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September 01, 2009
Hamas Condemns U.N. for 'War Crime' of Teaching Holocaust
Hamas is condemning the United Nations for switching to a new textbook for Gaza eighth-graders that includes a chapter on the Holocaust.
According to an Aug. 31 report by JTA:
In an open letter sent Sunday to the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which runs schools for 200,000 Gazan children, Hamas called the systematic murder of Jews during the Holocaust 'a lie invented by the Zionists' and said it would 'refuse to let our children study' it.
Moreover, Hamas religious leader Younis al-Astal on Monday "called the teaching of the Holocaust to Palestinian children a 'war crime' and the 'marketing a lie and spreading it,' " according to the Associated Press.
An UNRWA spokesman told Reuters that the Holocaust was not part of the current curriculum, and would not comment on any possible changes.
The questions that arise are:
(1) Why didn't U.N. textbooks include information on the Holocaust BEFORE now? How many years has UNRWA been responsible for providing textbooks to Gaza schoolchildren?
(2) Why wasn't the Holocaust part of the curriculum before? And why won't the U.N. take a public position on whether it will be included in the students' curriculum in the future?
(3) Will any mainstream newspaper report this?
Posted by sas at September 1, 2009 11:04 AM
Comments
I'm surprised that Hamas doesn't just re-word the text to read more like a "how to" book.
Posted by: WALTERC at September 1, 2009 05:18 PM
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