Female fighters are glorified for sacrificing their sons and husbands in (Jihad) battle, as role models and as a proof that Islam ensures women’s “equality with men in sacrifice and self-sacrifice in invasions and battles” (Islamic Education, Grade 8, Card 8, Quarter 1, Semester 1, 2021–22, p. 29).
Dalal Mughrabi, the perpetrator of the 1978 terror attack on a civilian bus from Haifa to Tel Aviv – which left 38 Israelis murdered, including 13 children – is praised as a brave “female Arab jihad warrior” (Social Studies, Grade 9, Semester 1, 2021–22, p. 20).
Overview
The Palestinian Authority’s school curriculum (Please see documentation in the next section) was established in 1993 by Mahmoud Abbas, when he was Arafat’s deputy.
The school curriculum of the Palestinian Authority is the most factual description of the rogue Palestinian walk; a direct contrast to Palestinian diplomatic talk.
The school curriculum of the Palestinian Authority focusses on the pre-1967 area of Israel.
The school curriculum of the Palestinian Authority has been consistent with the 1959 Charter of Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah (8 years before the “1967 War”) and the 1964 Charter of Mahmoud Abbas’ PLO (3 years before the 1967 War), before Israel regained control of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank).
The school curriculum of the Palestinian Authority is consistent with the anti-“infidel” precepts of Islam, aimed to eliminate the “infidel” entity in the abode of Islam and bring the “infidel” to submission.
The school curriculum of the Palestinian Authority is the most reliable expression of the deeply-rooted Palestinian vision to establish an Arab entity from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean, by eliminating the “infidel” Jewish sovereignty.
The school curriculum of the Palestinian Authority is a most authentic reflection of the state of mind of the Palestinian Authority, in general, and its view of the Jewish State, in particular.
Since its establishment in 1993, the school curriculum of the Palestinian Authority – along with sermons of incitement in the mosques, public events and highlighted monuments – has shaped the state-of-mind of the Palestinian Street.
Since 1993, the Palestinian school curriculum has been the most effective production line of Palestinian terrorists.
The perpetrators of Palestinian terrorism – against rival Palestinians and against the Jewish State – represent the effectiveness of the Palestinian school curriculum as a brain-washing incubator of hatred and martyrs.
Palestinian school curriculum documented
The following January 2022 documentation of the Palestinian school curriculum was prepared by Dr Eldad Pardo of the Hebrew University, who has researched school curricula in the Palestinian Authority, Iran, the Gulf States and other Middle East entities. The report was published by The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education.
*The 2021-22 Palestinian curriculum radicalizes anti-Jewish and anti-Israel hate and incitement.
*Jews are depicted as devious, treacherous and brutal.
*The focus of “occupation” is on the pre-1967 area of Israel, such as Jaffa, Haifa, Acre, Lod, the Galilee and the Negev.
*Israel has been entirely erased from the maps of geography and social science classes.
*Israel is described as a satanic entity, and its establishment is defined as a crime, a “racist ideology,” and a “colonial conspiracy,” which is based on “false premises.”
*Women may gain equality through sacrifice and martyrdom.
*Students are encouraged to commit acts of violence and instructed to commit Jihad (Holy War) against Israelis and die as martyrs to liberate Palestine and especially the Al Aqsa Mosque.
*Students are taught that those who die as martyrs (shuhada), while killing infidels (kuffar, i.e., Christians, Jews, polytheists), a notion described as one of the “rules of jihad,” will receive God’s grace and be greatly rewarded.
The bottom line
A peace process, on the one hand, and Palestinian school curriculum, on the other hand, constitute a classic oxymoron.
The failure to precondition negotiations with the Palestinian Authority upon the dismantling of its hate-education, has doomed negotiation to failure, while energizing terrorism.
Conducting peace negotiation with the Palestinian Authority, before the dismantling of its hate-driven school curriculum, resembles negotiating an end to drug trafficking, while tolerating the drug cartels’ penetration of the political and educational systems.
“Mida Magazine“, https://bit.ly/3lkaKHy
The 2020 Palestinian Authority’s Arabic Language, Vol 2, Grade 5, pp 51-61 and Social Studies, Vol. 1, Grade 9, p. 40 herald Dalal al-Mughrabi, who led – and participated in – the March 1978 massacre of 38 Israeli civilians (mostly passengers of two Haifa-Tel Aviv buses), including 13 children and wounding 72. The 5th and 9th graders are encouraged to become “martyrs” and follow in the footsteps of “the crown of the nation” and “the role model of Palestinian resistance… whose struggle portrays challenge and heroism, making her memory immortal in our hearts and minds.”
Education mirrors leadership and society
Education is the most authentic reflection of the identity, core values, culture, track record, worldview and vision of the architects of the education system and (subsequently) the society at-large.
Education plays a major role in shaping the personality of individuals and society at-large, especially in non-democratic societies, such as the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian education system has been overseen by Mahmoud Abbas since 1993, when he established it in his capacity as Arafat’s deputy. The Palestinian education system is a byproduct of the 1959 and 1964/1968 Fatah and PLO Charters and the 1974 Palestinian Phased Plan, which stipulate the Palestinian vision.
Education in non-democratic societies mirrors the worldview of its leaders much more credibly than diplomatic statements, briefings and media interviews. The latter constitute “screen savers,” aiming to conceal the real vision, which is lucidly expressed by the educational curriculum.
While free societies promote education in order to enhance enlightenment, expand information and upgrade the standard of living, rogue regimes employ education as a means to advance their brutal goals and brainwash the younger generation into full-submission, including the perpetration of terrorism.
While free societies foster education as a hothouse of tolerance, peaceful-coexistence and innovative ideas and technologies, rogue regimes exploit education as a hothouse of fanaticism and violent intolerance, as well as terrorism and suicide-bombing.
The 2020-2021 Palestinian school curriculum highlights
According to a September 2020 report on the Palestinian School Curriculum, conducted annually by IMPACT-se, the 2020-2021 school textbooks of the Palestinian Authority are more inciteful, violence-oriented and martyrdom-driven than prior years, highlighting:
*Antisemitism (e.g., Jews portrayed as corrupt and enemies of Islam);
*Demonizing and repudiating Jewish history west of the Jordan River as forgery;
*Delegitimizing and dehumanizing Israel and Israeli Jews;
*Articulating the violent annihilation of Israel and Israeli Jews;
*Rejecting peaceful-coexistence with Israel and criticizing the Israel-Egypt peace accord;
*Inciting to anti-Israel terrorism (“martyrdom”) and Jihad (“Holy War”) as a personal religious obligation, while glorifying Jihad “warriors’ (mujahid), suicide-bombing and specific Palestinian terrorists (e.g., the murder of 11 Israeli athletes during the 1972 Munich Olympic Games);
*Glorifying women-terrorists as role-models in the struggle against Israel;
*Islamic inducements (including virgin brides in paradise) to terrorism;
*Promoting geographic maps, which exclude Israel, that is replaced by Palestine;
*Extending the “liberation struggle” from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean;
Documentation
*Islamic Education, Vol. 2, Grade 5, pp. 74-79: Girls are encouraged to kill and be killed in the battle against “Zionist occupation,” and follow in the footsteps of women, who elevated themselves as martyrs, during the early days of Islam.
*Islamic Education, Vol. 2, Grade 8, p. 93: Children are encouraged to engage in Jihad on behalf of Allah and the homeland.
*Islamic Education, Vol. 1, Grade 7, pp. 85-89: A chapter is dedicated to self-sacrifice in the service of Allah and in defiance of enemies/infidels, as the most noble sacrifice. It is rooted in Islamic history, relevant to the Palestinian reality, yielding martyrs a path to paradise.
*Islamic Education, Vol. 1, Grade 11, pp. 10-16: According to the Qur’an, Jews are corrupt and are doomed to be annihilated by Allah’s servants. “Allah said that the Children of Israel will spread corruption through sin and arrogance…. The Children of Israel’s corruption was and will be the cause of their annihilation….”
*Islamic Education, Vol. 1, Grade 11, pp. 114-117: “In Islam, war against infidels is a legitimate necessity…. Infidels should be given an option before the battle: to embrace Islam or live under the rule of Islam [as Dhimmi – “protected” second class citizen]…. War is defined by Islam as Jihad… in order to fight those who oppose the spread of Islam to other nations. The goals of Jihad are noble… unlike the goals of non-Muslim wars….”
*History, Vol 2, Grade 11, p. 52: “The Fedayeen [“martyrs”]… sought to strike at Zionist interests abroad, such as the Munich [Olympic Games] in 1972 [murdering 11 Israeli athletes and 1 German police officer].”
*Arabic Language, Vol. 1, Grade 5, pp. 14-15: “Khalil al-Sakakini [Nazi-supporter, who praised Hitler for revealing the weakness of Jews, a friend of the pro-Nazi Haj Amin al-Husseini, and urged the murder of Israeli civilians] has decorated the pages of history… lighting the darkness of our black nights…. The crown of the nation…. Immortalized by history….”
*Islamic Education, Vol. 1, Grade 9, p. 13: “Allah has made it clear that he is capable of annihilating the enemies [the “infidel” Christians, Jews and polytheists]…. Allah wants to take shuhada [martyrs] from among the believers and honor them by shahadah [martyrdom], to forgive their sins and raise their stature in paradise….”
*Islamic Education, Grade 12, p. 16: “Do not say that martyrs in the service of Allah are dead. They are alive. For Allah, martyrdom is a sublime status…. Martyrs live with their Lord; they were transferred from the life we know to the life, which we do not sense….”
*Social Studies, Vol. 1, Grade 6, p. 54: “The map of Palestine” [one of hundreds of similar maps in the curriculum] extends “from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Jordan river in the east, from Lebanon and Syria in the north to the Gulf of Aqaba and Egypt in the south, an area of approximately 27,000 square kilometers [replacing Israel].”
*Islamic Education, Vol. 2, Grade 8, pp. 49-52: Martyrdom in the battlefield is an integral element of Jihad, which is presented – by Qur’anic verses – as physical warfare, rewarding its participants. “Jihad relies on the holy Qur’an and the Sunnah [legacy] of the Prophet…. Rewards are awaiting the Jihad warrior…. Never think of martyrs as dead….”
*Arabic Language, Vol. 1, Grade 11, pp. 74-76: supported by Qur’anic verses, a poem glorifies the terrorist, who murdered 16 passengers in a Tel Aviv-Jerusalem bus, and was rewarded by happiness in paradise. Terrorists ” stand, blazing on the road, shining like stars…. Their rebirth will emerge from the depth of death and darkness….”
