Conclusion of a scientific forum entitled “The struggle over narrative and identity in educational curricula”

Ramallah- Ma'an- The Palestinian National Library and the International Academic Campaign Against the Israeli Occupation and Apartheid organized and held a scientific forum entitled "The Struggle over Narrative and Identity in Educational Curricula" under the patronage of President Mahmoud Abbas, in the Red Crescent Hall in Ramallah on July 22, 2024. Dozens of researchers, academics, educators and interested parties participated in the forum. The forum was opened with the national anthem and prayers for the souls of the martyrs. The attendees listened to official opening remarks from a representative of His Excellency the President, Dr. Mahmoud Al-Habbash, who said that the Palestinian people are a steadfast, struggling people capable of challenging and steadfastly confronting attempts at erasure and assimilation, through which the occupation is trying to uproot Palestine from history and geography. We are at a critical moment to confront the most brutal Zionist colonialism to steal history and burn Palestini an consciousness, and to try to impose their racist narrative and surrender to the status quo, as they imagine. All these attempts have failed despite the killing, genocide, land seizure and attempts to Judaize Jerusalem, our eternal capital. They are waging a war on the Palestinian narrative and truth to destroy the Palestinian existence and turn Palestine into a land without a people who have never had and will never have that. What was issued by the International Court of Justice reaffirms once again that our people deserve to exercise their right to self-determination and establish an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital. As for Her Excellency the Governor of Ramallah and Al-Bireh, Dr. Laila Ghanem, she praised the work of the scientific forum and the importance of preserving the Palestinian narrative, national curricula, and the Arab identity of Jerusalem. She called for the importance of participating in the success of the activities of the National and International Day of Solidarity with G aza and the Prisoners on 3/8/2024. The Minister of Education and Higher Education, Prof. Dr. Amjad Barham, confirmed that the Israeli occupation targets the school bag of students, curricula, teachers and schools, and made Jerusalem a target for this, and that the occupation targeted 278 schools out of 309 schools, which were put out of service due to total or partial destruction, while the universities of the Gaza Strip were put out of service and their academic role due to systematic destruction. He pointed out that the occupation deliberately burned books and university libraries and cut off the governorates of the homeland, and prevented and obstructed the access of students and teachers to schools and universities. He said, 'We want an independent Palestinian state that is strong economically, scientifically, and research-wise, and with sovereignty, and that we are building the Palestinian person to resist the narrative of the occupier by educating our children and teaching them to love the homeland and our historical heritage.' While the Secretary-General of the International Academic Campaign, Dr. Ramzi Odeh, spoke about targeting more than a hundred academics, researchers and thinkers from the Gaza Strip, including ten martyrs from the members of the academic campaign who were killed in the Gaza Strip, and that all the attempts of the Zionist historians did not enable them to prove any Jewish historical trace in Palestine, and they have no legal or political right in Palestine. The conflict is not only in the curricula, but also over the Palestinian narrative. He stressed the need to strengthen the national narrative in the face of the occupation's war against the Palestinian narrative, and that the world must review and scrutinize the Israeli curricula that incite hatred, racism, and the killing of Arabs. He added that we teach our children the reality of the occupation and that we are committed to our curricula and historical narrative. He called for the formation of a committee of experts, specialist s and educators in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in order to come up with recommendations for the results of the research to refute the racist Zionist and biblical narrative based on hatred and the elimination of the other. The head of the Palestinian National Library, Minister Issa Qaraqe, explained that the Israeli nuclear, military and technological occupation entity is committing massacres and genocide and accelerating the construction of settlements. It still rejects the establishment of a Palestinian state and the right of self-determination for the Palestinian people. It is a racist state that occupied the place, but did not win. It continues to target educational institutions and wants to occupy Palestinian awareness, culture, mind and thought, and to burn awareness and erase the national memory in order to achieve separation from reality, history and the future and to separate the Palestinian and Canaanite lands. The occupation is still striving to change the educa tional curricula and accuse them of incitement, in light of attempts by the European Union to impose conditions to achieve this. He added that the Palestinian people are being subjected to cultural genocide, especially when they seized and destroyed many museums, libraries, cultural and scientific centers since the Nakba until today, with the aim of Hebraizing sites and places, Israelizing curricula, and breaking language, culture and education. The conference proceedings were divided into two axes according to the participating research and its content. The first axis was titled "Israeli curricula between racism and denial of the other." The first session was launched by the facilitator, Ms. Mai Hamash, and the rapporteur, Mr. Ahmed Taqatqa, with four research papers. The first research paper was titled "The impact of Israeli educational curricula on the thinking of children and youth in Israel" by the researcher, Dr. Fouad Rabaya. (The researcher explained that the Israeli educational institutions have tur ned to educational curricula to consecrate Zionist ideas derived from their alleged religious philosophy and their racist intellectual tendencies and selection based on the chosen race and