that we do not know? ...So, this book is very important and deserves to be owned by every Muslim in order to know the true nature of the enemy.

These are the first four books I found. The next one, another encyclopedia, looked like a somewhat more objective history but it still claims that Freemasons and Lions Clubs are Jewish organizations and Jews killed all the prophets.

This is what a quarter of a billion Muslims are being taught about Jews, today.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Palestinian high school stages kidnapping of religious Jews to adoring audience (video)

This TikTok video shows a large assembly at the Anata Secondary School east of Jerusalem, where students play-acted a kidnapping of religious Jews.

This is the Palestinian version of woke.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Where on Earth could this be?

Here is a photo of a pretty nice looking school. Do you know where it is?

It is in Ras al-Amud, an Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem, and it is one of the many Arab schools that Israel is spending millions building and upgrading.

From Israel21c:

When the 2011-2012 school year began in the Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, millions of shekels in sparkling new or renewed classrooms, computers and sports facilities greeted 42,153 students and their teachers.

Many of the 59 public schools approved and budgeted under the Jerusalem Education Authority of the Ministry of Education have been neglected, undersupplied or overcrowded for decades. Since taking office in November 2008, Mayor Nir Barkat has been implementing improvements to get these facilities on par with schools in the western sector of the city, says Stephan Miller, advisor to Jerusalem's mayor.

"The mayor and municipal professionals work regularly with members of the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem through the leadership of the community centers as well as organized groups of residents such as the Mayor's Forum of Eastern Jerusalem Principals and the Mayor's Forum for Welfare in Eastern Jerusalem," Miller tells ISRAEL21c.

"The completion of the Mayor's plan will lead to a significant change in education in eastern Jerusalem."

New schools, including approximately 200 classrooms, have been built in the eastern part of the city. The municipality is currently investing the unprecedented sum of NIS 300 million (about $69 million) in the planning and construction of 285 additional new classrooms for Arab schoolchildren.

This year alone, 42 new classrooms will be opened in new buildings, 18 at the start of the year and the remainder in coming months. Six additional kindergarten classrooms were completed in time for September, including one for special education. In addition, more than 40 public school classrooms were renovated and adapted to pupils' needs, with emphasis on the Shoafat refugee area in northeast Jerusalem.

The municipality also built new sports facilities in south central Beit Tzafafa and in Isawiya in the northeast.

Another NIS 750,000 (more than $170,000) per year has been approved for programs to advance gifted and outstanding pupils, strengthen girls' education and reduce school violence. An additional NIS 1.5 million is newly designated for the public schools' organizational expenditures.

The municipality and the Education Ministry have shared costs for these initiatives, says Miller, and further upgrades are still to come.

"As you can imagine, from vision to construction takes time, and the mayor has moved swiftly since taking office to fast-track these plans," says Miller, "which is why they are ready so early in his first term."

New classrooms wouldn't be as valuable without updated equipment inside them. So with the assistance of Israeli branches of companies such as Ernst & Young and Intel, the municipality rang in the new school year by distributing 1,720 mobile and desktop computers to schools, kindergartens and teachers in eastern Jerusalem.

An additional 350 new donated computers were given to schoolchildren to take home.

There was more good news for teachers: Seven classrooms in six schools in the eastern part of the city were converted into technologically sophisticated learning centers with the installation of interactive whiteboards, which can display educational software, web sites, past lessons and other features. Teachers and principals alike have been receiving computer training courses to maximize their use of these new tools.

"We are committed to investing in eastern Jerusalem and reducing the gaps, which are the result of years of neglect," said Barkat upon announcing the improvements at the start of September. "We cannot countenance a situation in which Jerusalem pupils have no classrooms, roads or basic infrastructures. These investments will lead to an increase in residents' quality of life."

If you want to have fun, ask people who claim to be "pro-Palestinian" if they support Israel improving Arab schools in Jerusalem.

By the way, it is possible that the school pictured above is the same one where, before construction, archaeologists found a handle with the name "Menachem" inscribed on it in Hebrew.

(h/t Cheryl)