Peace process relevance of Palestinian curriculum
Western policy-makers have ignored the significance of the Palestinian education system, which is the most authentic mirror of the norms and vision of the Palestinian leadership and society, irrespective of Palestinian diplomacy and public relations, which serve as moderately-packaged “screen savers.”
The Palestinian curriculum (K-12) is consistent with the Palestinian intra-Arab track record, documenting the rogue profile of the proposed Palestinian state.
The Palestinian curriculum has been a most effective hothouse of terrorism, enticing almost two generations of young Palestinians to pursue the path of terrorism “in the service of Allah.”
Western policy-makers, who rightly condemn and don’t tolerate hate-education in their own societies, ignore a critical prerequisite and precondition to a constructive peace process: the uprooting of hate-education.
Therefore, hate-education, on the one hand, and a path to peaceful-coexistence, on the other hand, constitute a classic oxymoron.
Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative”
December 23, 2025
*The perpetrators of the October 7, 2023 horrific terrorism were graduates of the Palestinian Authority school curriculum, which is also implemented in Gaza. It was established by Mahmoud Abbas at the end of 1993 (as a follow up to the Oslo Accord). In 2025, it was updated by the Palestinian Ministry of Education.
*While the United Arab Emirates uprooted all anti-Jewish and anti-Israel elements from its school curriculum, the Friday mosque sermons, and its official media – replacing them with pro-Jewish and pro-Israel elements – the Palestinian Authority has intensified its anti-Jewish and anti-Israel school curriculum, consistent with its monthly allowances to families of terrorists, anti-Jewish and anti-Israel Friday mosque sermons and official daily media.
*School curricula mirror the state of mind, culture, overriding narrative, priorities, aspirations and vision of those who design and approve them. School textbooks expose which values are promoted by governments.
*Palestinian school curriculum could be leveraged to advance tolerance, moderate hatred, resolve conflict and promote peaceful coexistence, or to distort facts and intensify intolerance, hatred and incitement, as well as glorifying terrorism. The Palestinian Authority has chosen the latter.
*Western attempts to resolve the Palestinian issue have overlooked the crucial role played by the Palestinian Authority’s education system – which echoes the 1959 and 1967 charters of the Mahmoud Abbas-led Fatah and PLO – as a central impediment to peace, while constituting a most effective production line of terrorists, in general, and martyrs, in particular.
*According to the IMPACT-se report on the 2025/2026 Palestinian Authority’s school curriculum 1-12, based on nine consecutive years of textbook monitoring, and an analysis of 290 textbooks and 71 teacher guides [social studies, civic studies, geography, history, Christian education, Islamic education, Arabic language, science, mathematics and elective courses]:
”Since 2016, no substantive improvement has been made to the Palestinian Authority curriculum….
”Incites antisemitism and violence, promotes Jihad [holy war] and martyrdom, glorifies terrorism, rejects peacemaking… and erases Israel from maps…. It depicts Jews as deceitful, manipulative, or inherently corrupt enemies of Islam [and Allah]…. Israelis are depicted not as human beings, but as demonic monsters, laughing while committing atrocities, slaughtering children, and extinguishing life. Texts and poems liken Israelis to serpents, vipers, and Satan’s aides, while legitimizing violence, and teaching that the existence of Israel is incompatible with justice or humanity….
”Jihad is interpreted in its militant sense and directly connected to the contemporary conflict with Israel. It is presented as a personal obligation, the pinnacle of faith, and the path to glory and divine reward. Martyrdom and death for religious, national, or political goals are celebrated as the highest moral ideals…. Violence and terrorism are openly glorified and morally justified…. Terrorists are exalted as national heroes and are presented as martyrs and role models for youth….
“Maps and language in Palestinian textbooks erase Israel entirely….
“Textbooks institutionalize gender inequality as religious and social doctrine. Women are portrayed as inherently inferior to men – physically, mentally, and spiritually – and unfit for leadership or decision-making roles. Religious materials blame women for moral decline, discourage their participation in public life, and instructing that modest dress and obedience are necessary for their protection….
“Teacher guides serve as manuals for transmitting hate…. codifying that Israeli Jews are fated to disappear….”
“In September 2024, the Palestinian Authority launched a Virtual Schools Initiative, designed to allow Gazan children to continue studying remotely and to compress two academic years into one. By February 2025, over 290,000 students were reportedly enrolled…. This initiative was an almost verbatim replication of earlier antisemitism, violence, incitement…. The textbooks continued to feature dehumanization of Jews, glorification of martyrdom and jihad, demonization of Israel in geography and civics lessons, the justification of terrorism, and the erasure of Israel from maps. No structural or textual reform [of school textbooks] ever occurred….”
*The following are examples of the aforementioned analysis of the 2025-26 Palestinian Authority school textbooks:
^Islamic Education, Grade 11, Vol. 2, p. 7 indicates that women’s responsibility for committing adultery is greater than that of a man. Women are seen as temptresses who cause men to commit adultery.
^ Islamic Education, Grade 11, Vol. 2, pp. 28, 31 holds women responsible for sexual harassment... implying that whether a woman is sexually harassed depends on her choice of clothing. It places on women the sole responsibility for sexual and physical violence they experience; and may even justify it in certain circumstances.
^Islamic Education, Grade 9, Vol. 1, pp. 74–78 teaches that women are responsible for harm if they fail to dress modestly, and that Muslims should not dress like “Infidels.” Women should not display their adornments or “seductive qualities” (mafātin) to others, because doing so may invite “arousal” (iṯārah) and “temptation” (fitnah). The wearing of hijab – the Islamic female dress, which covers the whole body – “protects women” and “immunizes the youth from descending into adultery [fāḥišah].” The subtext [is] that women are seductive to others by nature.
^Our Beautiful Language, Grade 1, Vol. 2, p. 53 features a reading exercise, which highlight the word shahid (“martyr”) at the center of the chart….
^Arabic Language, Grade 5, Vol. 2, pp. 51–61 highlight Dalal al-Mughrabi, the terrorist, who commanded the 1978 Coastal Haifa-Tel Aviv Road Massacre of 38 civilian bus passengers, including 13 children, contending that the massacre made her memory immortal in the hearts and minds of Palestinians, transforming her into a female role-model.
^History Studies, Grade 11, Vol. 2, p. 52 heralding the 1972 Munich Olympic Games Massacre of 11 Israeli team members and a West German police officer by PLO terrorists.
^Arabic Language Grade 12, 2025, pp. 77-80 maintains that the Palestinian refugee experience may only be rectified with the refugees’ physical return to their homes in pre-1967 Israel (e.g., Haifa), through acts of terrorism.
^Mathematics, Grade 7, Vol. 2, p. 97 features a map of Palestine that includes pre-1967 Israel, indicating that Palestine was occupied in 1948, linking this to a probability exercise by using the digits 1, 9, 4 and 8 as an example for a sample space.
^Arabic Language Grade 11, Vol. 2, pp. 34–38 glorifies the martyrdom of the terrorists, who massacred Jews during the 1929 pogroms in British Mandate Safed and Hebron, referring to the reward [of 72 virgins] awaiting them in paradise.
*Since the end of 1993, the worldview, values, culture, aspirations and vision of Arabs in Gaza, Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] has been warped by the Palestinian Authority’s school curriculum, which has been reverberated in Friday mosque sermons and official media, following in the footsteps of the 1959, 1967 and 1988 charters of Fatah, PLO and Hamas, reinforced by monthly allowances to families of terrorists and actual terrorism.
*Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority has been successful in shaping a worldview, which is consistent with his fanatic vision (uprooting the Jewish State), and therefore inconsistent with peaceful coexistence.
*A prerequisite for any constructive peace process is a thorough structural overhaul of the prevailing culture, which is preconditioned upon the uprooting of the hate and terror-driven Palestinian Authority school curriculum, the inciting Friday mosque sermons, the Palestinian Authority’s official media, while terminating terror-driven monthly allowances..
Female fighters are glorified for sacrificing their sons and husbands in (Jihad) battle, as role models and as a proof that Islam ensures women’s “equality with men in sacrifice and self-sacrifice in invasions and battles” (Islamic Education, Grade 8, Card 8, Quarter 1, Semester 1, 2021–22, p. 29).
Dalal Mughrabi, the perpetrator of the 1978 terror attack on a civilian bus from Haifa to Tel Aviv – which left 38 Israelis murdered, including 13 children – is praised as a brave “female Arab jihad warrior” (Social Studies, Grade 9, Semester 1, 2021–22, p. 20).
Overview
The Palestinian Authority’s school curriculum (Please see documentation in the next section) was established in 1993 by Mahmoud Abbas, when he was Arafat’s deputy.
The school curriculum of the Palestinian Authority is the most factual description of the rogue Palestinian walk; a direct contrast to Palestinian diplomatic talk.
The school curriculum of the Palestinian Authority focusses on the pre-1967 area of Israel.
The school curriculum of the Palestinian Authority has been consistent with the 1959 Charter of Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah (8 years before the “1967 War”) and the 1964 Charter of Mahmoud Abbas’ PLO (3 years before the 1967 War), before Israel regained control of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank).
The school curriculum of the Palestinian Authority is consistent with the anti-“infidel” precepts of Islam, aimed to eliminate the “infidel” entity in the abode of Islam and bring the “infidel” to submission.
The school curriculum of the Palestinian Authority is the most reliable expression of the deeply-rooted Palestinian vision to establish an Arab entity from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean, by eliminating the “infidel” Jewish sovereignty.
The school curriculum of the Palestinian Authority is a most authentic reflection of the state of mind of the Palestinian Authority, in general, and its view of the Jewish State, in particular.
Since its establishment in 1993, the school curriculum of the Palestinian Authority – along with sermons of incitement in the mosques, public events and highlighted monuments – has shaped the state-of-mind of the Palestinian Street.
Since 1993, the Palestinian school curriculum has been the most effective production line of Palestinian terrorists.
The perpetrators of Palestinian terrorism – against rival Palestinians and against the Jewish State – represent the effectiveness of the Palestinian school curriculum as a brain-washing incubator of hatred and martyrs.
Palestinian school curriculum documented
The following January 2022 documentation of the Palestinian school curriculum was prepared by Dr Eldad Pardo of the Hebrew University, who has researched school curricula in the Palestinian Authority, Iran, the Gulf States and other Middle East entities. The report was published by The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education.
*The 2021-22 Palestinian curriculum radicalizes anti-Jewish and anti-Israel hate and incitement.
*Jews are depicted as devious, treacherous and brutal.
*The focus of “occupation” is on the pre-1967 area of Israel, such as Jaffa, Haifa, Acre, Lod, the Galilee and the Negev.
*Israel has been entirely erased from the maps of geography and social science classes.
