An international research and policy organization that monitors and analyzes education around the world has published a new report warning that a “new” curriculum being taught to children in Gaza contains the same vicious antisemitic hate as in prior years.
The report is published by the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se), a think tank that analyzes schoolbooks and curricula around the world.
“Back to School: Gaza’s Educational Frameworks in the Shadow of War” reveals that the “abridged curriculum” introduced by the Palestinian Authority for Gaza children condenses the same radical, antisemitic and violence-promoting content that has been found for decades in textbooks in the Palestinian Authority and Gaza – including in schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
The new curriculum blatantly violates Palestinian Authority government commitments made in July 2024 to international donor countries in exchange for continued European Union funding. The uninterrupted flow of funds was to be contingent upon the Ramallah government removing the hate in its textbooks, so as to align with UN standards of peace and tolerance in education.
“The abridged curriculum was introduced as part of a remote-learning initiative following the war in Gaza, allowing students to complete two academic years in one. However, despite this restructuring, the educational materials remain largely unchanged in substance, perpetuating incitement and failing to meet the standards of peace, tolerance, and mutual respect set by UNESCO,” IMPACT-se said.
Antisemitism, encouragement of martyrdom and jihad as life goals, incitement spotted in science and math, glorification and justification of violence and terrorism, dehumanization and demonization of Israel, non-recognition of Israel and its erasure from maps were among the defects uncovered in the NGO’s review of the curriculum.
“The reopening of Gaza’s schools has not restored normal education — it has further entrenched and institutionalized a system of radicalization,” IMPACT-se warned in its conclusion. “Students are not being taught peace, tolerance, or pathways to coexistence. Instead, they are immersed in an education that glorifies violence, justifies terrorism, and ensures that the next generation continues to be shaped by hatred and conflict.”
