Posted: 4/19/2018 12:02:00 AM
Author: Tamar Ben-Ozer
Source: This article originally appeared in the Jerusalem Post on April 18, 2018.
EU PASSES BILL TO PROMOTE ANTI-HATE EDUCATION IN PALESTINIAN SCHOOLS
Palestinian textbooks will henceforth be examined to proactively maintain that they meet EU and UNESCO standards.
by Tamar Ben-Ozer
The Parliament of the European Union adopted on Wednesday new legislation intended to prevent EU aid transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA) for educational purposes from being used to teach hate.
The legislation was introduced by the parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control in March, and aims to ensure that all programs financed with EU money “reflect common values such as freedom, tolerance, and nondiscrimination within education.”
Be the first to know - Join our Facebook page.
Specifically addressed by the legislation are funds allotted to the PA by the EU’s PEGASE mechanism. Since its launch in 2008, PEGASE has been the main source of EU fiscal support to the PA. Approximately 3 billion euros have thus far been used for the implementation of the PA’s Reform and Development Plan, which includes social development and education.
The Jerusalem-based Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se), which strives to use educational tools to mitigate extremist influences in the Middle East, assisted EU parliament members in formulating the bill.
“It is bizarre that for over ten years, The PEGASE fund has transferred around €3 billion to PA, a significant amount of which goes to the Palestinian education sector,” said IMPACE-se CEO Marcus Sheff. “In all that time, there have been no real attempts by the European Commission to ensure that Palestinian children receive an education based on European values.”
A 2017 report by IMPACT-se examined the Palestinian grades 1-11 curriculum and found that it was significantly more radical than preceding curricula, glorifying “martyrdom” and promoting a “radical Islamist” worldview.
Per Wednesday’s legislation, Palestinian textbooks will henceforth be examined to proactively maintain that they meet EU and UNESCO standards.
The words “freedom, tolerance, and nondiscrimination within education” were adopted already in 2015 in a declaration by EU education ministers at an informal meeting in Paris. However, the declaration only addressed curricula within the EU. This is the first time concrete efforts are being made to ensure the application of these values to EU funded classrooms outside the union’s borders.
In a symbolic calendrical coincidence, the motion — which has the potential to decrease mortal violence between Palestinians and Israelis — passed on Israel’s official Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror attacks.