rejection of the other, and the cancellation of his authenticity and right to his land. The curricula are subject to strict scrutiny to ensure their suitability for building the Israeli identity culturally and religiously. The Israeli curricula work to instill fear of Arabs in the minds of Jewish citizens, and to consolidate elements of hatred and malice in their conscience, by portraying them in the curricula as murderers and monsters. The second research, entitled 'Israeli educational curricula in the framework of education against hatred,' by researcher Professor Nassim Qabha, stated that the Israeli education system is strongly linked to the Israeli security apparatus, with the aim of depriving the Arabs residing in Palestine and Israel of their patriotism. Israel has carefully used social studies curricula, especially history books, to spread a sense of fear, anxiety, tension, insecurity, and reassurance, and to deepen the philosophy of persecution of Jews. Israel has relied on school books to transfer and disseminate knowledge in Israeli society and the school curriculum, and they reflect the aspirations and hopes of the State of Israel on the land of Palestine, and seek to create a historical myth and a collective memory at the expense of the Arab and Islamic peoples. The third research, entitled 'The Palestinian in Israeli Textbooks,' by researcher Alian Al-Hindi, indicated that Israeli textbooks succeeded in creating a unified educational narrative among many generations of the Jewish community in the Israeli occupation state, towards the Palestinian people, whom they described as savages who do not believe in coexistence and peace, and seek to destroy and exterminate the State of Israel. They must be dealt with with extreme caution and fear, while military force remains the yardstick in dealing with them, because the y only believe in the logic of force. Israeli textbooks have diminished the national, cultural, and civilizational value of the Palestinian, in order to practice against him all kinds of discrimination and racial segregation based on the superiority of one race over another. The fourth research was titled 'Israeli Curricula between Racism and the Approach of Falsifying History/Civil Education Curricula as a Model' by researcher Ms. Amina Al-Kilani. The researcher mentioned that Zionist thought is based on eliminating the other and looking at him with more inferiority and arrogance based on the saying that the Jews are 'God's chosen people.' Zionist thought became the basis of educational philosophy in their educational curricula, alongside religious belief books (the Torah) and (the Talmud), which are the primary source of curricula. Zionist education also relied on the writings, ideas, and decisions of Zionist theorists, and that non-Jews are their slaves and servants. The curricula find no embarrassment in emphasizing that settlement is a process of liberating the land from the hands of the Palestinian Arabs. The curricula designed for Jews only went to establish the absolute hostile view of Arabs and Muslims through falsifying and distorting historical facts without recognizing the Palestinian national identity, but rather working to obliterate and dissolve it. The second axis was titled 'Towards a National Plan to Protect the Palestinian Narrative in Educational Curricula.' The second session began with four research papers, which were managed by Dr. Walid Abayat as facilitator and Professor Thawra Hawamdeh as rapporteur. The first research paper was titled 'The Conflict over Education in East Jerusalem between Erasure and Preservation of the Palestinian National Identity/Through Liberation Education: Policy Ideas' by researcher Dr. Walid Salem. He mentioned that the occupation began its attempts to Judaize education in East Jerusalem since June 1967. This conflict over curricula opens an opportunity for Pal estinian society, the Arab and Islamic worlds, and the international community in solidarity with Palestine to save Palestinian Arab Islamic Christian education in East Jerusalem from the danger of Judaization and erasure that threaten it, by supporting and strengthening the capabilities of Islamic and Christian Waqf schools, UNRWA schools, and non-formal education programs for civil society organizations, in cyberspace, in the local community, and through peers. The conflict over Jerusalem revolves around preserving its historical Arab-Islamic and Christian character, land, space, and landscape, and Judaizing and Judaizing it. As for the second research paper, titled 'The Role of Educational Institutions in Preserving and Strengthening the Palestinian Identity,' by researcher Dr. Mona Abu Hamdieh, she explained that educational institutions in Palestine contribute to building and strengthening the identity. It is concerned with developing the Palestinian community through a variety of educational platforms such as schools, universities and educational institutes. It contributes to promoting the Arabic language, Palestinian culture and heritage, and consolidating national identity and belonging to the homeland. The internal division has affected national unity and the ability of the Palestinian people to achieve their common goals and has affected the image of the Palestinian identity. What needs to be highlighted is the challenges facing the Palestinians in preserving their cultural and social identity in light of the cultural Judaization practiced by the Israeli occupation in Jerusalem and religious and archaeological sites, the policy of Israelization of curricula in Jerusalem and Hebraization of the names of Palestinian cities and villages, and the destruction of Palestinian historical sites. As for the third research, entitled "Allegations of the Occupying Authority on Palestinian curricula of incitement to violence and terrorism and non-compliance with UNESCO standards" by researcher Professor Tharwat Za id Al-Kilani, he stated that many research institutions have sought to delegitimize Palestinian curricula, and attempt to burn Palestinian awareness and obliterate the national narrative, by distorting and falsifying Palestinian curricula, and accusing school books of inciting violence and terrorism and non-compliance with UNESCO standards in curricula. While the mechanisms for preparing and developing curricula are characterised by vitality, flexibility and the ability to be