*Israel is described as a satanic entity, and its establishment is defined as a crime, a “racist ideology,” and a “colonial conspiracy,” which is based on “false premises.”
*Women may gain equality through sacrifice and martyrdom.
*Students are encouraged to commit acts of violence and instructed to commit Jihad (Holy War) against Israelis and die as martyrs to liberate Palestine and especially the Al Aqsa Mosque.
*Students are taught that those who die as martyrs (shuhada), while killing infidels (kuffar, i.e., Christians, Jews, polytheists), a notion described as one of the “rules of jihad,” will receive God’s grace and be greatly rewarded.
The bottom line
A peace process, on the one hand, and Palestinian school curriculum, on the other hand, constitute a classic oxymoron.
The failure to precondition negotiations with the Palestinian Authority upon the dismantling of its hate-education, has doomed negotiation to failure, while energizing terrorism.
Conducting peace negotiation with the Palestinian Authority, before the dismantling of its hate-driven school curriculum, resembles negotiating an end to drug trafficking, while tolerating the drug cartels’ penetration of the political and educational systems.
“Mida Magazine“, https://bit.ly/3lkaKHy
The 2020 Palestinian Authority’s Arabic Language, Vol 2, Grade 5, pp 51-61 and Social Studies, Vol. 1, Grade 9, p. 40 herald Dalal al-Mughrabi, who led – and participated in – the March 1978 massacre of 38 Israeli civilians (mostly passengers of two Haifa-Tel Aviv buses), including 13 children and wounding 72. The 5th and 9th graders are encouraged to become “martyrs” and follow in the footsteps of “the crown of the nation” and “the role model of Palestinian resistance… whose struggle portrays challenge and heroism, making her memory immortal in our hearts and minds.”
Education mirrors leadership and society
Education is the most authentic reflection of the identity, core values, culture, track record, worldview and vision of the architects of the education system and (subsequently) the society at-large.
Education plays a major role in shaping the personality of individuals and society at-large, especially in non-democratic societies, such as the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian education system has been overseen by Mahmoud Abbas since 1993, when he established it in his capacity as Arafat’s deputy. The Palestinian education system is a byproduct of the 1959 and 1964/1968 Fatah and PLO Charters and the 1974 Palestinian Phased Plan, which stipulate the Palestinian vision.
Education in non-democratic societies mirrors the worldview of its leaders much more credibly than diplomatic statements, briefings and media interviews. The latter constitute “screen savers,” aiming to conceal the real vision, which is lucidly expressed by the educational curriculum.
While free societies promote education in order to enhance enlightenment, expand information and upgrade the standard of living, rogue regimes employ education as a means to advance their brutal goals and brainwash the younger generation into full-submission, including the perpetration of terrorism.
While free societies foster education as a hothouse of tolerance, peaceful-coexistence and innovative ideas and technologies, rogue regimes exploit education as a hothouse of fanaticism and violent intolerance, as well as terrorism and suicide-bombing.
The 2020-2021 Palestinian school curriculum highlights
According to a September 2020 report on the Palestinian School Curriculum, conducted annually by IMPACT-se, the 2020-2021 school textbooks of the Palestinian Authority are more inciteful, violence-oriented and martyrdom-driven than prior years, highlighting:
*Antisemitism (e.g., Jews portrayed as corrupt and enemies of Islam);
*Demonizing and repudiating Jewish history west of the Jordan River as forgery;
*Delegitimizing and dehumanizing Israel and Israeli Jews;
*Articulating the violent annihilation of Israel and Israeli Jews;
*Rejecting peaceful-coexistence with Israel and criticizing the Israel-Egypt peace accord;
*Inciting to anti-Israel terrorism (“martyrdom”) and Jihad (“Holy War”) as a personal religious obligation, while glorifying Jihad “warriors’ (mujahid), suicide-bombing and specific Palestinian terrorists (e.g., the murder of 11 Israeli athletes during the 1972 Munich Olympic Games);
*Glorifying women-terrorists as role-models in the struggle against Israel;
*Islamic inducements (including virgin brides in paradise) to terrorism;
*Promoting geographic maps, which exclude Israel, that is replaced by Palestine;
*Extending the “liberation struggle” from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean;
Documentation
*Islamic Education, Vol. 2, Grade 5, pp. 74-79: Girls are encouraged to kill and be killed in the battle against “Zionist occupation,” and follow in the footsteps of women, who elevated themselves as martyrs, during the early days of Islam.
*Islamic Education, Vol. 2, Grade 8, p. 93: Children are encouraged to engage in Jihad on behalf of Allah and the homeland.
*Islamic Education, Vol. 1, Grade 7, pp. 85-89: A chapter is dedicated to self-sacrifice in the service of Allah and in defiance of enemies/infidels, as the most noble sacrifice. It is rooted in Islamic history, relevant to the Palestinian reality, yielding martyrs a path to paradise.
*Islamic Education, Vol. 1, Grade 11, pp. 10-16: According to the Qur’an, Jews are corrupt and are doomed to be annihilated by Allah’s servants. “Allah said that the Children of Israel will spread corruption through sin and arrogance…. The Children of Israel’s corruption was and will be the cause of their annihilation….”
*Islamic Education, Vol. 1, Grade 11, pp. 114-117: “In Islam, war against infidels is a legitimate necessity…. Infidels should be given an option before the battle: to embrace Islam or live under the rule of Islam [as Dhimmi – “protected” second class citizen]…. War is defined by Islam as Jihad… in order to fight those who oppose the spread of Islam to other nations. The goals of Jihad are noble… unlike the goals of non-Muslim wars….”
*History, Vol 2, Grade 11, p. 52: “The Fedayeen [“martyrs”]… sought to strike at Zionist interests abroad, such as the Munich [Olympic Games] in 1972 [murdering 11 Israeli athletes and 1 German police officer].”
*Arabic Language, Vol. 1, Grade 5, pp. 14-15: “Khalil al-Sakakini [Nazi-supporter, who praised Hitler for revealing the weakness of Jews, a friend of the pro-Nazi Haj Amin al-Husseini, and urged the murder of Israeli civilians] has decorated the pages of history… lighting the darkness of our black nights…. The crown of the nation…. Immortalized by history….”
*Islamic Education, Vol. 1, Grade 9, p. 13: “Allah has made it clear that he is capable of annihilating the enemies [the “infidel” Christians, Jews and polytheists]…. Allah wants to take shuhada [martyrs] from among the believers and honor them by shahadah [martyrdom], to forgive their sins and raise their stature in paradise….”
*Islamic Education, Grade 12, p. 16: “Do not say that martyrs in the service of Allah are dead. They are alive. For Allah, martyrdom is a sublime status…. Martyrs live with their Lord; they were transferred from the life we know to the life, which we do not sense….”
*Social Studies, Vol. 1, Grade 6, p. 54: “The map of Palestine” [one of hundreds of similar maps in the curriculum] extends “from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Jordan river in the east, from Lebanon and Syria in the north to the Gulf of Aqaba and Egypt in the south, an area of approximately 27,000 square kilometers [replacing Israel].”
*Islamic Education, Vol. 2, Grade 8, pp. 49-52: Martyrdom in the battlefield is an integral element of Jihad, which is presented – by Qur’anic verses – as physical warfare, rewarding its participants. “Jihad relies on the holy Qur’an and the Sunnah [legacy] of the Prophet…. Rewards are awaiting the Jihad warrior…. Never think of martyrs as dead….”
*Arabic Language, Vol. 1, Grade 11, pp. 74-76: supported by Qur’anic verses, a poem glorifies the terrorist, who murdered 16 passengers in a Tel Aviv-Jerusalem bus, and was rewarded by happiness in paradise. Terrorists ” stand, blazing on the road, shining like stars…. Their rebirth will emerge from the depth of death and darkness….”
Peace process relevance of Palestinian curriculum
Western policy-makers have ignored the significance of the Palestinian education system, which is the most authentic mirror of the norms and vision of the Palestinian leadership and society, irrespective of Palestinian diplomacy and public relations, which serve as moderately-packaged “screen savers.”
The Palestinian curriculum (K-12) is consistent with the Palestinian intra-Arab track record, documenting the rogue profile of the proposed Palestinian state.
The Palestinian curriculum has been a most effective hothouse of terrorism, enticing almost two generations of young Palestinians to pursue the path of terrorism “in the service of Allah.”
Western policy-makers, who rightly condemn and don’t tolerate hate-education in their own societies, ignore a critical prerequisite and precondition to a constructive peace process: the uprooting of hate-education.
Therefore, hate-education, on the one hand, and a path to peaceful-coexistence, on the other hand, constitute a classic oxymoron.
Palestinian terrorists are graduates of the tightly-controlled Palestinian education system (K-12), which has forged the core beliefs, norms and values of the Palestinian society. Moreover, the Palestinian education system has reflected the worldview of its architects – Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas.
Historical experience has also played a major role in shaping the identity of all societies, but it is presented (in democratic societies) or misrepresented (in non-democratic societies) by the education system, which thus enhances or corrupts the foundations of the next generation.
Furthermore, the Palestinian education system is the most authentic reflection of the Palestinian reality, vision and tactics, which are camouflaged by the Palestinian “screen saver” of diplomatic pronouncements, briefings and interviews.
The moderately-packaged Palestinian “screen saver” aims to mislead and sooth the concerns of Western policy-makers and public opinion-shapers, who are driven by well-intentioned wishful-thinking and oversimplification. The West is eager to produce peaceful-coexistence between Israel and the Palestinians, in defiance of the Palestinian reality, and irrespective of the fact that peaceful-coexistence has yet to be established among Arabs/Muslims (“believers”), let alone between “believers” and the “infidel” in “the abode of Islam.”
Therefore, hate-education, on the one hand, and peaceful-coexistence, on the other hand, constitute a classic oxymoron. It highlights a major pitfall of Western policy-makers, who have grossly misunderstood and underestimated the dominant role played by Palestinian hate-education and incitement.
Western policy-makers have ignored the significance of Palestinian hate-education, which documents the intolerant, violent, immoral, terroristic, subversive and anti-Western profile of the proposed Palestinian state.
Western policy-makers tend to ignore a major prerequisite to a constructive peace process: the uprooting – and not merely trimming – of hate-education.
An April 2019 “IMPACT-se” study of the newly-restructured, more radical and more Islamist Palestinian school curriculum, conducted by Hebrew University Prof. Eldad Pardo, a veteran of Islamic and Middle East studies and a top expert on Palestinian curriculum, provides an elaborate documentation of the nature of the Palestinian education system.
