She called for teaching the Holocaust and amending maps,A pressure group in America that monitors the features of changing Arab curricula in favor of Israel

An organization defending Israel in the United States monitored - in an extensive report - what it considered successes in changing the educational curricula in a number of Arab countries by deleting criticism of Jews and Israel from school textbooks, calling for continuing pressure until the Hebrew state is included on Arab maps, and educating students - appropriately. - The peace process between the Arabs and Israel and introducing them to the Holocaust massacres.

The details recorded by the Anti-Defamation League "ADL" - whose website states that it works to support Israel for a democratic Jewish state, and that it monitors anti-Zionist campaigns in the world - give a rare look at the details of international attention and interference in the education curricula of young people in the world. The Arab world, especially with regard to the Arab-Israeli conflict, and radically changing perceptions.

It is noteworthy that a number of American and Jewish organizations - which are usually defenders of most of Israel's policies in the Middle East - have adopted a large-scale effort to change and modify educational materials in Arab schools from kindergarten to university; For the purpose of development, the report appreciates the fruits of this effort.

"Educational reform in the Middle East gives hope for continued progress in countering extremism," the organization said. She referred to a report she recently prepared in conjunction with the "Tony Blair Institute for Global Change", which is run by the former British Prime Minister, who is also a special adviser on international affairs in the League. The 45-page report is titled "Educating Peace and Tolerance in the Arab World Two Decades after 9/11".

The organization described the report as "a groundbreaking joint study examining the impact of educational reforms in the region since 9/11 on the continuing threat posed by extremists, with a particular focus on reviewing textbooks published in the Arab world."

The report concludes, "There is some positive and innovative content in the textbooks of most countries today, but in many areas core to peace and tolerance, there is still much room for improvement."

The report, written by the director of international affairs at the League, David Andrew Weinberg, stems from the events of September 11, 2001, in justification for pushing efforts to change educational curricula in the Arab world, with the aim of raising a generation that does not know hostility or hatred of the West or Israel. The report does not hide the purpose of education reforms to achieve that goal; It states that "one way is to change the educational curricula to shape youngsters' identities and attitudes toward others."

Major changes in the curriculum

The Association commended the State of Morocco in the fall of 2020, for adding several pages in the social studies books for sixth graders, in which it referred to the Jewish community and its contributions to the Moroccan heritage. The report also praises a picture in a textbook featuring King Mohammed VI on his visit to the House of Memory of Moroccan Jews in Essaouira.

In Egypt, the report praises the continuous effort to change the educational curricula there and praises the development processes in the books there since 2015, whether in public education or in the Al-Azhar curricula alike. The report praises what was written - for example - in the high school curriculum, which carries lessons on "accepting the other".

The association commended the removal of jihad verses from some Arabic textbooks; "Most of the national curricula have taken steps towards reformulating how the concept of jihad is taught, to reduce the potential for terrorist recruitment," she said.

The report commended that "the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has recently removed an old passage calling for jihad as the pinnacle of Islam, and has already included lessons in textbooks that strictly forbid armed jihad if the ruler or parent does not agree to that."

As for the United Arab Emirates, the report said that there is "a positive sign that comes from the Emirates book for the tenth grade 'Teaching Ethics', which mentions the presence of Hindu and Sikh temples in the country as an indication of its diversity."

He also praised the existence of a text in the English language book in the same country about a person who lives in a building with many friends, and says that celebrating birthdays (Christmas) is one of their best holidays, saying, "My best holiday is Christmas. We prepare a special Christmas dinner and exchange gifts." .

The report's author - who worked for the pro-Israel Organization for the Defense of Democracies, which was established after the events of September 11 - commented, "Such messages would be good if they were added to the Arabic language curriculum as well."

The association also cited evidence of the success of efforts to change school curricula, such as what was stated in the textbooks for the ninth grade of Islamic studies in the UAE that Islam imposes "strengthening bonds of affection" with Jews and Christians as People of the Book.

While the report criticizes what was stated in Algerian educational books that European colonialism was a dangerous and bloody matter, it, on the other hand, indicates satisfaction with the Emirati books’ narration of “the Ottoman massacres against the Arabs.”

The report praised other countries such as Bahrain and Jordan, but it also indicated some changes that are still needed there.

Next goal

The organization - which closely cooperates with similar monitoring and oversight bodies from Israel - said that despite its efforts in all Arab countries, it looks at the education curricula in Egypt in particular, because of its impact and the high number of its population.

In its report, the association said, “Egypt’s education system is important and influential: it is difficult to overstate Egypt’s importance as a case study of the educational trend in the region. For example, according to US and Egyptian government statistics, there are more students in the public school system in Egypt than the total population of the Emirates.” The United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar combined, even with the addition of the numbers of millions of foreign workers in those four Gulf countries.