modified frequently based on the observations of the Palestinian educational community and experts in this field, and are open to international requirements to achieve the goals of sustainable development and to consolidate the values ??of justice, tolerance, just peace and other UNESCO standards as foundations to which the State of Palestine has committed, the occupation continues to mislead international public opinion, which requires supporting Palestinian government measures and in accordance with a strategic national plan to confron t the campaign of incitement and demonisation raging against education and curricula in Palestine, especially in Jerusalem, considering educational curricula a national, sovereign and humanitarian matter. The fourth research, entitled "The extent to which the content of social studies books for the sixth and seventh grades in the Palestinian curriculum includes identity concepts between national and global perspectives", was conducted by researchers Dr. Alia Al-Asali and Dr. Raja Sweidan. The research confirmed that curricula and school books play a crucial role in building and strengthening students' national and global identity. They are a means of conveying values ??and concepts that form the core of the cultural and national identity of society. Through them, students learn about their country's history, culture, and values, and understand the importance of effective participation in building and developing their society. They also convey global values ??to students, such as respect, coexistence, and int ernational understanding, which enhances global awareness and contributes to building a civilized generation that is useful to the international community. School books and curricula are a powerful tool for building bridges of understanding and communication between different cultures, and the content for the two grades clearly focused primarily on national identity and its indicators. According to the closing statement of the scientific forum, which was read by researcher Hassan Abd Rabbo, the sessions of the scientific forum concluded, following the interventions and discussions, with a set of recommendations and proposals that would enhance the national identity, including: 1- Confronting the discourse of hatred, racism and Judaization that targets the land and Arab identity, distorts civilization and deliberately falsifies history and is practiced through Israeli curricula that are based on the Torah, the Talmud and Zionist ideas. 2- The importance of showing the locations and points of incitement to r acism, hatred, terrorism and the elimination of the other that were legitimized by the Israeli curricula that consider the Jews as God's chosen people, and that Palestine is the Promised Land for the Jewish people and that they suffer from persecution and are possessed by fear and insecurity, and are based on inciting the military spirit and ethnic cleansing as part of the Zionist doctrine and are reflected in the occupation's procedures and crimes against the Palestinian land and people and at the expense of the narrative, identity and original truth of the Palestinian land before and after the ethnic cleansing and displacement in 1948. 3- The necessity of shedding light on the racism of the Israeli curricula and procedures that contradict human rights, citizenship and the right to education, and confronting the policy of Israelization of curricula in Jerusalem and the logic of Judaization and falsification of history through a comprehensive national strategy and the existence of a unified reference for edu cation in Jerusalem in a way that enhances the steadfastness of educational sources from Palestinian government schools and those affiliated with the Awqaf and the International Relief Agency and deepening and creating twinning relations with the Arab and Islamic world. 4- Permanent adherence to national curricula that enhance Palestinian belonging and identity and protect the heritage and history of struggle, considering Palestinian curricula a sovereign national, humanitarian, moral and civilizational matter that is consistent with international value and humanitarian standards. 5- Raising the level of awareness among Arabs and Palestinians regarding everything related to the Palestinian narrative by employing all influential tools and means in shaping public opinion and forming collective awareness and the collective memory of the Arab history, geography, civilization, holy sites and heritage. 6- Not identifying with external pressures and interventions regarding everything related to Palestinian curric ula, as this constitutes a dangerous slippery slope that could affect the element of societal trust in the educational system. 7- Focus on teaching national identity, belonging, and tangible and intangible heritage at various educational levels, as educational institutions are among the most important and influential sectors in building identity and strengthening belonging by employing cultural, historical, and geographical resources through cooperation and integration of roles between educational and cultural institutions and components of the local community to organize and implement events and activities that would enhance and consolidate national identity. 8- Direct a national action strategy to launch towards the international community, relevant international institutions and organizations, and United Nations educational and educational agencies to demand that they conduct a comprehensive review and evaluation of Israeli curricula and the extent of their racism and inclusion of concepts of terrorism, hatred, incitement, elimination of the other, falsification of history and geography, and standing up to historical content and references. 9- Reject and confront external pressures that attempt to impose an agenda for conditional funding with the aim of introducing changes to Palestinian curricula, at the expense of truth, narrative, and Palestinian history. Finally, the research papers that participated in the scientific forum will be published in a special edition by the Palestinian National Library and the International Academic Campaign. At the conclusion of the forum, the Palestinian National Library and the International Academic Campaign to Combat Israeli Occupation and Apartheid honored the researchers who participated with research papers. Source: Maan News Agency