Looks like there isn't much of a chance for piece in the Middle East (Posted by Haim on another thread)
Jun. 26, 2002 - Study: Syrian textbooks drenched with anti-semitism
By MELISSA RADLER
NEW YORK Virulent anti-Semitism, calls for jihad, and support for the elimination of Israel are entrenched in every level of Syria's school system, according to a study of 68 Syrian school textbooks spanning grades 1-12 released by B'nai B'rith International on Tuesday.
Conducted by the New York-based Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace, the 30-page study entitled, "Jihad, Jews, and Anti-Semitism in Syrian School Texts," found that Syrian children are taught to hate Jews and Israel with such ferocity that genuine reconciliation between the two peoples appears unlikely anytime soon.
The study also highlights Syria's contradictory roles in the international arena. Listed as one of seven sponsors of international terrorism by the US State Department, Syria holds the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council and cochairs its Human Rights Commission, based in Geneva.
Among the many examples of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment cited in the study, which examined government-funded texts only, is an excerpt from a 10th grade social studies text that describes Zionism as "a racist-imperialist-colonialist-aggressive-expansionist political movement." In an 11th grade reader, Zionism is called the "new Nazism" and a "model of racist evil." Eighth-graders are taught that, "It is known that the Jews of today do not have any connection to Palestine," and sixth-graders learn that "The Prophet [Muhammad] knew about the treacherous intention harbored in the Jews' souls."
By age 15, Syrian children are read in their Islamic studies textbooks that Jews deserve to be liquidated: "Co-existence with them or having them as neighbors is an enormous danger that threatens Islamic and Arab existence with destruction and extinction... Their criminal intention should be turned against them by way of their elimination."
Calls for "martyrdom" and terrorism are also tracked in the study. An Islamic studies text for grade-5 students describes praises Palestinian youth for "rushing towards death, trying to reach it ahead of one another," and 6th-graders learn: "There is neither excuse nor forgiveness for the one who refrains from jihad for the cause of God, for the purification of Palestine of the Jews."
US Congressman Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), who cosponsored the Syria Accountability Act along with House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas), joined B'nai B'rith leaders at the study's release in Washington on Tuesday. "How can we have hope for peace in the future if Syrian children of today are growing up to passionately hate Jews and Israel? This report highlights the dangers the world will continue to face unless Syria makes some drastic changes now," he said.
B'nai B'rith executive vice president Dan Mariaschin said the study highlights the dim prospects for peace between Israel and Syria. "Without education for peace, not incitement, good relations between Syria and Israel are unlikely," he said |
