August 5, 2018
Without peace education, one cannot begin to discuss peace
In order to advance peace, President Trump must lift the veil of secrecy, which is spread over the Palestinian education system.
Concerning US efforts to facilitate a new peace process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the Trump Administration has focused on political and security details, along with economics and strategic communications, as reported by The Washington Post on Friday, August 3.
However, the Trump administration’s plan ignores the critical issue of five million descendants of Arab refugees from 1948 who linger in “temporary” UNRWA refugee camps, which have become a cauldron of terrorism.
Current textbooks distributed to UNRWA schools by the Palestinian Authority openly indoctrinate a new generation to take up arms for the Palestinian “right of return” to villages, which existed before 1948.
Their curriculum focuses on dehumanization, delegitimization, and demonization of the Jews.
These new texts do not uphold the validity of the 1967 lines or the 1949 lines. Instead, their schools indoctrinate a new generation to believe in the eradication of the Zionist presence by any means possible.
As early as first grade and continuing each successive year, the PA and UNRWA do not encourage peace; instead they sanction the “right of return by force of arms” as the only option for the new generation.
To understand the depth of Arab education endorsing war, the US Congress commissioned a GAO study of PA/UNRWA schoolbooks. This important analysis was completed in April. However, the Trump Administration has forbidden the publication of that study; rather, it is patently ignoring the warning that without peace education, one cannot begin to discuss peace.
Last year, the US government allocated nearly $400 million to UNRWA. 54% of these funds went to UNRWA education, without any supervision or scrutiny as to the content of the educational materials. Until President Trump lifts the veil of secrecy from the results of the GAO study of PA/UNRWA schoolbooks, the factual reality of PA/UNRWA indoctrination will remain an official secret to the US government and its relevance to policy makers will not be understood.
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