History curricula and textbooks in Israel and Palestine — part 1: Contextual timeline
This is the first of a series of articles examining how history education has changed over time in Israel and Palestine, as part of the World School History project. It is hoped that by studying both the content and underlying principles driving history education in different populations over time, we will better understand their different narratives and perspectives.
History is never be taught in a vacuum, nor can it ever be taught from a “neutral” point of view. Current events (which then become historical events) both drive and can come about as a consequence of what is taught. Therefore this first article will highlight some significant milestones and periods in history curricula development alongside certain significant historical events.
Timeline
1839–1916: Rise and consolidation of the modern Zionist movement and renewed attempt to legally establish a national homeland for the Jewish people in then Ottoman-governed Palestine. (Zionism has as one of its core tenets the return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel, aliyah).
Waves of migration driven by persecution in the Russian Empire and in the First Aliyah (~35,000 Jews) and Second Aliyah (~40,000 Jews).
1914–1918: Britain at war against the Ottoman Empire.
1917 (November 2): The Balfour Declaration by the British government is published. The declaration supports the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine (at the time still Ottoman-governed) while at the same time calling for the protection of the civil and religious rights of Palestinian Arabs (at the time the majority of the local population). This did not include Transjordan.
1918–1922: Partition of the Ottoman Empire gives Britain the British Mandate for Palestine, which includes both Palestine (today Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip) and Transjordan (today Jordan).
1918–1948: Jewish schools in Palestine largely associated with political affiliations and funded by World Zionist Organisation.
By the end of the British mandate, schools belonged largely to one of three trends, each with control over their own curriculum, teacher recruitment and regulations.
- General trend (~50% pupils) — associated with centrist parties, especially the General Zionists. The objective of education for this trend was to ground students in both Jewish and universal-modern culture so that they could contribute meaningfully to modern society.
- Labor trend (~25% pupils) — run by the Histadrut-General Federation of Labor. This trend promoted Zionist socialist ideals with the objective of training students to become pioneers and fulfil the goals of the Jewish labor movement in the State of Israel.
- Mizrahi trend (~25% pupils) — affiliated with the religious-Zionist parties (Mizrahi and Hapoel Hamizrahi). This trend sought to integrate religious studies with general culture so that students would have solid grounding in the values of Judaism as the basis for their world view while also possessing the knowledge they would need to engage in modern society.
Non-Zionist schools formed a tiny minority, and they were attended mainly by children from ultra-Orthodox circles.
1919–1923: Third Aliyah (~40,000 Jews) with Jews fleeing pogroms in the Russian Empire’s civil war. Many of these immigrants were Socialist Zionists and supported the Bolsheviks who established Kibbutzim (self-sustaining communities traditionally centred around agriculture).
1922: Balfour Declaration confirmed by the League of Nations.
1924–1929: Fourth Aliyah (~80,000 Jews) with Jews fleeing antisemitism in Poland and Hungary.
1929–1938: Fifth Aliyah (~250,000) with Jews fleeing Nazi persecution.
1947: UN General Assembly votes in favour of adopting the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine as Resolution 181. The plan recommends the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states and a Special International Regime for the city of Jerusalem. This Partition Plan is accepted by the Jewish leadership, but rejected by Palestinian Arab leaders and the Arab states.
1947–1948: Arab-Israeli Wars between Jewish and Palestinian Arab militia. ~900,000 Jews expelled from homes in Muslim-majority countries in West Asia, North Africa, other areas of Asia; ~650,000 settled in Israel.
~750,000 Palestinians displaced from Israel.
1948: Palestine war (known as the War of Independence and Nakba, ‘the catastrophe’). Following the war, the British declare the creation of the State of Israel and withdraw. The Mandate for Palestine becomes divided into the State of Israel, Transjordan, and Egypt.
1948–1967: Gaza follows Egyptian curricula and West Bank follows Jordanian curricula.
Schools in Gaza follow the Egyptian curriculum and schools in the West Bank follow the Jordanian curriculum.
1949: The Free Compulsory Education Law, a fourth Ultra-Orthodox trend, and two resolutions concerning Arab schools in Israel
A fourth, non-Zionist trend is recognised, fostered by the small ultra-Orthodox party Agudat Yisrael (which had only three Knesset members).
The Free Compulsory Education Law stipulates that the state would recognise and fund all four Jewish educational trends (General, Labor, Mizrahi, Ultra-Orthodox) and the Arab educational system, to provide free education for all children between the ages of five and thirteen (and up to age seventeen for those who had not completed elementary school).