For example:
*Urging Palestinian youth to follow in the footsteps of Dalal Mughrabi, the female terrorist who participated in the 1978 PLO attack on two Israeli buses, murdering 38 civilians, including 13 children and injuring 72. According to the textbooks (5th grade Arabic Language volume 2, pages 51-54 and 9th grade Social Studies volume 1, page 53), “Dalal Mughrabi’s struggle portrays challenge and heroism, making her immortal in our hearts and minds…. Arab women, such as Dalal Mughrabi who led the 1978 operation, had a prominent role in…leading guerrilla operations against occupation….” Mughrabi is heralded as a martyr role model, and is commemorated, by the Palestinian Authority, through the naming of public schools and youth camps after her; a series of “Dalal Mughrabi seminars;” annual anniversaries of her death; a Dalal Mughrabi public square in al-Bireh; an official plaque; a women’s center in Bourqa, etc.
*Heralding the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes during the 1972 Munich Olympic Games (11th grade History volume 2, page 54): “The Palestinian resistance resorted to many methods in their opposition to Zionist occupation, such as the 1972 Munich operation….” The massacre was praised by Palestinian Prime Minister, Muhammad Ishtayeh.
*Clarifying that the term “occupation” also refers to the pre-1967 Israel (Tel Aviv, Haifa, Safed, Tiberias, Nazareth, Beersheba, etc.), and that the conflict with Israel is not over the size – but over the existence – of a Jewish State in the “abode of Islam,” which is exclusively “ordained” to Muslims. According to the textbooks (6th grade Social Studies volume 1, page 56, 10th grade Arabic Language, volume 1, page 133, 8th grade Social Studies, volume 1, page 9, and 11th grade Geography volume 1, page 103), “Palestine is the geographic area between the Mediterranean Sea in the west and the Jordan River in the east and from Lebanon and Syria in the north to the Gulf of Aqaba [Eilat] and Egypt in the south….”
*Presenting the concept of Jihad [holy war] and the global division – and the ongoing war – between “the abode of Islam” and “the abode of the infidel”: “Jihad [holy war] defends Muslims against attacks by infidels and the arrogant ones, and is conducted against those who stand in the way of Islam spreading to other nations…. The goals of Jihad are noble, defeating the aggressor and spreading the tenants of Islam, while the goals of non-Muslim wars are not noble…. Infidels should be warned before the battle, and offered an option to embrace Islam or live [as subordinates] under the rules of Islam….” (11th grade Islamic Education volume 1, pages 114-115).
*Emphasizing the sacrifice of one’s life – on the altar of Islam – as a most noble and rewarding mission: “Allah wants to take Shuhada’ [martyrs] from among the believers and honor them by Shahadah [martyrdom] to forgive their sins and raise their stature in Paradise…. They will be married to 72 wives from among the virgins…. I vow to sacrifice my blood, to saturate the land and eliminate the usurper from my country, annihilating the foreigners….” (9th grade Islamic Education volume 1, page 13; 3rd grade Our Beautiful Language volume 2, page 64).
In order to sustain the Palestinian state option, Western policy-makers have allowed rose-colored diplomatic communications with Palestinian leaders to supersede, and conceal, the harsh reality of Palestinian hate-education, which would produce a rogue, terroristic, anti-Western entity, implementing the aforementioned values and goals promoted by the Palestinian curriculum.
Can Israel rely on US/international security guaranteesand/or peacekeepers?
The Palestinian Authority’s school curriculum, dogmatic education system and controlled-media reflect its worldview and core values, as is the case in all non-democratic regimes.
The Palestinian school curriculum has been the most critical tool to indoctrinate and mold Palestinian youth – K through 12 – in accordance with the dominant ideology and policy of the Palestinian Authority, aiming to sustain the regime and advance its goals.
Anti-Israel and anti-Jewish themes, which have dominated the Palestinian curriculum and controlled-media, reflect the inherently primary geo-strategic goals of the Palestinian Authority. As documented by the Palestinian curriculum, the Palestinian Authority has not been preoccupied with the size – but with the existence – of the “infidel” Jewish State in the “abode of Islam.”
For example, “Where are the cavalrymen who will dash to liberate [the Jerusalem Al Aqsa Mosque] from the fists of the infidel aides of the devil [the Jews]” (7th grade, Arabic Language, volume 1, p. 66)? “The Jews did not honor the accord [with the Prophet Muhammad] and resorted to betrayal, treachery and hostility, which forced the Moslems to fight them” (7th grade, Islamic Education, volume 1, p. 50). “The Jews repeated their attempts to murder The Messenger [Muhammad]” (5th grade, Islamic Education, volume 2, p. 66). “Jihad [a binding Holy War] is one of the gates to Paradise” (7th grade, Arabic Language, volume 2, p.92).
The aforementioned quotes featured in a June 2018 study of over 200 Palestinian school books – many of them used in UNRWA schools – which was conducted by the veteran researcher of Palestinian curriculum, Dr. Arnon Groiss, commissioned by the Jerusalem-based “Center for Near East Policy Research” and published by Israel-based “Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center.”
According to Dr. Groiss, “A thorough examination of the new [2017] PA schoolbooks revealed that they followed three main fundamentals: the de-legitimization of Israel’s existence and the very presence of Jews in the country; the demonization of Israel and Jews; and war indoctrination instead of peace education…. None of the PA textbooks, including those used in UNRWA schools, advocates peaceful coexistence with Israel, or hints at the possibility of solving the conflict peacefully…. The new [2017] books, which have been accepted for teaching by UNRWA, are generally more radical than their predecessors…. Peaceful coexistence with Israel is not an option. Instead, a violent struggle for the liberation of Palestine in its entirety is propagated, since the original occupation of Palestine took place in 1948, not 1967….”
An April 2017 study by Hebrew University Prof. Eldad Pardo, the Research Director at the “Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se),” documents a revival of the 1974 “PLO Phased Policy” to eliminate Israel in stages through the PA curriculum: “What used to be the strategy of one extremist guerilla movement has become the standard for all Palestinian students.”
In contrast to national liberation movements, Palestinian terrorism has targeted – deliberately, institutionally and systematically – Arab and Israeli non-combatants, sometimes hitting combatants.
Palestinian terrorism has haunted Arab societies in Jordan (especially during the 1968-1970 PLO terrorism), in Lebanon (particularly during the 1971-1982 civil wars), in Kuwait (during the 1990 invasion by Saddam Hussein), in Iraq (until 2002, serving as an arm of Saddam Hussein’s ruthless domestic oppression), in Syria (until 2012, bolstering Assad’s regime of horror) and currently in Egypt (collaborating with the Muslim Brotherhood terror organization). Pro-US Arab regimes consider Palestinian terrorism a clear and present, lethal threat, never fighting on behalf of Palestinians, sometimes dealing them severe military blows (e.g., 1970 Black September in Jordan) and expulsions (e.g., 300,000 expelled from Kuwait), showering them with rhetoric, but not resources.
Since the establishment of the Arafat/Abbas’ Palestinian Authority in 1993, Palestinian terrorism has afflicted the Arabs of Judea, Samaria and Gaza, denying civil liberties and instituting a corrupt, oppressive reign of horror. It caused the flight of most Christians from Ramallah (Abbas’ headquarters!), Bethlehem and Beit Jallah. In addition, Muslim emigration from the Palestinian Authority has increased since 2000: 25,000 net-emigration from Judea and Samaria in 2014 and 20,000 in 2013. While Egypt prevents emigration from Gaza through Sinai, Gaza’s Arabs have emigrated, in increasing numbers, via the Mediterranean. Moreover, Palestinians flow to Jerusalem’s municipal lines, escaping Abbas’ tyranny, in order to receive Israeli I.D. cards, social benefits and human rights.
Palestinian terrorists have targeted pro-US Arab regimes and “the arrogant, infidel, Great Satan,” the USA, joining the Ayatollahs in Iran (since the toppling of the Shah in 1979), Taliban, Al Qaeda, ISIS and other Islamic terror organizations. For instance, the role model, and spiritual mentor, of Bin Laden was Abdullah Azam from Samaria.
Palestinian terrorism has been a recent branch of Islamic terrorism, which has plagued the Middle East – and beyond – since the appearance of Islam in the 7th century. The current intensification of Islamic terrorism throughout the Middle East provides a tailwind to Palestinian terrorism.
Palestinian terrorism has inspired terror cells in Europe, Africa, Asia and the American continent, including sleeper cells in the US.
Anti-Jewish Palestinian terrorism has been a Middle East fixture since, at least, the 1920s, well before the 1948 establishment of Israel and the 1967 return of Jewish communities to Judea and Samaria. Its well-documented collaboration with Nazi Germany intended to prevent the existence – and not reduce the size – of the Jewish State. The political guideline of contemporary Palestinian terrorism – the Palestinian Covenant – was published in 1964, three years before the reunification of Jerusalem.
Palestinian terrorism is nurtured by 23 year of Palestinian hate-education in kindergartens, schools, mosques and media – the most effective production line of terrorists. It was established by Mahmoud Abbas (Arafat’s chief deputy) in 1993, highlighting the fundamentals of Islam, which have intensified Palestinian terrorism: the supremacy of Islam over all other religions; the permanent state of war between the Abode of Islam and the Abode of the “infidel;” the inadmissibility of “infidel” sovereignty over Waqf lands, which are divinely ordained to Islam; the sublime honor of sacrificing one’s life on behalf of Islam’s war against the “infidel”; and the provisional nature of agreements concluded with “infidels.”
Palestinian terrorism has been encouraged by Mahmoud Abbas’ systematic policy of naming streets, squares, monuments and sport tournaments in honor of terrorists, and extending generous financial assistance to their families.
Palestinian terrorism – an endemic feature in the Middle East – provides the writing on the wall, which highlights the destabilizing, anti-Western, terroristic nature of the proposed Palestinian state. An Israeli withdrawal from the mountain ridge of the Golan Heights would provide a platform for Islamic terrorists to traumatize northern Israel; but, an Israeli withdrawal from the mountain ridges of Judea & Samaria, would provide Muslim terrorists with a platform to topple the Hashemite regime in Jordan and traumatize Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Ben Gurion Airport and 80% of Israel’s population and infrastructures.
Palestinian terrorism is adrenalized by the immoral moral equivalence (between Israeli counter-terrorism and Palestinian terrorism), misrepresenting Middle East reality. It is fueled by foreign aid to the Palestinian Authority, which funds hate-education. It is rewarded by calls to negotiate with the Palestinian Authority, while Mahmoud Abbas conducts hate-education. It is emboldened by Western pressure for further Israeli concessions and Western denial of Israel’s moral high ground in the topographic high ground of Judea and Samaria.
