Ministry for Diaspora Affairs | October 2024

Executive Summary

1 The Palestinian Authority (PA) ‘s official educational system includes, among other things, teaching staff and classroom learning aids—such as teacher guides and textbooks—as well as enrichment programs like summer camps for children and young adults. 2 This educational framework includes schools (sometimes named after terrorists), classroom and school activities, regulated social media, and more. 3 This framework serves as a means of reinforcing the PA’s messaging regarding the conflict with Israel, which is built upon two interconnected pillars that demand action: A. Delegitimization of the very existence of the State of Israel and Jewish residents in any part of the land; denial of Jewish history in the land and of their holy sites; demonization of Israel and Jews. B. Advocacy for the violent struggle to liberate the entire land, including the territory of Israel within its 1967 borders. Glorification of terrorism and its perpetrators is an integral part of the struggle, and as a direct consequence, it encourages the killing of Jews. 4 This is the Palestinian narrative, and children are never exposed to an alternative narrative. No counter examples or references opposing the two central elements mentioned were found.

5 The PA’s messaging is inconsistent with the PA’s commitments under the Oslo Accords and contradicts UN principles concerning the conflict. Since the Oslo Accords recognized Israel’s legitimacy, the exclusion of this recognition constitutes delegitimization. 1 6 Furthermore, content observed in UNRWA schools, responses by UNRWA teachers and staff to the events of October 7, 2023, and the involvement of agency staff and employees in Gaza in the massacre are all a direct consequence of the alarming trend in Palestinian education. 7 A review of the IHRA working definition of antisemitism 2 reveals that the PA educational system is deeply entrenched in high-intensity hatred of Jews and Israel. • It should be noted that systematically promoting this worldview is not the sole domain of the Palestinian educational System, though it is a significant part of a broader institutional apparatus. For example, the PLO’s Prisoners Affairs Authority pays hundreds of millions of shekels annually to imprisoned terrorists and the families of “martyrs.” 3 8 The glorification of terrorists is widespread in PA areas through rallies, street names, competitions, and official ceremonies, establishing these terrorists as role models for children, youth, and the general public.

1 ECF - Economic Cooperation Foundation: Oslo II - The Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - English Text 2 What is antisemitism? - IHRA (holocaustremembrance.com) 3 Kuperwasser_Salaries_Hebrew_web_covers_28may2017.pdf (jcpa.org.il)

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