Palestinian schools offered incentives to use Israeli materials

Several Palestinian schools in Jerusalem will be using Israeli education materials in their curriculums after the municipality offered economic incentives for the switch. The Israeli materials are being incorporated in fourth through eighth grade classrooms. One teacher reportedly said, "This step is very dangerous and touches the awareness of Palestinians in Jerusalem in an effort to brainwash them and control them, especially young generations.” The Israeli municipality in Jerusalem offered to give an additional 2,000 shekels (about $550) per student to schools implementing the materials, money which would directly increase the salary of teachers and school administrators. Among the new materials are maps that refer to Palestinian territories by Jewish Biblical names, a passage in a history lesson that refers to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, despite the fact that the city is internationally recognized as occupied, a picture of the separation wall accompanied by the words “security fence,” and a passage describing Israel as a beacon of human rights and democracy.