In order to defeat Palestinian terrorism, it is necessary to defy political correctness, shifting gears from chasing individual terroristic mosquitoes to draining the terroristic swamp: to launch a large-scale, disproportional, preemptive military operation throughout Judea and Samaria and Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem; to precondition any (US and Israeli) direct and indirect contact with – and assistance to – the Palestinian Authority upon an end to hate-education; and to severely punish families and communities of terrorists for failing to exercise communal responsibility.
In order to frustrate Palestinian terrorism, which aims to set Israel on a path of retreat, Israel should proclaim a constructive response, expanding Jewish construction in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. While it would trigger short-term international pressure, it would yield long-term strategic respect, as documented by the legacy of Prime Ministers Ben Gurion, Eshkol, Golda Meir, Begin and Shamir, who defied much more severe international pressure with slimmer military and commercial resources at their disposal.
Contrary to Western conventional wisdom, the nature of Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority – which is burdened by a mere 17% favorability in the US, compared with Israel’s 70% – has turned most Palestinians against Mahmoud Abbas, has led most Jerusalem Arabs to prefer Israeli sovereignty, and catapulted Hamas to prominence on the Palestinian Street.
The nature of the KGB-graduate Mahmoud Abbas regime has been defined by a rare combination of endemic corruption, kleptomania (“Mr. 20%” is Mahmoud Abbas’ nickname), nepotism, hate-education, incitement, terrorism, anti-US and pro-Venezuela, Russia and China worldview, non-compliance with internal and external agreements, and egregious violations of civil liberties, which has fueled Muslim emigration and the flight of Christian Arabs from Bethlehem, Beit Jala and Ramallah.
The nature of the Palestinian Authority has been shaped – since its establishment in 1993 – by Yasser Arafat, Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinians, who were imported from terrorist camps in Sudan, Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya and Tunisia, imposing themselves ruthlessly upon the indigenous Arabs of Judea and Samaria. In 2003, I was rebuked by a prominent Palestinian: “We shall never forgive the Jewish State for imposing upon us the Tunisia-based PLO Sodom and Gomorrah!”
Irrespective of the nature of the Palestinian Authority, the US has been, by far, its largest single-state donor (averaging $500mn, annually, in economic and security assistance), in addition to leading the pack of donors to UNRWA ($250mn in 2014), which has not reduced the threat of incitement and hate-education-driven Palestinian terrorism. It has not inclined Palestinians towards peaceful coexistence with the Jewish State, nor has it advanced the cause of democracy and human rights in the Palestinian Authority.
In September 1993, on the eve of the conclusion of the Oslo Accord, Elias Freij, the Christian Mayor of Bethlehem, and additional Christian leaders from Bethlehem and Beit Jala, (unsuccessfully) implored Prime Minister Rabin to refrain from transferring both towns – which were included in the Jerusalem District during the Ottoman, British and Jordanian rule – to the emerging Palestinian Authority. They expected severe repression of Christian Arabs, by the Palestinian Authority, which would cause Bethlehem and Beit Jala to be “top heavy on churches, but very low on Christians.” And indeed, Bethlehem’s Christian majority has been reduced to a 15% minority.
Before the signing of the Oslo Accord, I introduced the New York Times’ William Safire to a former mayor of Beit Jala, Farah al-Araj, who predicted that “the current state of affairs will produce a larger community of Beit Jala Christians in Belize, Central America than Christians left in Beit Jala.” In 2015, Christian emigrants from Beit Jala achieve prominence in Belize, politically and financially, while those remaining in Beit Jala are repressed religiously and physically.
Mahmoud Abbas’ stashed accounts and nepotism were highlighted by the anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian Stephen Lendman, who accused Abbas of “bribes, secret investments and hidden bank accounts…. earning $1mn monthly…. Abbas holds several Jordanian accounts… not under any national or international scrutiny…. Abbas urged Moscow to supply him with a new advanced presidential jet…. His sons, Tarek and Yasser, profit handsomely from all PA projects….” According to Jonathan Schanzer, “the conspicuous wealth of Abbas’ own sons, Yasser and Tarek, has become a source of quiet controversy in Palestinian society…. Yasser enjoys a monopoly on the sale of US-made cigarettes…. Chairs a Palestinian engineering conglomerate… boasting $35mn annual revenues…. Tarek is just as ambitious in the business world….”
Bassam Eid, the founder of the Jerusalem-based Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group, concludes that “the Palestinians need strong democratic institutions and an end to human rights violations…. [However,] Abbas runs a corrupt dictatorship, using international funds to consolidate his own administration, rather than to develop the Palestinian economy. In East Jerusalem, the PA is so mistrusted that most Palestinians would prefer to live under Israel rule….”
American interests, morality and common sense behoove the US Congress to precondition further foreign aid, to the Palestinian Authority, upon dramatic transformation of its conduct.
Children (clash of civilizations)
The Israeli Spring was defined by the entire country – Left and Right, Doves and Hawks, secular and religious – marshalling its human resources to find the three teens (one of them a US citizen), who were murdered by Palestinian terrorists, and to embrace the bereaved parents. The Israeli concern for the children is perceived, by the Arab street, as a symptom of weakness, adrenalizing further terrorism. However, the intense sense of communal responsibility – felt by most Israelis – has been the secret weapon of the Jewish People and the Jewish state in face of perpetual lethal threats.
In contrast, the Palestinian street has glorified elementary school kids wearing suicide vests, on their way to murder Israeli civilians. Moreover, the Arab Tsunami has been characterized by the murder, rape, torture and expulsion of hundreds of thousands of children in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and Iraq by fellow Arabs.
During the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, Teheran’s Ayatollahs formed a special force of 500,000 illiterate and poor children, the Basijii, who were tasked with clearing Iraqi minefields. Each child received a plastic key to paradise.
Palestinian Terrorism
Soldiers hit, rarely and usually unintentionally, civilian targets. On the other hand, terrorists murder, maim and intimidate civilians systematically and deliberately, as demonstrated by the abduction and murder of the three Israeli teens (Gilad and Naftali were 16 years old and Eyal was 19 years old). The focus on Jewish civilians characterized Palestinian terrorism during the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, since Israel’s establishment in 1948, during the 1987-1991 First Intifadah and the 2000-2003 Second Intifadah. It is demonstrated by the daily bombing of Israeli communities in the Negev by Gaza-based Palestinian terrorists. The focus on civilian targets has characterized the Arab Tsunami with Arabs/Muslim murdering Arab/Muslim and Christian civilians.
Who is the real Mahmoud Abbas?
Notwithstanding Mahmoud Abbas’ (sometime) moderate talk, his walk has been consistent:
*Since 1994, when he was Arafat’s loyal deputy, Mahmoud Abbas has conducted a hate education system, funded by foreign aid, brainwashing Palestinian children (K through 12) – via hate education in PA-controlled schools, mosques and media – to herald suicide-bombing and martyrdom, targeting Israeli civilians. Abbas has glorified terrorists by naming streets, squares and soccer tournaments after them.
*Mahmoud Abbas is using foreign aid to provide monthly allowances to families of Palestinian terrorists. The higher the number of Israelis murdered by a terrorist, the higher the allowance. The release of terrorists from Israeli prisons – and providing them with a hero’s welcome – has been Abbas’ top priority.
*According to the Oslo Accords, Mahmoud Abbas derives his authority as the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority from his current position as the Chairman of the PLO and Fatah. The covenants of both terrorist organizations specify that the conflict with Israel is over the existence – not the size – of the Jewish state.
*The recent establishment of a PLO-Hamas coalition government, by Mahmoud Abbas, is consistent with his track record: a top activist in the Palestinian cell of the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo (1950s); an Arafat associate in subversive operations in Syria (1966), Jordan (1970), Lebanon (1970-1982) and Kuwait (1990); a graduate of Moscow University and KGB courses and the coordinator of PLO ties with the ruthless regimes of the Communist Bloc; the chief PLO-Hamas negotiator until Oslo, 1993; currently, maintaining close contacts with the regimes of Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Cuba.
The Palestinian issue and Arab policy-making
The low priority accorded to the Palestinian issue by Arab policy-makers has been demonstrated by the absence of any Arab involvement during the last three weeks of intense Israeli operations against Palestinian terrorism. Arab policy-makers also stayed on the sideline when Israel launched large-scale campaigns against Palestinian terrorism in Gaza (2009 and 2012) and in Judea & Samaria (2000-2003 and 1987-1991), as well as during the Israel-PLO war in Lebanon (1982). What do Arab leaders know about the subversive nature of the Palestinian leadership that Western leaders have yet to learn?!
Israel’s national security
The murder of the three abducted Israeli teens, along with 40 aborted abductions last year, and the daily preemption of terrorism by the IDF and Israel’s Security Services, shed light on the potential of Palestinian terrorism, should Israel withdraw from Judea & Samaria. The 1994-5 immigration to Judea & Samaria of Arafat, Mahmoud Abbas and some 70,000 Palestinian terrorists, and Israel’s withdrawal from 40% of Judea & Samaria – as stipulated by the Oslo Accords – catapulted terrorism to unprecedented levels as a result of Palestinian Authority hate education, incitement and sizeable inventories of military hardware accumulated by the PLO and Hamas terrorists. The reintroduction of the IDF and Israel’s Security Services into Judea & Samaria in 2003 – following the Second Intifadah – has reduced terrorism by 90%. Thus, Israel’s control of the mountain ridges of Judea & Samaria constitutes an absolute prerequisite to the defeat of Palestinian terrorism. On the other hand, Israel’s withdrawal from Judea & Samaria would embolden Palestinian terrorism, inspiring Islamic terrorism, dooming the Hashemite regime in Jordan and other pro-US Arab regimes in the Middle East.
Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative”
April 26, 2026
Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative”
April 26, 2026
*500,000 Arabs (away for over a year) are included in the census, contrary to global norms. 325,000 were included in the 1997 census. 400,000 in 2005, according to the Palestinian Election Commission. 100,000 overseas births added to the census in 1995-2014, according to the Palestinian Undersecretary of Interior. The number grows steadily due to births.
*380,000 East Jerusalem Arabs are doubly-counted – by Israel and by the Palestinian Authority. The number grows steadily due to births.
*Over 200,000 Arabs, who married Israeli Arabs are similarly doubly counted. The number expands steadily due to births.
*A 447,000 net-emigration of West Bank Arabs (since the 1997 Palestinian census) is ignored by the Palestinian Authority. In recent years, a 20,000 annual average net-emigration has been documented by Israel’s Population and Migration Authority in land, air and sea international passages.
*A 32% artificial inflation of Palestinian births was documented by the World Bank (page 8, item 6) in a 2006 audit.
