The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se), an international research and policy organization that monitors and analyzes education around the world, presented recommenadations to EU officials on what a peace and tolerance Palestinian school curriculum the day after should look like.

It is often said that education is one of the most powerful tools used to mitigate hatred, antisemitism, violence,  extremist influences and moderate ideological prejudice, as well as a core component in securing more tolerant and open-minded societies.

As the controversy over the involvement of employees of UNWRA, the United Nation agency for Palestinian refugees in the Middle East, in the atrocities committed by Hamas in Israel on October 7 continues, teaching in Palestinian schools is being denounced as a major component of what happened.

In May 2023, the European Parliament condemned the Palestinian Authority over the hateful content of its school textbooks and conditioned future funding for education on the removal of antisemitic material. But nothing happened…

Last week, a group of cross-party members of the European Parliament from <15 countries and all major parties, left to right, sent a letter to the president of the European Commission and the European Council calling for a review of European funding to UNWRA.

‘’Let us remember that it is the Palestinian school curriculum is taught by UNWRA in Gaza, word by word, line by line, page by page….They make no changes whatsoever. You have also to know that the majority of schools inside of Gaza are UNWRA schools,’’ explained Marcus Sheff, CEO of IMPACT-se, during an interview with European Jewish Press in Brussels where he met high officials from the European Commission dealing with foreign affairs, aid and the flow of money to the Palestinians, to make clear recommendations in respect to what a peace and tolerance school curriculum the day after should look like. How changes can be made and where can changes be made not only in Gaza but also in the West Bank where UNWRA is teaching the same curriculum.

The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se) is an international research and policy organization that monitors and analyzes education around the world.

‘’The majority of the people who did the massacres on October 7 went to UNWRA schools in the Gaza Strip. And the majority who went to Hamas schools were teached the Palestinian Authority curriculum. They don’t have a separate curriculum. So the PA, UNWRA and Hamas all teach the same textbooks. And if you are teaching the people that Jews are liars who should be exterminated, that jihad and martyrdom are the most meanings of life, if you teach them as UNWRA teach them specifically in  Gaza, that burning a bus with Israeli civilians can become a barbecue party and it should be celebrated, don’t  be surprised when this happens in real life,’’ Sheff said.

According to him,  UNWRA ‘’is finished’’ as an organization in term of its legitimacy. ‘’By the way, UNWRA does a very bad job as an aid organization. There are other UN organizations that can do the job of humanitarian aid and education without getting in bed with Hamas, without teaching children violence and antisemitism.’’

The US Senate recently introduced a bipartisan bill which would redirect future aid to Gaza not to UNWRA but to alternative agencies such as UNICE and World Foof Program.

The Biden administration said it supports the bill, signifying public consideration of UNWRA alternatives for the first time.

‘UNWRA cannot be entrusted with teaching one more child, one more day. And the international community cannot be complicit in its funding because it will be complicit in the next act of murder, terrorism and barbarity that we saw on October 7.’’

The European Commission said last month in a statement that it ‘’will determine upocoming funding decisions for UNWRA in light of the very serious allegations relating tot he involvement of UNWRA staff in the heinous 7 October attacks,’’ It said it ‘’will review the matter in light of the outcome of the investigation announced by the UN and the actions it will take.’’The Commission also asked for an audit of the UN agency to be conducted by EU appointed independent external experts to examine the involvement of UNWRA staff in terrorist activities.

A Commission spokesperson said on Thursday, in response to a question by EJP,  that no funding from the EU to UNWRA is foreseen before the end of February. The EU is one of the largest donors of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

20% of the 12,000 UNWRA employees in Gaza are believed to be Hamas people.

Trend in the Mideast improving

Markus Sheff noted that the trend in the Middle East is improving, citing  Saudia Arabia,  the UAE, Morocco and Egypt. ‘’Each of these important Sunni countries are taking out the hate, the antisemitism, the call to violence, jihad and martyrdom and putting instead npeace and tolerance,’’ he said. ‘’It is the PA who is against this trend and UNWRA, among all the UN organizations,  is teaching a curriculum far more violent and antisemitic than Saudi Arabia used to. ‘’What is the logic ?’’.

‘’There is world before October 7 and after Ocvtober 7. When we presented our reports before October 7, we said that something is going to happen if this continues. Now something terrible happened. Tragically we have proof of what is happening when you indoctrinate childen every single day towards violence, deshumanization of Israelis and Jews. That by killing, raping, beheading you will receive an award. Peaece educatiuon is absolutely vital and critical the day after. Keeping the current teaching condemn ourselves to more terrible acts of violence,’’ Sheff concluded.