However, the author of the report identifies some remnants he is not satisfied with, and says that they must be removed to spread peace and tolerance.

He specifically mentions the Islamic Studies book for the fifth grade of primary school in Egypt, which mentions the "betrayal of the Jews" and that "the Jews have no covenant after they betrayed God and His Messenger." The report also criticizes the secondary school curriculum in a text on the fact that the Jews represented a threat to the emerging Islamic state at the dawn of Islam, according to the association.

And the report of an organization goes to put pressure on Al-Azhar, and it lists many contradictions, such as saying that Al-Azhar says that Islam allows dealings with the People of the Book, but Al-Azhar also describes in its lessons treason because it is of course among the Jews. The report criticizes Al-Azhar for stating that the antiquities in Jerusalem are Islamic and Christian monuments only and does not refer - according to the author of the report - to the presence of Jewish monuments. The report also faults the modern history books in Egypt, for not mentioning the two sides' viewpoints equally in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

As for the Palestinians, the report comments, "Unfortunately, the Palestinian Authority also continues to publish textbooks that place a very heavy emphasis on the idea of ​​jihad and martyrdom. It teaches ninth-grade students in a section on 'the wisdom behind fighting infidels' that God is 'capable of annihilating and killing enemies'." Instead, he 'ordered [the believers] to fight them'."

In Kuwait, the pressure group criticized a recent Kuwaiti textbook for 12th graders for referring to the Ahmadis by using “the derogatory term Qadianis,” and rejecting their preferred definition of themselves as an “Islamic sect.” The report criticized that the Kuwaiti textbook also teaches that the Ahmadi sect permits consumption of alcohol, pork and illegal drugs, and that Ahmadis believe that all other Muslims are infidels, which the Anti-Defamation League said is incorrect.

Although the report praises the educational curricula in Qatar for promoting dialogue among civilizations, it criticizes those responsible for celebrating the work of the late French thinker Roger Garaudy, who she described as a "notorious Holocaust denier."

Pressure methods

Lobbying groups from American Jewish organizations are working to pass changes in school texts in the Arab region by several means, including holding successive meetings with most Arab officials visiting the American capital, and also pushing members of Congress and American officials to raise the same issues in their meetings with Arab officials, and then including international organizations Such as the United Nations, the World Bank and aid agencies in the process of changing curricula under the name of innovation and reform, and finally the use of other pressure campaigns that include media and defamation.

The Association stated, for example, that David Weinberg, author of the Education Report, represented the Association in a group meeting of American Jewish organizations with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on his visit to Washington last November.

The Jewish organization also reported news about a hypothetical meeting that the League held with the UAE Foreign Minister, and said that it had sent messages to some Arab embassies regarding the need to change curricula to maintain global peace and security.

In the run-up to the Cairo International Book Fair in early 2020, the association raised the issue with the Egyptian Embassy in Washington and sent Egyptian diplomats a list in English and Arabic of "common anti-Semitic books" it hoped would not be allowed at the event.

The report added that the association spoke to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi directly. "When many of those hateful materials were still permitted by private exhibitors at the state-run book fair that year, the Anti-Defamation League wrote a letter of protest to President Sisi," the report added. .

It is noteworthy that the US State Department also relies in its annual report on anti-Semitism on news and information from these pressure organizations.

The importance of observing the Arabs

According to David Andrew Weinberg, his report documents "the best and worst practices of contemporary textbooks in the Arab world", through 5 specific areas of action targeted for change, which are "the teaching of comparative religion, guidance on how to deal with followers of other religions, the clash of civilizations, and lessons on peace war and jihad, and lessons on civic education and human rights.

"Raising a new generation that is freed from the hateful thinking of the past can lead to the emergence of the most powerful heroes who work for regional prosperity and peace," the association quoted in a written statement jointly by its CEO Jonathan Greenblatt and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the association's adviser, as saying. .

“We at the Anti-Defamation League believe that education is among the initial steps toward promoting tolerance, and we hope this helps,” added Greenblatt, who previously served in the White House with the Obama administration as a civil society advisor and served at Starbucks coffee chain as a senior executive. The new joint report further this goal.

How do we serve Israel?

The organization, which monitors even recordings and sayings of Friday sermons from the Friday pulpits in the Islamic world, enumerated many recommendations for the future change agenda in the Arab curricula, including goals such as “removing school lessons that accuse the West of intellectual invasion,” and working to “expand lessons that teach dialogue and cooperation between Civilizations".

However, among the most prominent recommendations that came in the joint report of the two organizations related to Israel and its place in the Arab educational curricula, and specifically the organization demanded that “Israel be included on maps, education about the Arab-Israeli peace process, a review of content that demonizes Israel or Zionism, and the inclusion of history books teaching the Holocaust.” Appropriately".