*The Judea & Samaria Arab (West Bank) fertility rate declined from 9 births per woman in the 1960s to less than 3 births in 2026, reflecting a sweeping urbanization, a growing female enrollment in higher education, rising marriage age, increased use of contraceptives and youth’s emigration.
*The number of deaths is under-reported for political and financial reasons.
*An artificial inflation of 1.75 million documents a population of 1.5 million Arabs in Judea and Samaria, not the official 3.25 million.
In January 2026: a 69% Jewish majority in the combined area of Judea, Samaria and pre-1967 Israel, benefitting from a tailwind of fertility and net-immigration, while Arab demography is westernized.
No Arab demographic time bomb; but, a Jewish demographic momentum.
More data in these articles and this short video.
Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative”
September 3, 2026
*The assumption that “D-Day” like economic sanctions can force the collapse – or a dramatic moderation – of the Ayatollah regime, overlooks the centrality of theological fanaticism in the shaping of the Ayatollah’s vision, strategy, policy and education system, as well as its 47-year-war on the US. The Ayatollah’s war against the USA has been conducted – unrelated to Israel’s existence – in the Middle East, Latin America and on US soil.
*47 years of US-led economic sanctions and negotiation have transformed Iran from “The American Policeman of the Gulf” to a leading anti-US epicenter of war, terrorism, drug trafficking and money laundering. Moreover, it has catapulted the Ayatollah regime from a secondary/tertiary power in 1979 to a global power in 2026, with a strategic footprint from the Persian Gulf through Africa to Latin America and the US homeland.
*Furthermore, economic sanctions and negotiation have bolstered the Ayatollah’s tactic of stalling for time, expecting the mid-term election to weaken President Trump, diverting his attention away from international issues, softening US policy toward Iran, and leading to a non-hawkish Administration in Washington.
*The assumption that the Ayatollah regime is driven by the Western “Money Talks,” ignores the fact that in Tehran Ideology Walks, outweighing financial and diplomatic inducements.
*Refraining from regime-change in Iran has been interpreted – regionally and globally – as indecision and weakness, benefitting China, Russia and North Korea, emboldening them to expand their strategic footprint throughout the globe, including Latin America. The focus on the cost of regime-change has led to underestimating the following catastrophic cost of no-regime-change:
^Eventual emergence of the first ever apocalyptic nuclear power;
^Erosion of the US posture of deterrence;
^Emboldened Ayatollah regime, China, Russia and anti-US Islamic terrorism; ^Growing instability of pro-US Arab regimes, especially the oil-producing; ^Frustrated Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait getting closer to China and Russia.
*The apocalyptic nature of the Ayatollah regime has produced exceptional resilience in the face of economic and military adversity. The entrenched belief in a cataclysmic divine intervention is embedded in the Ayatollah’s Constitution, school curriculum (which is the most authentic reflection of the Ayatollah’s state of mind), mosque sermons and official media. Thus, the Ayatollah is mandated to conduct Jihad (Holy War), bring the “infidel” West to submission, and expand the Islamic Revolution globally. This must be stained with “infidel” blood, requiring “believers” to assume suffering and martyrdom. These are actionable and operational doctrines, culminating in chaos and conflict, paving the way for the Deliverance – the reappearance of the Twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, who disappeared in the 10th century, and is currently represented by the Ayatollah, the “Supreme Leader.” In 2026, Iran’s Twelver Shia is embraced by a vast majority of Shia Muslims: a 60% majority in Iraq, 35% minority in Lebanon and a 12% minority in Saudi Arabia, mostly in the oil-rich Eastern Province. Martyrdom has been underscored by Islam, with martyrs promised a place in heaven, as documented in Quran 3: 169-171 – “Never think of those martyred in the cause of Allah as dead; they are alive with their Lord, well provided for….” It has been supplemented by Ayatollah Khomeini’s legacy, which has promoted the deliberate-martyrdom (Istishhad), heralding “the great martyr Imam Husayn ibn Ali,” who was killed in the 680 AD Battle of Karbala. In fact, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)has incorporated the Mahdist apocalyptic ideology into its training programs, preparing the ground for the Mahdi’s return, and confronting the “apostate” Sunnis and the “infidel” West.
*The “Economy of Resistance” has resulted in a 60% control of the Iranian economy by the IRGC and state-linked foundations, featuring black-market smuggling, illicit land and sea oil trade, and bypass mechanisms, consolidating the domestic economy into the hands of the ruling apparatus.
*The “axis of sanctions evasion/circumvention” has leveraged Chinese, Russian and North Korean anti-US strategy, including deep barter and non-dollar trade systems, Chinese purchase of discounted Iranian crude via land, export via the Caspian Sea ports, “ghost fleets” and third-party (trade-triangulation), shell companies, ship-to-ship transfers, while Russia trades critical military hardware, satellite intelligence, and nuclear technology in exchange for Iranian drones and ballistic systems. 47 years of economic sanctions have developed deep Iranian institutional expertise in sanction evasion.
*When applied to totalitarian, ideologically-entrenched regimes – certainly apocalyptic regimes – economic sanctions have caused severe hardship on the population (not the regime!), but have failed to generate either regime moderation, or regime collapse. For example, the 1979-2026 US and UN maximum-pressure-economic-sanctions against the apocalyptic Ayatollah regime has resulted in expanded commercial and military Iranian capabilities, and exacerbated the repression of protestors and religious and ethnic minorities; the 1990-2003 UN economic boycott and oil embargo against Iraq’s non-apocalyptic Saddam Hussein resulted in intensifying domestic oppression; the 1950s-2026 US/UN financial and trade embargoes activated against the non-apocalyptic North Korea have yielded famine, upgraded thermonuclear warheads and intercontinental ballistic missiles, as well as more ruthless despotism; the 1960-2026 US trade and financial embargo on the non-apocalyptic Cuba, has resulted in severe economic decline and a more brutal central authority; the 2022-2026 comprehensive Western sanctions against the non-apocalyptic Russia rerouted energy trade to Asia, transitioned Russia to a wartime economy controlled by Putin’s solid authority, but has failed to stop or slowdown the war against Ukraine.
*Economic measures alone have failed to induce ideologically entrenched, survival-at-all-cost, ruthless, apocalyptic regimes to abandon their core theological or strategic imperatives. They never considered sacrificing their ideology and strategy on the altar of an abundant windfall. In the arm-wrestling with the Ayatollah regime, “Money Talks” has been resoundingly defeated by “Ideology Walks.”
*Economic sanctions and negotiation do not substitute for regime change. They reinforce the Ayatollah regime, and undermine the strategic posture of the US, which is exposed as a sprinter, unable to sustain a required marathon. Sustaining such a US policy threatens the existence of all its Arab allies in the Persian Gulf and throughout the Middle East, who have had the machete of the Ayatollah at their throats since 1979.
Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative”
February 27, 2024
Secretary of State Antony Blinken represents conventional wisdom when claiming that “It’s been longstanding US policy… that new settlements are… inconsistent with international law.”
However, conventional wisdom is frequently demolished by the march of facts.
For instance:
*According to Prof. Eugene Rostow, who was the co-author of the November 22, 1967 UN Security Council Resolution 242, served as Undersecretary of State and was the Dean of Yale University Law School: “Jews have the same right to settle in the West Bank as they have in Haifa.”
*According to UN Resolution 242, Israel is required to withdraw from territories, not the territories, nor from all the territories, but some of the territories, which included Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. Moreover, according to Prof. Rostow, “resolutions calling for withdrawal from all the territories were defeated in the Security Council and the General Assembly…. Israel was not to be forced back to the fragile and vulnerable [9-15 mile-wide] lines… but to secure and recognized boundaries, agreed to by the parties…. In making peace with Egypt in 1979, Israel withdrew from the entire Sinai… [which amounts to] more than 90% of the territories occupied in 1967….”
*Former President of the International Court of Justice, Judge Stephen M. Schwebel, stated: “Between Israel, acting defensively in 1948 and 1967 (according to Article 52 of the UN Charter), on the one hand, and her Arab neighbors, acting aggressively in 1948 and 1967, on the other, Israel has better title in the territory of what was [British Mandate] Palestine…. It follows that modifications of the 1949 armistice lines among those States within former Palestinian territory are lawful…. [The 1967] Israeli conquest of territory was defensive rather than aggressive… [as] indicated by Egypt’s prior closure of the Straits of Tiran, blockade of the Israeli port of Eilat, and the amassing of [Egyptian] troops in Sinai, coupled with its ejection of the UN Emergency Force…[and] Jordan’s initiated hostilities against Israel…. The 1948 Arab invasion of the nascent State of Israel further demonstrated that Egypt’s seizure of the Gaza Strip, and Jordan’s seizure and subsequent annexation of the West Bank and the old city of Jerusalem, were unlawful….”
*The legal status of Judea and Samaria is embedded in the following 4 authoritative, binding, internationally-ratified documents, which recognize the area for what it has been: the cradle of Jewish history, culture, language, aspirations and religion.
(I) The November 2, 1917 Balfour Declaration, issued by Britain, calling for “the establishment in Palestine (a synonym to the Land of Israel) of a national home for the Jewish people….”
(II) The April 24, 1920 resolution, by the post-First World War San Remo Peace Conference of the Allied Powers Supreme Council, entrusted both sides of the Jordan River to the British Mandate for Palestine, for the reestablishment of the Jewish Commonwealth: “the Mandatory will be responsible for putting into effect the [Balfour] declaration originally made on November 2, 1917, by the Government of His Britannic Majesty, and adopted by the said Powers, in favor of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” It was one of over 20 Mandates (trusteeships) established following WW1, responsible for the boundaries of most Arab countries.
(III) The July 24, 1922 Mandate for Palestine was ratified by the Council of the League of Nations, entrusted Britain to establish a Jewish state in the entire area west of the Jordan River, as demonstrated by its 6th article: “[to] encourage… close settlement by Jews on the land, including State lands and waste lands….” The Mandate was dedicated exclusively to Jewish national rights, while guaranteeing the civic rights of all other religious and ethnic groups. On July 23, 1923, the Ottoman Empire signed the Treaty of Lausanne, which included the Mandate for Palestine.
(IV) The October 24, 1945 Article 80 of the UN Charter incorporated the Mandate for Palestine into the UN Charter. Accordingly, the UN or any other entity cannot transfer Jewish rights in Palestine – including immigration and settlement – to any other party. According to Article 80 of the UN Charter and the Mandate for Palestine, the 1967 war of self-defense returned Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria to its legal owner, the Jewish state. Legally and geo-strategically the rules of “belligerent occupation” do not apply Israel’s presence in Judea and Samaria, since they are not “foreign territory,” and Jordan did not have a legitimate title over the West Bank. Moreover, the rules of “belligerent occupation” do not apply in view of the 1994 Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty. The 1950-67 Jordanian occupation of Judea and Samaria violated international law and was recognized only by Britain and Pakistan.
