Israeli school curriculum “falsifies history” and seeks to “destroy Palestinian identity”
Op-ed by Alaa Hantash:
“I wasn’t surprised that five schools in occupied Jerusalem started teaching the Israeli curriculum in some of their classes. On the contrary, I even foresee that the situation will grow worse and that the number will grow to 50, because for a long time now there have been warnings about this step, which is a crime against humanity and not just against our people and its history. This curriculum falsifies history openly and in broad daylight, and works to destroy the Palestinian identity and bury it while still alive in our children’s minds, as it falsified the city’s features and imposed an alleged history on them before our very eyes and ears. We can do nothing but stick out our tongue to denounce and condemn, saying; ‘Jerusalem will remain Arab-Palestinian and you cannot detract from its Arabness!’
Over the past decades all of our Jerusalem strongholds have fallen, and not one remains resolute against the battle of Judaization, except for the education stronghold, and here it is starting to fall before our eyes.
Even the weapon of denunciation is left dumbfounded this time, and on all levels – despite the many authorities who are concerned about occupied Jerusalem, including their staffs and modest budgets, and who are supposed to be rallying [support from] the whole world against this crime, rather than [allowing] the world to sit idly by.
The occupation authorities turned several neighborhoods in Jerusalem into drug dens, and we said; ‘Our nation still remains resolute and maintains its principles!’ They altered the city’s features and its Arab nature, and we said; ‘Jerusalem’s identity will remain Arab!’ And in several years, when we ask where the Al-Aqsa Mosque is located, one of our children will say, ‘On the Temple Mount.’”
“I wasn’t surprised that five schools in occupied Jerusalem started teaching the Israeli curriculum in some of their classes. On the contrary, I even foresee that the situation will grow worse and that the number will grow to 50, because for a long time now there have been warnings about this step, which is a crime against humanity and not just against our people and its history. This curriculum falsifies history openly and in broad daylight, and works to destroy the Palestinian identity and bury it while still alive in our children’s minds, as it falsified the city’s features and imposed an alleged history on them before our very eyes and ears. We can do nothing but stick out our tongue to denounce and condemn, saying; ‘Jerusalem will remain Arab-Palestinian and you cannot detract from its Arabness!’
Over the past decades all of our Jerusalem strongholds have fallen, and not one remains resolute against the battle of Judaization, except for the education stronghold, and here it is starting to fall before our eyes.
Even the weapon of denunciation is left dumbfounded this time, and on all levels – despite the many authorities who are concerned about occupied Jerusalem, including their staffs and modest budgets, and who are supposed to be rallying [support from] the whole world against this crime, rather than [allowing] the world to sit idly by.
The occupation authorities turned several neighborhoods in Jerusalem into drug dens, and we said; ‘Our nation still remains resolute and maintains its principles!’ They altered the city’s features and its Arab nature, and we said; ‘Jerusalem’s identity will remain Arab!’ And in several years, when we ask where the Al-Aqsa Mosque is located, one of our children will say, ‘On the Temple Mount.’”