Two resolutions were introduced concerning Arab schools:
- Free Compulsory Education Law to apply to Jewish and Arab children alike. This also meant that existing Arab schools would have to teach certain subjects (e.g. music, physical education) and adhere to rules on discipline (and corporeal punishment).
- Arabs can be taught in their own language in official State schools.
By the end of 1949, there are only 69 Arab schools with ~250 Arab teachers. For fear that some of the Arab teachers were hostile to the State of Israel, the Ministry of Education and Culture hire new teachers and principals, some of them Jews, for some Arab schools.
1949: Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt sign the 1949 Armistice Agreements with Israel. Gaza Strip is occupied by Egypt; West Bank (including East Jerusalem) is occupied by Transjordan (West Jerusalem is administered by Israel).
1950: Jordan annexes the West Bank (including East Jerusalem).
1950: Frumkin Commission in Israel
In Israel, a government commission led by former Supreme Judge Gad Frumkin is formed to investigate “soul-stalking” (parents enticed or even threatened to enrol their children in specific educational systems), in particular following reports that a secular educational curriculum is being imposed on new immigrants from North Africa and the Middle East.
While the committee concluded that the government had not engaged in any intentional anti-religious coercion, it challenged the decision to make the education of immigrant children the responsibility of the Ministry of Education’s Language Instruction Department.
As a consequence, the education of immigrant children was transferred to the Ministry of Education’s Educational Department and new regulations were introduced to provide continuity and traditional Jewish education to the immigrant families in accordance with their desires.
1956: Distinction between Arab and Druze schools in Israel.
Programs involving innovative teaching methods and self-paced learning introduced to improve retention of Druze minorities at secondary level.
1967: Six-day war which results in Israel capturing the West Bank from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Although Israel and the West Bank remain officially in a state of war, the “open bridges” policy means that Jordan still plays an active administrative role in the West Bank, including in education.
1967–1993: Israeli influence over education in Gaza and the West Bank.
While Egyptian textbooks continue to be adopted by schools in Gaza and Jordanian textbooks continue to be adopted by schools in the West Bank, these are subject to censorship by the Israeli military government in charge of the Palestinian education from 1967 until 1993. Whole books are banned from schools, and words and sections of textbooks are deleted.
Due to ongoing conflicts and the psychological impact of these conflicts, many Palestinians’ education is disrupted, resulting in high rates of illiteracy and problems with communication, logic and maths.
1973: Fourth Arab-Israeli War (also known as the Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War, October War, 1973 Arab-Israeli War) between Israel and Arab states led by Egypt and Syria.
1974: The Arab league recognises the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people in the West Bank.
1980: Program to strengthen coexistence between Jews and Arabs in Israel
Special guide books are developed to aid educators in harmonising the coexistence between Jews and Arabs.
Schools conduct mutual visits to each other’s premises with the objective of constructive understanding and establishing open dialogues between Arabs and Jewish students as well as acquainting them with each other’s culture and language.
1984: Separate educational framework established for ultra-orthodox children in Israel
A separate educational framework is established for ultra‐orthodox children of Middle Eastern and North African extraction in Israel.
1987–1993: The First Intifada (“shaking off”) with a series of both non-violent and violent mass protests in Israel and Israel-occupied territories against Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
1988: All legal and administrative ties between Jordan and the West Bank officially ceased.
1993: Oslo I Accord establishes a framework for negotiations and mutual recognition between Israel and the PLO with the goal of Palestinian self-government in parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
1994: Gaza-Jericho Agreement results in partial Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and Jericho area and transfer of limited power to the Palestinian Authority (PA). Other protocols governing economic relations and the release of prisoners were also agreed.
1994: Palestinian Ministry of Education established.
Following the establishment of the Palestinian Authority, there is gradual transfer of control over the education system as the Palestinian Ministry of Education (PMoE) is established. This affords Palestinians governance of their school system in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.
1994: Jewish Education Reform and the integration of Jewish and non-Jewish history.
Committee on the issue of education for Jewish and traditional values calls for the inclusion of more Jewish education in secular schools. Initiatives include:
- Schools being encouraged to belong to the Tali (“reinforcement of Jewish studies”) network.
- Joint secular-religious schools.
- Special Jewish-studies scholarships for university students.
- Special centres to train teachers.
Another important development is the integration of Jewish and non-Jewish history in the curriculum into a coherent narrative so that pupils could place the history of the Jews and the State of Israel within a wider global temporal context.
1995: Oslo II Accord divides West Bank into three zones — one under Palestinian control (area A), one under shared Israeli-Palestinian control (area B), and one under Israeli control (area C).
1996–1998: Development of the first Palestinian Curricula.
