The European parliament passed resolutions on Wednesday condemning the Palestinian Authority for inciting violence, antisemitism and hate via its school textbooks.
The resolutions demanded the “deletion of all antisemitic references, and removal of examples that incite hatred and violence.”
Unlike previous resolutions, which mentioned incitement to violence without directly calling for the removal of antisemitism, the wording explicitly links E.U.-funded textbooks to “rising involvement of teenagers in terrorist attacks.”
The European parliament insisted that the European Union freeze its funding to the P.A. until its curriculum is aligned with UNESCO standards and called on E.U. authorities to prevent funding “to activities that incite hatred and violence,” in line with the E.U. strategy for combating antisemitism.
The adopted resolutions form part of a report recommending the way in which the European Union should define its relations with the P.A.
This is the second time in two months that the European parliament has voted on resolutions condemning P.A. incitement, the third time since December 2022, and the fourth consecutive year it has done so. The resolutions were supported by members of parliament from across the political spectrum in Brussels.
The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se), an Israeli nonprofit that monitors school textbooks worldwide, briefed parliament members from across the political spectrum in the lead-up to the vote, showcasing a continued failure by the P.A. to make any changes to its current school curriculum, despite promises of reform.
“We commend the E.U. Parliament for taking such an unequivocal and important position. Once again, they have highlighted the appalling hatred and incitement which continues to permeate Palestinian textbooks,” said IMPACT-se CEO Marcus Sheff.
“The involvement of so many young Palestinians during the recent violence in Jenin demonstrates the deadly results of this indoctrination. It is imperative that the E.U. Parliament’s concerns are followed by swift and concrete action. Failure to do so will have tragic results for generations of Palestinian children,” he added.
