An image found in an Arabic-language textbook for fifth grade Palestinian students. Photo: IMPACT-se.

A new report on educational materials used by the Palestinian Authority (PA) and UNRWA in the West Bank and Gaza Strip reveals a curriculum replete with antisemitism, racism and glorification of terrorism.

The study — published on Tuesday by the IMPACT-se organization — shows that, despite the PA’s pledge to European officials and donors that official textbooks would be revised to remove such content, there have been no significant changes made and in some ways the problem has gotten worse.

In particular, IMPACT-se found disturbing expressions of antisemitism in the textbooks.

Palestinian children are being taught that Jews control finance, media, politics and indeed the entire world.

For example, a caricature of an arm wearing a Star of David wrapped around a globe appears.

The textbooks also hail the early 20th-century Palestinian nationalist Khalil al-Sakakini, who endorsed terrorism, claimed Jews controlled the media and supported Nazi Germany. Sakakini explicitly endorsed Adolf Hitler’s antisemitism and said American Jews should be stripped of their right to vote.

Jews are also called “enemies of Islam” in the textbooks and accused of trying to kill the Prophet Muhammad. Furthermore, the Jews are blamed for desecrating the tombs of early Muslim heroes, including companions of Muhammad.

In tandem with this, the textbooks completely reject the idea of Jewish history in the Land of Israel or the Jewish presence in the current State of Israel.

“Israel” is referred to as the “Zionist occupation” and references to Jewish history in the area have been erased.

In addition, any evidence of Jewish history and the Jewish presence in Israel is denounced as a forgery, and Jewish holy places are described as purely Muslim.

The IMPACT-se report also found that Palestinian textbooks teach rejection of any peace or coexistence with Israel, encourage jihad and “martyrdom” and hail acts of terrorism and mass murder, including the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre.

IMPACT-se CEO Marcus Sheff commented, “It is disastrous that over one million Palestinian children are condemned to yet another year of sitting in PA and UNRWA schoolrooms being fed hate and incitement on a daily basis.”

“The Palestinian Prime Minister and Minister of Education told senior European government ministers from donor countries, as late as the beginning of this September, that change is coming, obviously knowing full well it was not,” he stated

In an apparent reference to changes made to educational materials by the United Arab Emirates following its peace agreement with Israel, Sheff said, “Textbooks in the region are being improved. There are leaders who understand the importance of a peace education for the health of their own countries.”

“But Palestinians are bucking the trend,” he charged, “firmly following the Iranian school of curriculum development and are demanding that the Europeans pay for it.”