PMW report on PA education presented to Israeli Parliament
PMW report on PA education presented
to Education Committee of Israeli Parliament
On Oct. 28, 2015, Palestinian Media Watch's director Itamar Marcus appeared before the Education Committee of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) to present PMW's report on Palestinian Authority Education. The committee convened the meeting to discuss the problem of incitement in Palestinian Authority education. 
Marcus explained that PMW researched formal and informal PA education to assess the prominent educational messages impacting on peace with Israel. Tragically, the report documents that killers of Israelis are depicted by the PA Ministry of Education as heroes and role models for children. In addition, Marcus explained that the PA teaches that Israel has no right to exist and eventually will be replaced by "Palestine." The members of the committee were shown that the PA has named at least 25 schools after terrorists, including mass murderers. For example, three schools are named after terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, who led the most lethal terror attack in Israel's history, the Coastal Road massacre in 1978, in which 37 civilians were killed, 12 of them children.
Committee members were also shown a film from PA TV in which students expressed what Dalal Mughrabi means to them:
Student 1: "Dalal Mughrabi is a great leader... Dalal Mughrabi has given us a lot, and I personally am proud to attend the Dalal Mughrabi School, which bears this pioneering name."
Student 2: "My life's ambition is to reach the level that the Martyr fighter Dalal Mughrabi reached..."
Student 2: "My life's ambition is to reach the level that the Martyr fighter Dalal Mughrabi reached..."
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| Arab MP Haneen Zoabi holds up PMW's report |
PA Ministry of Education sporting events are likewise used to glorify murder, by naming sporting events after terrorist murderers.
At today's meeting, Marcus showed a video from a PA TV educational program for children in which a girl recites this poem:
"Oh, you who were brought up on spilling blood
You have been condemned to humiliation and hardship.
Oh Sons of Zion, oh most evil among creations
Oh barbaric monkeys."
Other PA TV shows for children depict Jews as "Satan with a tail."Marcus summed up that there are two very significant and problematic educational messages from the PA: one nationalistic message, which teaches that Israel is not legitimate along any borders, since Israel's existence since 1948 is said to be an 'occupation.' The second message is that Jews are evil by nature. Jews are are described as descendants of monkeys and pigs, and the fate of Jews is to be killed by Muslims. Accordingly, if you kill a Jew or an Israeli, you are a hero and a school or a sporting event will be named after you.
There was heated discussion between the Arab and Jewish parliament members about the significance of the material. Some of the Arab members argued that Israel is likewise guilty of incitement - a charge that was rejected by the Jewish parliament members. Arab MP Haneen Zoabi was removed from the session because of her outbursts.Palestinian Media Watch is a Jerusalem-based research institute that studies Palestinian society, focusing on the messages the Palestinian Authority transmits to the Palestinian public. PMW research and ongoing documentation is critical for understanding the intricacies of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.