*The 1949 4th Geneva Convention prohibits the forced transfer of populations to areas previously occupied by a legitimate sovereign power. However, Israel has not forced Jews to settle in Judea and Samaria, and Jordan’s sovereignty there was never legal.
*The November 29, 1947 UN General Assembly Partition Resolution 181 was a recommendation, lacking legal stature, superseded by the Mandate for Palestine. The 1949 Armistice (non-peace) Agreements between Israel and its neighbors delineated “non-territorial boundaries.”
*The term “Palestine” was a Greek and then a Roman attempt (following the 135 CE Jewish rebellion) to eradicate Jews and Judaism from human memory. It substituted “Israel, Judea and Samaria” with “Palaestina,” a derivative of the Philistines, an arch enemy of the Jewish people, whose origin was not in Arabia, but in the Greek Aegian islands.
*The aforementioned march of facts demonstrates that Secretary Blinken’s conventional wisdom on the Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria is based on gross misperceptions and misrepresentations, which fuels infidelity to law, undermining the pursuit of peace.
*More on the legality of Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria in this article by George Mason University Law School Prof. Eugene Kontrovich.
US departure from the recognition of a United Jerusalem as the exclusive capital of the Jewish State, and the site of the US Embassy to Israel, would be consistent with the track record of the State Department, which has been systematically wrong on Middle East issues, such as its opposition to the establishment of the Jewish State; stabbing the back of the pro-US Shah of Iran and Mubarak of Egypt, and pressuring the pro-US Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, while courting the anti-US Ayatollahs of Iran, Saddam Hussein, Arafat, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, the Palestinian Authority and the Houthis of Yemen; transforming Libya into a platform of global Islamic terrorism and civil wars; etc..
However, such departure would violate US law, defy a 3,000 year old reality – documented by a litany of archeological sites and a multitude of documents from Biblical time until today – spurn US history and geography, and undermine US national and homeland security.
United Jerusalem and the US law
Establishing a US Consulate General in Jerusalem – which would be a de facto US Embassy to the Palestinian Authority – would violate the Jerusalem Embassy Act, which became US law on November 8, 1995 with substantially more than a veto-override majority on Capitol Hill.
According to the Jerusalem Embassy Act, which enjoys massive support among the US population and, therefore, in both chambers of Congress:
“Jerusalem should remain an undivided city in which the rights of every ethnic and religious group are protected….
“Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of the state of Israel; and the United States Embassy in Israel should be established in Jerusalem….
“In 1990, Congress unanimously adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 106, which declares that Congress ‘strongly believes that Jerusalem must remain an undivided city in which the rights of every ethnic and religious group are protected….’
“In 1992, the United States Senate and House of Representatives unanimously adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 113… to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem, and reaffirming Congressional sentiment that Jerusalem must remain an undivided city….
“In 1996, the state of Israel will celebrate the 3,000th anniversary of the Jewish presence in Jerusalem since King David’s entry….
“The term ‘United States Embassy’ means the offices of the United States diplomatic mission and the residence of the United States chief of mission.”
United Jerusalem and the legacy of the Founding Fathers
The US Early Pilgrims and Founding Fathers were inspired – in their unification of the 13 colonies – by King David’s unification of the 12 Jewish tribes into a united political entity, and establishing Jerusalem as the capital city, which did not belong to any of the tribes (hence, Washington, DC does not belong to any state). King David entered Jerusalem 3,000 years before modern day US presidents entered the White House and 2,755 years before the US gained its independence.
The impact of Jerusalem on the US founders of the Federalist Papers, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Federalist system and overall civic life is reflected by the existence, in the US, of 18 Jerusalems (4 in Maryland; 2 in Vermont, Georgia and New York; and 1 in Ohio, Michigan, Arkansas, North Carolina, Alabama, Utah, Rhode Island and Tennessee), 32 Salems (the original Biblical name of Jerusalem) and many Zions (a Biblical synonym for Jerusalem and the Land of Israel). Moreover, in the US there are thousands of cities, towns, mountains, cliffs, deserts, national parks and streets bearing Biblical names.
The Jerusalem reality and US interests
Recognizing the Jerusalem reality and adherence to the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act – and the subsequent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the site of the US Embassy to Israel – bolstered the US posture of deterrence in defiance of Arab/Islamic pressure and threats.
Contrary to the doomsday assessments by the State Department and the “elite” US media – which have been wrong on most Middle East issues – the May 2018 implementation of the 1995 law did not intensify Palestinian, Arab and Islamic terrorism. State Department “wise men” were equally wrong when they warned that Israel’s 1967 reunification of Jerusalem would ignite a worldwide anti-Israel and anti-US Islamic volcanic eruption.
Adherence to the 1995 law distinguishes the US President, Congress and most Americans from the state of mind of rogue regimes and terror organizations, the anti-US UN, the vacillating Europe, and the cosmopolitan worldview of the State Department, which has systematically played-down the US’ unilateral, independent and (sometimes) defiant national security action.
On the other hand, US procrastination on the implementation of the 1995 law – by Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama – eroded the US posture of deterrence, since it was rightly perceived by the world as appeasement in the face of pressure and threats from Arab/Muslim regimes and terrorists. As expected, it radicalized Arab expectations and demands, failed to advance the cause of Israel-Arab peace, fueled Islamic terrorism, and severely undermined US national and homeland security. For example, blowing up the US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and murdering 224 persons in August 1998; blowing up the USS Cole destroyer in the port of Aden and murdering 17 US sailors in October 2000; the 9/11 Twin Towers massacre, etc.
Jerusalem and Israel’s defiance of US pressure
In 1949, President Truman followed Secretary of State Marshall’s policy, pressuring Israel to refrain from annexing West Jerusalem and to accept the internationalization of the ancient capital of the Jewish people.
in 1950, in defiance of brutal US and global pressure to internationalize Jerusalem, Prime Minister David Ben Gurion reacted constructively by proclaiming Jerusalem the capital of the Jewish State, relocating government agencies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and settling tens of thousands of Olim (Jewish immigrants to Israel) in Jerusalem. He upgraded the transportation infrastructure to Jerusalem, erected new Jewish neighborhoods along the 1949 cease fire lines in Jerusalem, and provided the city land reserves for long-term growth.
In 1953, Ben Gurion rebuffed President Eisenhower’s pressure – inspired by Secretary of State Dulles – to refrain from relocating Israel’s Foreign Ministry from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
In 1967, President Johnson followed the advice of Secretary of State Rusk – who opposed Israel’s 1948 Declaration of Independence – highlighting the international status of Jerusalem, and warned Israel against the reunification of Jerusalem and construction in its eastern section. Prime Minister Levi Eshkol adopted Ben Gurion’s statesmanship, fended off the US pressure, reunited Jerusalem, built the first Jerusalem neighborhood beyond the 1949 ceasefire lines, Ramat Eshkol, in addition to the first wave of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria (West Bank), the Jordan Valley and the Golan Heights.
In 1970, President Nixon collaborated with Secretary of State Rogers, attempting to repartition Jerusalem, pressuring Israel to relinquish control of Jerusalem’s Holy Basin, and to stop Israel’s plans to construct additional neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem. However, Prime Minister Golda Meir refused to rescind the reunification of Jerusalem, and proceeded to lay the foundation for additional Jerusalem neighborhoods beyond the 1949 ceasefire lines: Gilo, Ramot Alon, French Hill and Neve’ Yaakov, currently home to 150,000 people.
In 1977-1992, Prime Ministers Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir defied US and global pressure, expanding construction in Jerusalem, sending a clear message: “Jerusalem is the exclusive and non-negotiable capital of Israel!”
“[In 1978], at the very end of [Prime Minister Begin’s] successful Camp David talks with President Jimmy Carter and President Anwar Sadat, literally minutes before the signing ceremony, the American president had approached [Begin] with ‘Just one final formal item.’ Sadat, said the president, was asking that Begin put his signature to a simple letter committing him to place Jerusalem on the negotiating table of the final peace accord. ‘I refused to accept the letter, let alone sign it,’ rumbled Begin. ‘If I forgot thee O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its cunning,’ said [Begin] to the president of the United States of America, ‘and may my tongue cleave to my mouth’ (The Prime Ministers – An Intimate Portrait of Leaders of Israel, 2010)”
In 2021, Prime Minister Bennett should follow in the footsteps of Israel’s Founding Father, Ben Gurion, who stated: “Jerusalem is equal to the whole of the Land of Israel. Jerusalem is not just a central Jewish settlement. Jerusalem is an invaluable global historical symbol. The Jewish People and the entire world shall judge us in accordance with our steadfastness on Jerusalem (“We and Our Neighbors,” p. 175. 1929).”
Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative”
September 17, 2026
More on Jewish holidays: Smashwords, Amazon
*Modeled on Yom Kippur and other Biblical fast days, the Early Pilgrims’ and Founding Fathers’ “Day of public humiliation, fasting and prayer” suspended business to confess collective wrongdoing and petition for mercy through soul-searching. Thus, the Second Continental Congress proclaimed a fast day on July 20, 1775, and repeated it through the war, calling for collective repentance and prayer to petition King George III to end the bloodshed, as the Revolutionary War began; President John Adams issued national fast days in 1798 and 1799; President James Madison did so during the War of 1812. General George Washington strictly enforced the religious observance and banned unnecessary labor and recreation for troops under his command.
*Yom Kippur is observed on the 10th day of the Jewish month of Tishrei, starting on the evening of September 20, 2026. It is referred to as a Super Sabbath (Shabbat Shabbaton in Hebrew), concluding 10 soul-searching days, personal and collective accountability spiritual self-awareness and self-enhancement, beginning on Rosh Hashanah, the first day of the Jewish year.
*Ten has a special significance in Jewish tradition: God’s abbreviation is the 10th Hebrew letter (Yod – י); the 10 Commandments; the 10 Plagues of Egypt; Yom Kippur on the 10th day of Tishrei; the 10 spheres of the spiritual universe, highlighting the Biblical Creation; 10 reasons for blowing the Shofar (ram’s horn) on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur; the 10% Biblical gift to God (tithe); the 10th day of the Jewish month of Tevet commemorates the beginning of the 586-589 BCE siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar; 10 Martyrs (Jewish leaders) were tortured/murdered by the Roman Empire; 10 generations between Adam and Noah and between Noah and Abraham; Abraham passed 10 divine tests; a 10-person-quorum (Minyan in Hebrew) is required for a collective Jewish prayer service; 10 sons of Haman and 10 Nazi leaders were hung; etc.
