The Palestinian Ministry of Education (MOE) was set up late 1994.
It is a well-known fact that it has inherited a deplorable
educational situation in the West Bank and Gaza from the Israeli
occupation authorities. Since then, the Palestinian Ministry of
Education has exerted a significant effort in tackling the
deterioration befallen on the educational system during the
occupation. It was beset by serious problems like triple school
shifts, lack of teacher training and the dire consequences of
recruitment practices, etc. However, the MOE felt the need to
develop a curriculum relevant to the students' needs to replace the
duality of curricula use in the West Bank and Gaza and,
consequently, to unify the educational system. The plan includes
contemporary topics in areas of democracy, human rights, children's
rights, women's empowerment, pluralism, and tolerance. The new
vision also includes new subjects: health, the environment,
Christian education, and information technology, in addition to
improvements and changes in foreign-language teaching. Soon after
its establishment, the MOE sought the assistance of UNESCO and
donor countries in setting up the Palestinian Curriculum
Development Center (PCDC). PCDC is now fully engaged in developing
the first-ever Palestinian curriculum. It has so far published
Palestinian textbooks for two grades only: the first grade
(children aged 6 years) and the sixth grade (children aged 11). For
pedagogic reasons, it is planned and expected that the Palestinian
textbooks for the remaining ten grades will be produced in stages
by the year 2004/2005. Meanwhile, these grades are still using
Jordanian textbooks in the West Bank and Egyptian textbooks in
Gaza, which has been the case since 1950.
Why This Clarification
During the past three years, there has been significant interest in
the issue of the Palestinian textbooks, both locally and
internationally. The international interest and questioning,
though, were mainly focused on what Palestinian children study at
school. There was no similar interest in what their Israeli
counterparts study.
The textbooks used in Palestinian schools have been under
continuous scrutiny, mainly by an NGO called the Center for
Monitoring the Impact of Peace (CMIP), a right-wing, anti-peace
Israeli center. CMIP started as a cyber institute (www.eduing.com)
three years ago. It now maintains offices in Israel and an address
in the U.S.A. CMIP spent its first two years and more looking into
textbooks used in Palestinian schools. Its reports on this subject
were mainly used to argue against providing assistance to the
Palestinian Ministry of Education and UNRWA in the U.S.A. Congress
and European parliaments. So far, the MOE has chosen to answer only
questions or queries addressed to it directly and officially, and
not to engage in media or lobby campaigns. We now feel that the
internationally waged campaign regarding textbooks used in
Palestinian schools has been one-sided and unfair. Therefore, we
have decided to state our position regarding curriculum development
in Palestine and to clarify some claims and misconceptions that
appear in various CMIP reports and publications.
Some Important Issues
1. The Palestinian problem did not start with the Israeli
occupation of the West Bank and Gaza in 1967. It started with the
dispossession and eviction of the Palestinians from their homeland
in historic Palestine and the establishment of the State of Israel
in 1948. This fact is alive in the individual and collective
memories of the Palestinians. Curricula and textbooks will not be
credible if they do not address this fact. We will not brainwash
our children and miseducate them about the past. They will have to
come to terms with the fact that the Palestinians are making
historic concessions in order to achieve a just and durable peace
in their country and in their region, in preparation for a better
future for them.
2. The MOE is grateful to Jordan and Egypt for allowing us to use
their textbooks until the Palestinian textbooks for the whole range
of school grades are produced. The MOE reprints the Jordanian and
Egyptian textbooks and uses them in Palestinian schools until they
are replaced by the Palestinian curriculum, which is staggered over
a five-year period.
3. The MOE has avoided dealing with unresolved political issues in
Palestinian textbooks. It has not mentioned Israel's borders on
maps. Israel itself has not defined its borders. The borders of the
future independent Palestinian state are still not defined. These
matters will be decided on by representatives of both countries and
peoples through negotiations and agreements. Once these decisions
are made, and are ratified by the international community through
the UN, then they will be included in future Palestinian
textbooks.
4. The MOE has chosen a participatory approach in developing the
Palestinian curriculum and in writing the textbooks. It has invited
qualified academics and educators from universities, colleges and
schools to participate in the writing of textbooks through public
advertisements. This participatory process required a lot of effort
and time. The textbooks that have been produced so far reflect the
general mood of the Palestinians at this stage.
