PA-funded youth magazine features map of Israel and PA areas as map of “Palestine”

Poem by Muhannad Al-Aqous from Syria

Headline: “Palestine is My Promise”

“Palestine is my promise
And a rose garden
And color in my life
Like crops in the field
And a river that says:
I am still
Feeding the plains
From the palm of my grandfather
And a light shines
On every wall
Counting the birds
That have not been counted
And the child of the rocks
Rearranges his home
After a raid
And overcomes the challenges
I am not alone
All of the soldiers are by my side
I will continue to sing
Palestine is my promise”

The poem appears with a drawing of a boy wearing a keffiyeh (Arab headdress) and holding crayons. On the wall behind him is drawn the PA map of “Palestine” that presents all of Israel as “Palestine” together with the PA areas, and below it are the colors of the Palestinian flag and the word “Palestine.”

Zayzafuna is a PLO magazine for children partially funded by the PA. The magazine, which includes material written by both the magazine's staff and child readers, shows the kind of messages the publishers deem suitable for youth and also serves as a window into the minds of the Palestinian children submitting material to the magazine. Zayzafuna's website no longer exists but stated (in May 2016) that the magazine's advisory board is comprised of PA officials and educators, including Jihad Zakarneh, PA Deputy Minister of Education, and Abd Al-Hakim Abu Jamous, Head of the Media Department at the PA Ministry of Education. Zayzafuna (October 2017) included a note on its third page acknowledging the PA Ministry of Culture for its financial support of the printing of the magazine. It also included a disclaimer, stating that: “The opinions and texts in the magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Zayzafuna Association.” In May 2011, the Deputy Chairman of the Zayzafuna organization Abd Al-Karim Ziyada explained on PA TV that the PA gives "a monthly payment of 10,000 shekels ($2,700) to cover the magazine's [costs]." [Official PA TV, May 9 and 13, 2011]