The Peace FAQ:
Opression, The Oppressed Palestinians
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Is it true that Israel controls the educational systems of the Palestinians in order to control or indoctrinate the children?
- So why do we often hear about the indoctrination of Arab children? What are they learning, and why?
- Didn't Israel respond to Palestinian Arab rioting in a brutal manner - certainly the PA could have done a better job with less force?
- Given the reports of Israeli oppression of Arabs, don't Arabs welcome becoming part of the future Palestinian state?
Is it true that Israel controls the educational systems of the Palestinians in order to control or indoctrinate the children?
- As I grew under the Israeli Government, the country of Jordan set the
school curriculum. History, Political Science, and Social Studies did not include the
Jews. A major mistake by the Israeli Government in the education system.
Regardless of the claims made by Palestinians accusing Israel of being unfair to the local Arabs, the freedom to study our religion and history was protected by law. The only history we learned was concerning Islamic, Arabic, and European nations. Equally, the atrocities of the Moguls and the Crusaders in Jerusalem never included the Jews, only Muslims. The study of ancient history in Arabic schools has no mention of Jews living in the land. The main focus was on the Canaanites, whom Palestinians today claim to descend from.
- Walid, a Palestinian Arab defector, quoted from "Answering Islam"
So why do we often hear about the indoctrination of Arab children? What are they learning, and why?
- As I lived in Palestine, everyone I knew could trace their heritage
back to the original country their great grandparents came from. Everyone knew their
origin was not from the Canaanites, but ironically, this is the kind of stuff our
education in the Middle East included.
The writers of our history in the Middle East intentionally blotted out the Jews; I never knew the history of the Jews until I started looking into the Bible. One look at the curriculum taught in Arabic countries would prove that honesty and integrity is severely lacking in the Arabic writers of the history education manuals. It is amazing to watch the distortion and twisting of history to serve the growing hatred of the Jews; a common trend today in many eastern and European countries.
- Walid, a Palestinian Arab defector, indicating that the Israelis were so tolerant in their administration of the territories, that they mistakenly permitted the antisemitic indoctrination of innocent Arab children.
quoted from "Answering Islam"
Didn't Israel respond to Palestinian Arab rioting in a brutal manner - certainly the PA could have done a better job with less force?
- AlAkhbar: Latest from Nablus
PA forces burst into a rally at a Al-Najah university Saturday where students were protesting the latest arrest of 367 Birzeit students by Occupation authorities.
More than 500 PA anti-riot police took over the campus, about 10 entering the student union at An-Najah University to stop the rally. They opened fire at students and threw tear gas into the crowds and started beating students and overturning chairs and tables.
Many students were arrested in the protest, including some members of An-Najah's student council, which is won by Hamas bloc last year. Reports say many students were hospitalized for tear gas inhalation. Also number of students remained hospitalized yesterday with gunshot wounds they received when policemen opened fire.
"The Palestinian Authority is acting worse than the Israelis under the occupation," said Khader Shkirat, director of the Land and Water Establishment, a leading Palestinian advocacy and human rights group.
Shkirat said Israel would refrain from entering the campus, while the PA rejected calls by the school's administration to stay outside. "The [Palestinian] police showed no respect for the law and no respect for democracy," Shkirat said.
The Fatah students union issued a statement strongly condemning the police action and calling for an independent investigation, saying the PA committee includes figures who were behind the police action.
Land and Water Establishment researchers began interviewing witnesses yesterday, and according to initial findings the police violence was unprovoked and brutal, Shkirat said.
The researchers have also gathered testimony on the beating of and stripping of cameras from Palestinian and foreign journalists covering the event, Shkirat added.
Palestinian sources said residents' accusations of excessive force by Nablus policemen is not new. Residents are also unhappy most policemen are from Gaza or outside the territories, saying they are out of touch with life of Palestinians.
Two weeks ago, PA police raided Gaza University overnight and caused severe damage to school property estimated at more than 100,000 US dollars. This is the second largest crush by PA police against Palestinains. Last year PA police shot dead 12 Palestinians in Gaza.
- from AlAkhbar via the Islamic Association for Palestine: http://www.io.org/~iap
Given the reports of Israeli oppression of Arabs, don't Arabs welcome becoming part of the future Palestinian state?
- This move [the transfer to Palestinian sovereignty] will deprive
Arab residents of Jerusalem of many of the social benefits to which
they are currently entitled under Israeli law. ... I am not dictating
what people want. I want to give people the chance to express their
opinions. Maybe the majority wants the Palestinian Authority, or
Israel, or even Jordan... [but the] PA is a failed
experiment. Arafat's way is bloodshed. This is how it was in Jordan in
the 1970s and later in Lebanon. A leader who spills the blood of his
own people has failed... For 33 years, we have been part of the State
of Israel. But now our rights have been forgotten."
- Zohair Hamdan, a resident of Tsur Baher, thinks his voice and those of the 165,000 other Arab residents of Jerusalem should be heard before any decisions are made about their fate. [Jerusalem Post]
- "From my experience, I believe that a great many Arab residents of Jerusalem want to remain part of Israel."
- Unis Awada, a resident of Ras el Amud, who has been gathering signatures from his neighbors and friends, appealing for a the right not to have switch from Israeli to Palestinian citizenship. [Jerusalem Post]
- RELATED SECTIONS:
Palestinians, Democracy, The Occupied Territories, Zionism-is-Racism, Apartheid, Refugees, Media Bias, Double Standards, Expansionism, Automorphism, Jewish Settlers,
- WWW RESOURCES:
- BOOKS & PRINTED MATERIAL:
- The Case for Israel, by Alan Dershowitz
[VIEW BOOK HERE] - From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict over Palestine, by Joan Peters
[VIEW BOOK HERE] - The complete idiot's guide to Middle East conflict, by Mitchell G. Bard
[VIEW BOOK HERE] - Battleground: Fact & Fantasy in Palestine, by Samuel Katz
[VIEW BOOK HERE] - A Durable Peace: Israel and Its Place Among the Nations, by Benjamin Netanyahu
[VIEW BOOK HERE] - Myths and Facts: A Guide to the Arab-Israel Conflict, Second Edition, by Mitchell Geoffrey Bard
[VIEW BOOK HERE]
- The Case for Israel, by Alan Dershowitz
© 2002 Copyright Yahoodi Communications