*According to Leviticus 23:26-32: “The Lord said to Moses, that the tenth day of this seventh month [Tishrei] is the Day of Atonement…. Do not do any work on that day…. This is a lasting ordinance for generations to come….” Yom Kippur highlights second-chance-eligibility and renewal through repentance, commemorating the day of divine forgiveness for the sin of worshipping the golden calf idol, and the introduction of the Moses-made second set of the Two Tablets (Ten Commandments). Mankind is urged to learn from mistakes, and refrain from the recurring human fallibility: the temptation to sacrifice spiritual values on the altar of convenience.
*The astrological sign of the months of Tishrei is Libra (♎), which symbolizes the scales of justice, truth, optimism, humility and tolerance. Libra is ruled by the planet Venus (Noga – נגהin Hebrew – is the name of my oldest granddaughter), which represents divine light and compassion.
*The Hebrew word Kippur [כיפור] means atonement/repentance – a derivative of the Biblical word Kaporet [כפורת], which was the dome/cover of the Holy Ark in the Sanctuary, and the word Kopher [כופר], which was the cover/dome of Noah’s Ark and the Holy Altar in the Jerusalem Temple.
Yom Kippur resembles a spiritual cover/dome, which separates between spiritualism and materialism/mundane. The Kippah [ [כיפהis the skullcap – a spiritual dome – which covers one’s head during prayers.
*Asking forgiveness of fellow human-beings is a major feature of Yom Kippur, transferring human behavior from acrimony and vindictiveness to forgiveness and peaceful coexistence. The wronged party must accept a sincere apology. Ritual alone does not substitute for repair. It is consistent with the philosophy of Hillel the Elder, a leading 1st century BCE Jewish Sage: “The essence of the Torah is: do not do unto your fellow person that which is hateful to you; the rest [of the Torah] is commentary.” Criminals and sinners are invited to participate in Yom Kippur services.
*Fasting is a key feature of Yom Kippur, reducing material pleasure in order to focus on one’s soul-searching, and enhancing empathy with the needy. The Hebrew spelling of fasting [צומ] is the root of the Hebrew word ((צמצומ for reducing and the Hebrew word for a camera’s focus (צמצמ).
However, Judaism opposes ascetism and self-torment, and therefore views genuine repentance as a critical engine of elevating individuals from despair to hope, from abuse to caring, from intolerance to tolerance, from violence to comity, from isolation to integration, from ignorance to knowledge and from forgetfulness to commemoration.
*There are six annual Jewish fasting days:
(a) The 10th day of the month of Tishrei is Yom Kippur.
(b) The 10th day of the month of Tevet commemorates the beginning of the 586-589 BCE siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar.
(c) The 17th day of the month of Tammuz commemorates the 586 BCE and 69 CE breaching of Jerusalem’s walls by the Babylonian and Roman Empires, as well as the breaking of the Tablets by Moses upon confronting the Golden Calf lapse of faith.
(d) The 9th day of the month of Av is the most calamitous day in Jewish history, commemorating the destruction of the first (586 BCE) and second (70 CE) Jewish Jerusalem Temples, by the Babylonian and Roman Empires respectively; the beginning of the Jewish exile from the Land of Israel; the Ten Spies’ bankruptcy of faith; the crushing of the 132-135 CE Bar Kokhbah Revolt by the Roman Emperor Adrianus (600,000 Jewish fatalities); the pogroms of the First Crusade (1096-1099) in Germany, France, Italy and Britain; the expulsion of the Jews from Britain (1290) and Spain (1492); the eruption of the First World War (1914); and the beginning of the 1942 deportation of Warsaw Ghetto Jews to the Treblinka extermination camp.
(e) The 3rd day of the month of Tishrei commemorates the murder of the Jewish Governor of Jerusalem, Gedalyah Ben Achikam, by another Jew, Yishmael Ben Netanyah (586 BCE).
(f) The 13th day of the month of Adar is the Fast of Queen Esther – one day before the Purim holiday – commemorating Queen Esther’s three-day-fast prior to her appeal to the Persian King Ahasuerus to refrain from exterminating the Jews (around 480 BCE).
*According to Judaism, the human tongue can be lethal, and therefore, ill-speaking of other people (“evil tongue” in Hebrew) may not be forgiven.
*Yom Kippur is concluded by blowing the Shofar (a ritual ram’s horn), which represents a moral wakeup-call, optimism, determination, humility and peace-through-strength (the peaceful ram deters enemies through its horns). The blowing of the Shofar commemorates the saving of Isaac by a ram; the receipt of the (second) Tablets/Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai (even the sin of the Golden Calf does not foreclose restoration); the re-entry to the Land of Israel and the conquest of Jericho by Joshua; as well as Gideon’s victory over the much larger Midianite military. The Hebrew word Shofar שופר]] means “to enhance,” “top quality,” glory and spiritual pleasure [שפר, שופרא].
*The Biblical Scroll of Jonah – which is the fifth book in The Twelve Prophets – is read on Yom Kippur, underscoring repentance, prayer/faith, justice and forgiveness. The Prophet Jonah (“dove” in Hebrew), son of Amitai (“truth” in Hebrew and the name of my 4th grandchild) transformed the sinful Assyrian population of Nineveh into a pious society; thus, displaying social responsibility.
*A Memorial Candle in memory of one’s parents is lit on Yom Kippur, reaffirming “Honor thy father and mother,” providing an opportunity to mend fences with – and ask forgiveness of – one’s parent(s).
Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: US-Israel Initiative”
February 24, 2026
*While the United Arab Emirates uprooted all anti-Jewish and anti-Israel elements from its school curriculum, the Friday mosque sermons, and its official media – replacing them with pro-Jewish and pro-Israel elements – Qatar has sustained its anti-“infidel”, anti-Christian, anti-Jewish and anti-Israel school curriculum, consistent with its Friday incitement mosque sermons and controlled media.
*Are Qatar’s worldview and conduct consistent with the values and interests of the USA? Is Qatar’s policy consistent with the US’ attempts to end/minimize wars and terrorism? Does it qualify Qatar as an honest broker? Is Qatar a partner in the defense of Western democracies in the face of Sunni and Shiite Islamic terrorism?
*Qatar’s shifty diplomatic pronouncements (Talk) has been incompatible with Qatar’s permanent school curriculum (Walk), which reflects most authentically its worldview, values, vision and conduct. It reflects and shapes the minds of Qatar’s ruling minority (10%-15%), and is fully-controlled by the ruler (Emir), Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who oppresses the 85%-90% majority of foreign workers.
*A February 2026 review of Qatar’s 2025-26 school curriculum, conducted by Impact-se, documents “anti-semitic narratives, religious intolerance toward non-Muslims, and legitimization of violent jihad,… demonstrating no substantive curricular reform since the 2021–2022 school year….
“In July 2024, the US Department of State’s Annual Report on International Religious Freedom criticized Qatar’s national curriculum for continuing to ‘include content that was antisemitic in nature.’ Despite this, the same material was reprinted and continues to be taught in the 2025–2026 school year….
“Disrespect towards non-Muslims is expressed through terminology such as ‘Infidels’ and ‘pagans/polytheists,’ through derogatory portrayals of non-Muslims, and through discussions of punishment for disbelief in Islam…. Non-Islamic nations such as the US and European countries are occasionally treated with suspicion….
“Textbooks continue to teach antisemitic content…. portraying Jews as materialistic, arrogant, deceitful, and hostile to Islam. Jews are further associated with traits such as lying, scheming, fleeing in fear, spreading discord, breaching agreements, and excessive attachment to material wealth, thereby reinforcing an image of Jews as fundamentally untrustworthy…. Antisemitic tropes depict Jews as cynically manipulating global affairs… denying Jewish historical ties to Israel/Palestine and the right to self-determination….
“Violent interpretations of jihad prevail as religious ideals…. Textbooks praise the upbringing of children ‘to love jihad,’ and students are taught that God rewards those who fight and die for Islam by granting them entry into Paradise….
“Israel’s establishment is framed as occupation…. Israel is erased from maps, and normalization is condemned…. Poems exhort students to draw swords, engage in jihad, and sacrifice their lives fighting against ‘the Zionist enemy….’
For example:
*Islamic Education, Grade 11, Vol. 1, 2025–2026, p. 46 condemns Christianity and Judaism as religions which “have been corrupted”, and that polytheistic elements “have been inserted into them.”
*Islamic Education, Grade 8, Vol. 1, 2025–2026, pp. 124, 129 presents two possible infinite outcomes one can expect when dying: Muslims (“Believers”) will reside in Heaven; non-Muslims (“Infidels”) will suffer in Hell.
*Islamic Education, Grade 10, Vol. 1, 2025–2026, pp. 18–19 “accuses Jews of failing to uphold the Torah they were given by Allah…. instructing students to specifically avoid ‘resembling Jews….”
*Islamic Education, Grade 8, Vol. 1, 2025–2026, pp. 26–28 suggests that “Moses and Jesus are both Islamic prophets who were initially rejected by their people, according to the Qur’an…. Jews are evil…. The Jewish people are forever cursed by Allah…. None is more evil than people who have been invited to Islam and rejected it….”
*Islamic Education, Grade 8, Vol. 1, 2025–2026, pp. 70–71. A chapter about the Battle of Khaybar, fought between the Muslim forces of the Prophet Muhammad and the Jewish Arabian tribe of Banu Nadir… portrays the Jewish people as inherently hostile to Islam and Muslims. A repeated emphasis on the Jewish nature as historic enemies of Muslims…”
*Islamic Education, Grade 6, Vol. 2, 2025–2026, p. 139. “An Islamic education lesson teaches that one of the ways to measure a good Muslim woman is raising children to sacrifice their lives [martyrdom], in what is understood to be violent Jihad.”
*Islamic Education, Grade 8, Vol. 1, 2025–2026, pp. 72–73 teaches the Battle of Khaybar, fought between the forces of the Prophet Muhammad and the ancient Jewish Arabian tribe of Banu Nadir in 629 CE, concluded by teaching students that the sublime goal of Jihad is to bring non-Muslims to convert to Islam.
*Islamic Education, Grade 8, Vol. 1, 2025–2026, pp. 22, 25, 28, 103 teaches that God loves Jihad warriors who “fight” (yuqātilūn) for His sake, favoring a violent interpretation of Jihad. God defends Islam against the non-Islamic world.
The bottom line: A prerequisite for Qatar’s constructive role in advancing peace and combatting terror isa thorough structural overhaul of its prevailing culture, which is preconditioned upon the uprooting of its hate and terror-driven school curriculum.
