Mick Hartley

Two not unrelated stories from the JC:

Egypt revises textbooks to remove antisemitic and anti-Israel content:

Eighty per cent of Egyptian schoolchildren are now being taught from revised textbooks which have removed antisemitic content found in previous editions, with students showing improved attitudes towards Jews and Israel according to a new report by the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (Impact-se) published last week.

“Review of Changes and Remaining Problematic Content Egyptian Textbooks: Selected Examples 2023-24,” published by the international research institute and authored by Yonatan Negev PhD, revealed that year-on-year revisions to the Egyptian school curriculum, which has in the past portrayed Jews through antisemitic stereotypes, have yielded promising results….

The report noted that ten antisemitic passages previously identified by Impact-se researchers, including a multiple-choice question in which Jews were described as “people of treachery and betrayal,” were replaced with passages “emphasising peace, coexistence, and cooperation between Islam and Judaism.”

The antisemitic depiction, which has since been removed, was included in a lesson comparing the Yom Kippur War to the Prophet Muhammad’s battles with Jewish tribes in Arabia and asked students to use the internet to search for Qur’anic verses about “the treachery of the Jews.”

Since the revisions were made, students are instead tasked with creating a booklet titled “A Guide for Dealing with Others” to foster respect for Jews and those of other faiths.

Swedish government to stop funding UNRWA:

Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli hailed the move as a "courageous and critical decision by the Swedish government."

"UNRWA, whose personnel actively participated in the October 7 atrocities, whose facilities became terror hubs, and whose schools spread Hamas propaganda and incitement, has lost its legitimacy to exist," Chikli wrote on X.