The First Palestinian Curriculum Plan is completed in 1998. It proposes grounding the education in heritage and religion while still preparing students for the modern world. The concepts of democracy, human rights and social justics are also deemed to be of primary importance. Syllabuses for all grades (1–12) are prepared and evaluated both nationally and internationally.
1994–2000: Textbooks produced to support new Palestinian curriculum.
Textbooks are developed gradually in stages. Before textbooks are available in subjects/for different year groups, the Jordanian/Egyptian content split remains in place.
Textbooks are produced in accordance with the Oslo policy framework, which included guidelines around the representation of Palestine, Israelis, and the State of Israel. These textbooks recognised borders defined by the “Green Line” (between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria) and the Partition Plan (between). The history of Jews in the land of Palestine was also included, and a distinction was drawn between Judaism and Zionism so that the conflict could be understood as being between Palestinians and Zionist ideology rather than between Palestinians and the Jewish people.
2000: Palestinian authority establishes a 15-year plan committed to the objectives of the Dakar, Senegal forum
The objectives of the Dakar, Senegal forum include:
- Making education inclusive to even the most vulnerable and disadvantaged.
- Free and compulsory primary education for all by 2015.
- Access to learning and life skills training for young people and adults.
- Increasing adult literacy by 50%.
- Eliminating gender disparities.
- Ensuring learning outcomes in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills are achieved and measurable.
2000–2003: The Second Intifada triggered by right-wing Likud party leader Ariel Sharon’s visit to the al-Asqa Mosque in Jerusalem (Palestinians perceived his visit as a provocation because). Palestinians started protesting, mostly peacefully initially, but this escalated when Israel responded firing rubber bullets and later live ammunition, and sending tanks and helicopters into Palestinian areas. Within a month, the protests turned violent with suicide bombings and shootings inside Israel’s internationally recognised borders. In response, Israel reentered Gaza and the West Bank, ending the post-Oslo status quo, and constructed a reinforced security barrier.
2005: Israel withdraws from Gaza in the hope of deescalating the situation and allowing for peace talks.
2006: Hamas wins a majority of seats in the Palestinian Authority’s legislative branch and takes over Gaza. They are then expelled from the legislative council and the international community refuse to recognise them.
2003: Re-emphasis of history curriculum on Jewish history in Israel
While Jewish and non-Jewish history continues to be taught in an integrated fashion, the curriculum was revamped to put greater emphasis (~80%) on the history of the Jews and the state of Israel.
2008: Five-year plan for Arab, Druze, and Bedouin schools in Israel
A five-year plan is developed for Arab, Druze and Bedouin schools, which reforms their curricula, as well as providing additional resources for teaching and infrastructure.
2008–2014: Continuous fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
2015: Resolution 922 adopted in Israel to accelerate economic development among the Arab sector and its integration in the Israeli economy, and to narrow socioeconomic gaps between the Arab sector and the general population. This included investing more in the Arab education system.
2015–2019: Palestinian curriculum reform.
New textbooks are developed with a more pronounced Palestinian nationalist approach and which places more emphasis on the experience of living under occupation.
2021: Major outbreak of violence when Israel threatens to evict Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem (containing sites with holy significance for Jews, Christians, and Muslims ) and Israeli police impose restrictions around the al-Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. After 11 days, the fighting ended with a ceasefire brokered by Egypt and Qatar but without resolving the issues frustrating the Palestinians.
2022: School closures and protests against Israeli curriculum censorship in East Jerusalem
One day school strike and protest by Palestinian parents against the removal of content from school books. Examples included removal of a verse mentioning Israeli checkpoints from a poem from an Arabic language book and a description of the treaties that divided the Middle East from a Geography book.
Observations
While it is perhaps not intellectually honest to post-rationalise shifts in curricula as being responses to events in the world, we observe some associations between real-world conflicts and more polarisation in curricula.
For example, around the time of the second Intifada, the curriculum in Israel began to re-emphasise Jewish history. Similarly, fighting between Israel and Hamas in more recent years provided the backdrop for Palestinian curriculum reform to adopt a more nationalist perspective and more curriculum control in Israel in the Arab education sector.
Readers are warmly invited to comment on this article, point out mistakes and omissions (I’m sure there are many), and engage in a respectful conversation with other readers. For those who would like to give deeper feedback or have a more extensive dialogue, please use the World School History Project participation form.
References
Dakar, Senegal, Framework, 2000. Education for All: Meeting our collective commitments.
Embassy of Israel, 1998. Fifty Years of Education in the State of Israel.
Pew Research Center, 2016. 5 facts about Israeli Druze, a unique religious and ethnic group.
Reuters, 2022. Two textbooks, two stories as Palestinian parents protest Israeli curriculum.
