Despite promises of reform: PA textbooks continue to glorify terror against Israel
A new analysis by IMPACT-SE shows that the textbooks of the Palestinian Authority (PA) continue to propagate anti-Semitism, glorification of violence and the delegitimization of Israel despite multiple promises of reform.
The organization, based in Israel and the UK, examined 290 textbooks and 71 teacher’s guides for grades 1 to 12, in subjects such as Arabic, history, Islamic studies, science, mathematics, social studies and geography.
The result is clear: the revisions announced for the 2025/26 school year have not taken place The school materials continue to spread virulent anti-Semitism, the glorification of jihad and violence and the delegitimization of Israel – from elementary school onwards. There is neither a reform plan nor has a single change been implemented. A PA official confirmed as early as 2024: “Not a single word has been changed.”
And this despite massive EU financial aid and repeated promises. Between July and September 2024, for example, the EU paid over 400 million euros to the PA – tied to a
Glorification of terror and violence
The indoctrination begins in the youngest classes. In a 1st grade Arabic book, the word shaheed (“martyr”) is introduced, which in the Palestinian context is a political term for those killed in the conflict with Israel. A 2nd grade poem calls for “the flame of revolution” to be carried to Haifa, Jaffa and Jerusalem. Numerous illustrations, including an armed soldier in the 1st grade book, make prominent use of military motifs. In higher grades, acts of terror are openly glorified: fifth graders learn a ten-page heroic tale about Dalal al-Mughrabi, who killed 38 Israelis, including 13 children, in the 1978 Coastal Road massacre. The attack during the 1972 Munich Olympics is considered a legitimate form of “resistance” in the 11th grade history textbook.
Jews portrayed as manipulative and hostile
At the same time, there are anti-Semitic stereotypes and the blanket portrayal of Jews as manipulative and hostile. In a 12th grade book, Jews are characterized as unreliable opponents of Islam based on a religious narrative, without historical context. A cartoon in an 11th grade history book shows the globe clutched by a US and Israeli arm – a classic conspiracy theory motif of Jewish or Zionist control of the world. References to Jewish history, the Holocaust and Israeli-Palestinian peace processes (Camp David, Annapolis) have been completely removed from the new editions.
The systematic attempt to erase Israel from the maps is also striking. Several books only show “Palestine” between the Mediterranean and the Jordan; the state of Israel does not exist. In Year 7, Jewish historical references to Jerusalem are described as an “invention”. Israel only appears in formulations such as “Zionist entity” or “occupier”.
Violence in math and science too
The embedding of motifs of violence in actually apolitical subjects is remarkable. Newton’s laws are explained using a girl with a slingshot. A 3rd grade math book practices arithmetic with the number of “martyrs” of the 2014 Gaza war. Elements of the air are explained using Israeli tear gas – with a photo of a masked youth with a slingshot.
The propaganda is even clearer in the Teacher’s Guides. These explicitly call on teachers to present armed resistance as a legitimate political option, to declare Zionism as “modern terrorism” or to reject UN resolutions if they could “restrict” Palestinian demands. The right of return is presented as indispensable. A guide for natural sciences even demands that biology lessons talk about the “inhabitants displaced by the Zionist occupation” – an intervention that is completely foreign to the subject but fits in with the political line.
Sources:
Times of Israel from November 19, 2025
IMPACT-se: Review of the 2025-2026 of Palestinian Authority Curriculum School
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