5. The produced textbooks will be tested in schools and will
undergo changes based on input from schoolteachers, Palestinian
academics, and the community at large. The MOE welcomes comments on
its published Palestinian textbooks from partners and all types of
professional bodies. It will review this input and introduce the
changes that will, hopefully, improve the textbooks.
6. We have referred to Israel in some of the Palestinian textbooks
as the occupier; this is what Israel is, in fact, on our land. This
is what the United Nations calls, in its resolutions, Israeli
presence on our land. We hope that Israel will end its occupation
of the West Bank and Gaza soon. Once it does, then we will stop
using this designation.
7. The Palestinian textbooks produced do not include any racist
remarks against any people. This is a big step forward in the
direction of reconciliation and peace, bearing in mind the fact
that Israel is still occupying our land and subjecting our people
to various forms of repression, harassment, collective punishment,
killing, assassinations, destruction, denial of our human and
national rights and confiscation of the future and dreams of our
children.
8. East Jerusalem was occupied by Israel in June 1967. The
Palestinians have the full right to mention Jerusalem in their
textbooks as an occupied city. Moreover, the former Israeli prime
minister agreed in last summer's Camp David talks [July 2000] to
return the city to the Palestinian people. They have the full right
to consider Jerusalem as their future capital and to mention this
position, hope and aspiration in their textbooks. Doing so does not
constitute incitement against anybody.
9. Palestinians are Muslim and Christian, so our textbooks teach
tolerance between them. This is part of civic education. Our
textbooks focus on Palestinian society at this stage. The Israeli
occupation authorities have denied us our right to teach about our
country and our people throughout the period 1967-1994. This
teaching is part of our efforts to build a civil society and a
modern democratic state. In the textbooks we have produced so far,
we have not dealt with any other people, religion or country
outside of Palestine. But the intention of the ministry is to avoid
all forms of stereotyping on the basis of race, gender, religion,
or disability. Additionally, we expect it to encourage the
development of positive images of people who are different from
ourselves.
10. The inclusion of pictures or drawings of the Palestinian flag
is not an act of incitement, nor is it in violation of any
agreements or accords signed with Israel, as some CMIP reports
state. Palestinian flags have been officially raised on all
Palestinian institutions, even on places where meetings with
Israeli leaders and officials have taken place.
11. Like any other people on earth, we have the right to decide
what our children study without pressure or coercion. As stated
above, we welcome comments on our Palestinian textbooks after they
are published and distributed.
12. We are producing curricula and textbooks in the shortest period
possible. It is in our national interest to do so. A Palestinian
curriculum is a necessity for the creation of one national identity
and unity. We have chosen the stages and the sequence of producing
the Palestinian textbooks so that the process will not cause gaps
in and harm to the education of our children. Meanwhile, we will go
on using the Jordanian and Egyptian textbooks in grades which do
not have Palestinian textbooks. It is not possible to shorten the
period required for developing the Palestinian curriculum and
textbooks. We will maintain this logical sequence, which we have
chosen as a result of a long discussion.
Final Note
The donors and the international community should help the
Palestinians along the difficult path of negotiations leading to
independence and peace. The donors and other UN member states
should have the courage to voice their honest opinion about reality
here in Palestine as they learn it firsthand through the presence
of their representative bodies. They should not be coerced into
silence by unofficial lobbyists from any side. We expect them to
use due process before they take positions and pass judgment. The
first step in this process is to seek and find out the truth. This
requires talking to all parties concerned and not accepting
one-sided and biased reports. We are, and have always been, willing
to answer questions and to clarify matters.
The Palestinians and Palestine have the right to have a place under
the sun. The Palestinians have suffered enough due to the
inactivity of the international community in the face of enforcing
the UN resolutions pertaining to this land. The Palestinians should
be supported in building an independent, sustainable, prosperous,
modern and democratic state. The process is long and they should be
allowed the needed time to grow gradually and to develop their own
views and convictions. With the assistance and backing of sincere
partners, the Palestinians will be able to overcome their
frustrations and to regain hope in a better future for their
children in the region.
The MOE has worked, and is still working, earnestly for the benefit
of Palestinian children, for a better future, and for a just and
durable peace based on international legitimacy. It is grateful to
all those who have supported its difficult work, commented frankly
on its shortcomings, and celebrated its achievements and
successes. May 5, 2001
